The futures were lower on Friday, as we hit the final trading day for April. Investors cheered some huge big technology earnings, and after a third of the S&P 500 having reported this week, we will start to see a slowdown in the earnings onslaught as we begin May. All the indexes except the Russell 2000 printed gains Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both once again setting all-time highs.

Despite inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates contained, which could be one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets, even after sell-offs. It also should be noted that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength while repositioning portfolios for the second quarter and the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Friday, April 30, 2021.

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ: AMTB): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and raised the price target to $24 from $21. The consensus target is $19.50, and the stock closed Thursday at $18.17.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): Piper Sandler upgraded it to Neutral from Underweight. The firm also raised the price target on the apartment real estate investment trust (REIT) giant to $205 from $147. The posted consensus target is $187.35. The shares closed Thursday at $191.51.

Axos Financial Inc. (NYSE: AX): Janney upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $54 price target. The consensus price objective is $52.29, and the stock was last seen Thursday at $46.31.

Bank7 Corp. (NASDAQ: BSVN): Keefe Bruyette raised its Perform rating to Outperform and also lifted the price target by a dollar to $26. The consensus target is $21.67, and Thursday’s last trade was reported at $17.68.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY): Morgan Stanley downgraded the pharmaceutical giant to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered the price target to $62 from $70. The consensus price objective is $76.13, and Thursday’s closing price was $62.89. That was down almost 5% after it posted lackluster first-quarter results.

Carrier Global Corp. (NASDAQ: CARR): The Atlantic Equities downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a $45 price target. The consensus target is up at $48.27, and the final Thursday trade was reported at $44.15. As it is trading right at a 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA): Oppenheimer raised the cable giant to Outperform from Perform and has a $75 price target. That compares with the consensus target of $61.72 and a Thursday closing print of $56.40, which was up over 4% on the day.

Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH): Credit Suisse both raised the stock to Neutral from Underperform and lifted the price target to $10 from $4.10. The posted consensus target is $9.21, and the stock closed Thursday at $10.38.

CyrusOne Inc. (NASDAQ: CONE): Raymond James downgraded the stock to Underperform from Outperform. The 52-week trading range is $61.64 to $86.77, and the stock has an $80.05 consensus price target. The shares were last seen Thursday at $71.45 a share.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Oppenheimer starts coverage at Buy with a $75 price target. The consensus target for the betting platform is $73.32, and the last Thursday trade came in at $57.46, which was down almost 4% for the day.

Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXF): Stifel downgraded the company from Buy to Hold with a $159 price target. The lower $143.71 consensus target is less than Thursday’s closing print of $156.99.

National Grid PLC (NYSE: NGG): UBS’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $53.09 to $63.78 and has a $69.82 consensus price objective. Thursday’s last trade came in at $62.18.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day. The firm said that, even if the ARMs deal doesn’t go through, there’s a credible view of CUDA dominance and 40% growth. Shares most recently closed at $612.99 and have a consensus price target all the way up at $661.61.
Quidel Corp. (NASDAQ: QDEL): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, saying that this rising star in diagnostics had a shot at big cap status with 200% growth on COVID testing that faded. Shares last closed at $107.68, but the consensus price target is $185.25.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS): Susquehanna started coverage with a Positive rating and a $26 price target. The consensus target is $21.60, and the shares were last seen on Thursday at $19.34.

RBB Bancorp (NYSE: RBB): Janney raised the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $24 price target. The consensus price objective is $34.50, and the final Thursday trade was reported at $20.48.

Strategic Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price target to $85 from $103. The consensus target is $113.80, and the stock closed Thursday at $78.10 after pulling back almost 6% on disappointing earnings.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT): Baird raised its Neutral rating to Outperform and also hiked the price target to $72 from $57. The consensus target is $63.97, and the shares were last seen on Thursday at $63.14.

VEREIT Inc. (NYSE: VER): Mizuho downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and has a $48 price target. The posted consensus target is $42.61, and the stock was closed at $47.88 on Thursday.

Warrior Met Coal Inc. (NYSE: HCC): B. Riley Securities downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and has a $22 price target. The consensus price objective is $23. The stock closed Thursday at $16.78, down over 6% for the day.

Four top Goldman Sachs energy picks may be off the radar for some investors, but they offer outstanding growth potential and reasonable entry points, compared to some of the other stocks in the sector.

Check out why some analysts are not fazed by potential headwinds for Facebook.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Discovery, eBay, Energy Transfer, General Dynamics, Goldman Sachs, Roku, Shopify, Spotify and Wayfair.

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