The futures traded down on Tuesday, after a very mixed Monday when all three indexes opened and stayed higher much of the day, but the Nasdaq reversed and ended up closing lower. The biggest data point this week continues to be Friday’s release of the April payroll numbers, and estimates across Wall Street range from the 965,000 consensus estimate to as high as 2.1 million. While many across Wall Street remain very positive, some think we could be looking at a “sell in May” scenario.

Despite clear inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve is vowing 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 balance of 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 Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): The Goldman Sachs upgrade to Buy from Sell included a price target hike to $227. The consensus target is lower at $207.69. Monday’s closing trade hit the tape at $201.86.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day. The firm said that, with a huge net cash position, this tech behemoth should have no problem generating future growth. Shares most recently closed at $2,343.08 and have a consensus price target of $2,721.85.

Aurora Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: JG): Alliance Global Partners started coverage with a Buy rating and a $7 price target. The consensus target is just $3.04, and the stock closed trading Monday at $3.36.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): Baird downgraded the money center giant to Neutral from Outperform and has a $42 price target. The consensus target is $43, and the stock ended trading on Monday at $40.56.

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAM): RBC Capital Markets started coverage with a Sector Perform rating and an $85 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $108, and the stock closed trading in Monday at $75.19, after retreating over 8% on the day.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Bernstein raised its Underperform rating to Market Perform and also boosted the price target on the aerospace and defense leader to $229. The consensus target is $253.50, and Monday’s closing share price was $235.19.

Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: CRNT): Needham raised the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $4.50 price target. The consensus price objective is $6.50. The company has announced it expects to deliver the taped down 100G radio System on a Chip in July and start shipments in 2022. The final trade Monday was reported at $3.33 a share.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS): Needham upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and set a $100 price target. The posted consensus target is $99.67. Monday’s last trade came in at $73.00.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF): Credit Suisse upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised the price target to $24. The consensus target is $22.35, and the stock closed on Monday at $18.21.

Cogent Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI): Credit Suisse raised the company to Outperform from Neutral and also raised the price target to $93. The consensus target across Wall Street is posted much lower at $71.90. Monday’s last trade was reported at $76.09.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NYSE: COIN): Keefe Bruyette started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $324 price target. The consensus target for the crypto trading platform is much higher at $479.83, and Monday’s last trade came in at $294.21.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Sector Weight from Overweight. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $173.26 to $225.25 and have a $233.12 consensus target. The stock closed Monday at $216.57.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR): Along with downgrading the stock to Sell from Neutral, Goldman Sachs also lowered the price target to $31. The consensus target for the supermarket giant is $35.96, and the stock closed above both levels Monday at $37.38.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Telsey Advisory raised the price target on the fast-food behemoth to $260 from $250 and also reiterated the firm’s Outperform rating. The consensus target is $255.82, and the stock closed on Monday at $235.56.

Nutanix Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX): JPMorgan upgraded it to Overweight from Neutral and lifted the price target to $38. The consensus target is in line at $38.54, and the stock was last seen Monday at $26.54.

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: ON): Baird both upgraded it to Outperform from Neutral and also raised the price target to $48. The consensus target is $42.74, and the final Monday trade came in at $ 37.57, which was down almost 4% for the day.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX): UBS raised the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $158 price target. The consensus target is $142.07, and Monday’s last trade was at $132.71.

Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Cowen lowered its $40 price target to $31. The consensus price target $40.90, but the shares were last seen on Monday at $31.17.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG): Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating on the shares but lowered the price target to $333 from $347. The consensus target is $307.94, and Mondays’ closing print was $260.06.

Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, saying that this travel stock is still feeling the pain of COVID-19. Shares last closed at $16.82, and the consensus price target is $21.00.

Walt Disney and two other outstanding stocks were added to the BofA Securities US 1 list of top recommendations, and with their shares backing up some recently, the current entry points are attractive now.

Check out the top holdings at ARK Invest and at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Baker Hughes, Carvana, Chewy, DraftKings, Halliburton, Raytheon Technologies and Tenet Healthcare. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alphabet, Costco, FedEx, UPS and more.

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