The futures traded down Wednesday after Tuesday’s across-the-board selling, where all the major indexes and the transportation index closed lower. While the selling of mega-cap technology and the continuation of the inflation narrative seemed to be the biggest impetus behind the sell-off, the Nasdaq rallied from a massive intraday loss to end up the best performer at the close. With most of the first-quarter earnings reporting complete, investors are starting to factor in rising prices, along with a continued tailwind for the market from low interest rates.

Despite the concerns across Wall Street for tapering of the quantitative easing program and clear building 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. Note 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 Wednesday, May 12, 2021.

Amarin Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: AMRN): Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to Sell from Neutral and also lowered the price target to $5. The consensus target is much higher at $10.25m and the stock was last seen trading on Tuesday at $4.61.

Array Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): The Piper Sandler downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included the price target lowered to $27. The consensus price target for the solar energy stock is a whopping $44.25. The stock closed Tuesday at $24.95, but the shares were down a massive 28% in the premarket after the company posted higher revenues than expected but lower net income.

BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC): Morgan Stanley raised its Underweight rating to Equal Weight and has a $57 price target. The consensus target is $75.08. The stock closed Tuesday at $47.47. Shares were up over 6% in the premarket, in the wake of solid results.

CapStar Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR): Piper Sandler upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral and also raised the price target to $24. The consensus target is lower at $20.60. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $19.18.

Casa Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CASA): Raymond James upgraded it to Market Perform from Underperform. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $3.65 to $13.15 and has an $11 consensus price target. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $7.85.

Coca-Cola European Partners PLC (NYSE: CCEP): Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $67. That compares with a lower $59.88 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $56.16.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Berenberg’s upgraded to Hold from Sell included the consensus target raised to $42.50. The consensus target on the popular gambling site is up at $71.22, and Tuesday’s final trade rolled in at $44.01.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Though RBC Capital Markets downgraded the popular discount retailer to Sector Perform from Outperform, it also raised the price target to $207. The consensus target is $233.88, and Tuesday’s last trade was at $213.90.

Grocery Outlet Holdings Corp. (NYSE: GO): Deutsche Bank downgraded it to Hold from Buy and has a $37 price target. The consensus target is $43.29, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $40.54. The shares were down almost 14% in the premarket, after it reported mixed results with sales missing expectations.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI): Stifel not only upgraded its Hold rating to Buy but also raised the price target on the shares to $25. The consensus target is $20.33, and the stock closed Tuesday at $19.28, which was down almost 12% for the day despite solid results posted earlier this week.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE): Stifel started the legacy technology company with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The consensus target for HPE is just $15.99, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $16.17.

New York Mortgage Trust Inc. (NASDAQ: NYMT): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $6 price target. The consensus target is $4.78, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $4.35.
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK): BofA Securities upgraded it to Buy from Underperform and has a $30 price target. The consensus target is $25.92, and Tuesday’s last trade was at $23.35, which was up almost 11% after the company posted very solid first-quarter results.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX): JPMorgan downgraded the vaccine company’s stock to Neutral from Overweight. It also lowered the price target on the shares to $161. The much higher consensus target is $294, and Tuesday’s close was at $138.18, which was down almost 14% on the day.

Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PHAT): The upgrade to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs included a price target hike to $48. The consensus target is up at $56.83, and the stock ended trading on Tuesday at $34.09, after seeing almost a 4% gain for the day.

Rackspace Technology Inc. (NYSE: RXT): Raymond James lifted its Outperform rating to Strong Buy with a $28.50 price target. That compares with the lower $26.83 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $19.01, which was down a stunning 21% for the day despite earnings beating expectations for the quarter.

TuSimple Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TSP): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $62 price target. No consensus target was available, and the shares closed Tuesday at $38.07.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): Stifel upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and has a $125 price target. The consensus target is $139.57, and the last trade for Tuesday was reported at $84.54, up almost 4% after posting solid earnings. They were up an additional 5% in the premarket.

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY): This was selected as Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst said that the stay-at-home initiative, combined with looming inflation, has caused a fierce rally in lumber and this company is a significant beneficiary. Shares closed most recently at $39.64 and have a consensus price target of $39.83.

Even though the economy is starting to open up, it may be time for investors to move to more defensive positions. Five BofA Securities stock picks pay dependable dividends and can soften the blow if we see a big sell-off in the next six months.

Have short sellers lost interest in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla?

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Coinbase, Devon Energy, DuPont, Grubhub, Nike, Shopify, Tilray and Wynn Resorts.

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