The futures moved higher on Wednesday, after a back-and-forth trading day on Tuesday that saw a strong start turn around halfway through the day. The major indexes ended down, and with first-quarter earnings reporting all but over, Wall Street’s attention is focused on inflation and monetary policy. Interest rates fell again, as there was buying across the curve as some officials from the Federal Reserve have hinted recently that the May jobs report, which comes out the first Friday in June, could be softer than expected.

Despite those 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 one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets, even after sell-offs. Also 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 26, 2021.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): WestPark Capital started the semiconductor giant with a Buy rating. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $48.42 to $99.23 and have a consensus price target of $105.76. The final trade for Tuesday was reported at $77.86.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day. The analyst said that, for chip makers, this provider of laser etching for microcircuitry is key to unlocking the nanoscale world. The stock most recently closed at $672.29 and has a consensus price target of $747.50.

Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered the price target to $87. The posted consensus target is much higher at $106.40. Tuesday’s closing trade was reported at $85.87.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX): Needham downgraded the medical devices company to Hold from Buy. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $32.99 to $44.63 and have a consensus price target of $49.15. Tuesday’s last trade came in at $43.03.

Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCK): BMO Capital Markets downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and also lowered the price target to $110. The consensus target is up at $130, and Tuesday’s closing trade was at $108.08 a share.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW): Barclays downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and lowered the price target to $220. The consensus target is $244.25, and the stock was last seen Tuesday at $232.57.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): WestPark Capital started the legacy semiconductor leader with a Hold rating. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $43.61 to $68.49 and have a consensus price target of $65.13. The stock closed on Tuesday at $56.87.

John Bean Technologies Corp. (NYSE: JBT): Baird’s upgrade to Outperform from Neutral comes with a $151 price target. The consensus target is $143.25, and the stock closed Tuesday at $128.01.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI): Morgan Stanley downgraded the energy giant to Underweight from Equal Weight and has an $18 price target. The consensus target is $17.67. The shares closed Tuesday at $18.54.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN): Telsey Advisory lowered the price target on the luxury apparel retailer to $36 from $44. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $11.72 to $46.45 and has a $35.88 consensus price objective. It closed on Tuesday at $36.48. The shares were down almost 7% in the premarket after the company reported disappointing earnings.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE): Morgan Stanley raised the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $55 price target. The consensus target is $52.05. The final Tuesday trade came in at $52.66.

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV): JPMorgan’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral included a $32 price target. The posted consensus target is lower at $29.84. The stock ended trading on Tuesday at $25.17.

Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $43 price target. The posted consensus target is at $44.50, and the stock closed Tuesday at $25.14.

Teck Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: TECK): Deutsche Bank raised its Hold rating to Buy and raised the price target to $30. That compares with a $32.12 consensus figure and Tuesday’s final print of $22.30, which was down over 3% on the day.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, saying that this cloud darling for intelligent corporate comms has a bright future, but a persistent squall on earnings growth. Shares last closed at $324.21, and the consensus price target is $466.52.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): JPMorgan upgraded shares of the popular clothing retailer to Neutral from Underweight. The firm also raised the price target to $38. The consensus price objective is $39.33, and the shares closed on Tuesday at $34.96. The stock was up almost 10% in the premarket in the wake of a very strong earnings report.

Verra Mobility Corp. (NASDAQ: VRRM): Though Morgan Stanley downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight, the analyst also raised the price target to $15. The consensus target is $17.67, and the stock closed at $14.96 on Tuesday.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SPCE): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 price target. That compares with the consensus price objective of $29.80 and the Tuesday closing price of $25.59 a share.

Western Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: WES): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised the price target to $22. The consensus target is up at $23.47, and the stock closed Tuesday at $20.20.

Zscaler Inc. (NYSE: ZS): When BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, it also raised the price target to $225. The consensus target is $231.04. Tuesday’s last trade hit the tape at $172.74 a share.

Information technology plays a massive part in corporate productivity, and many of the top stocks look primed for a nice second half of 2021 as IT demand picks up again. BofA Securities is very positive on four industry leaders.

Find out which office REITs Goldman Sachs favors now. Also see why Domino’s Pizza stock may be cooling off and Lordstown Motors could go out of business.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, Adobe, Canopy Growth, Coinbase, Dollar General, Domino’s Pizza, Medtronic, Palo Alto Networks and Target. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Boston Scientific, Gap, Molson Coors and more.

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