The futures were mixed on Thursday after a wild midweek rally that saw all three of the major indexes and the transports end higher. The momentum and the so-called meme stocks joined in, posting some big-time gains. Much of the electric vehicle sector caught a tailwind from all the positive announcements on Ford’s new electric version of the bestselling truck in America for over 30 years.

Despite the concerns across Wall Street about tapering of the quantitative easing program and the 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 Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): RBC Capital Markets started coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a $170 price target. The consensus target is just higher at $172.89. The shares closed trading on Wednesday at $134.75 apiece.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $65 price target. The posted consensus target is $59.28, and the stock ended trading on Wednesday at $53.45.

Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQT): Morgan Stanley raised its Equal Weight rating to Overweight and has a $52 price target. The consensus target is $56. The stock closed Wednesday at $25.72, and the shares were up 7% in the premarket.

Avrobio Inc. (NASDAQ: AVRO): Needham started the company with a Buy rating with a $28 price target. The consensus price objective is set lower at $24. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $8.05. Shares are trading almost 5% higher in the premarket.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Cowen started coverage of the cybersecurity software giant with a Buy rating, and the analysts have a $250 price target. The consensus price objective is set right in line at $250.48. The last trade to hit the tape Wednesday came in at $219.96.

DoorDash Inc. (NYSE: DASH): RBC Capital Market resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $175 price target. That compares with the $167.19 consensus target and the final Wednesday trade at $141.86 per share.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the iconic automaker to Outperform from Sector Perform and also raised the price target to $17. The consensus target is just $13.19. The shares closed Wednesday at $13.90, after popping almost 9% on the day due to the electric vehicle news.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating, and the firm has a $230 price target. The consensus price objective is $219.96. The stock closed on Wednesday at $215.71.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform, and the analyst has a $470 price target. The consensus target for the accounting software giant is $484.64. The stock closed at $442.81 on Wednesday.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL): This specialty retailer was selected as Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst said that lumber prices are through the roof and that is helping this stock to record profits. Shares closed most recently at $22.62, and the consensus price target is $25.33.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: MGY): Piper Sandler’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral came with a price target hike to $16. The consensus target is $14.58. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $12.18 a share.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): Goldman Sachs raised the energy giant from Neutral to Buy with a $31 price target. The consensus target is $30.87. Wednesday’s final print of $25.29 came after an almost 3% gain on the day.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NASDAQ: PLNT): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, saying that getting back to business as usual should have brought big profits for this fitness center operator. Shares last closed at $80.24 and have a consensus price target of $84.69.
Target Hospitality Corp. (NYSE: TH): Stifel’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a $4.50 price target. The consensus price objective is $3.63, and shares were last seen on Wednesday at $3.24.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS): Benchmark started the carrier with a Buy rating and a $187 price target. The consensus target is just $163.74. The shares closed Wednesday at $139.65.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): UBS started coverage with a Buy rating and a $385 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $466.52. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $332.36 per share.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): RBC Capital Market resumed coverage of the ride-sharing leader with an Outperform rating and a $65 price target. The consensus target is set higher at $69.33. The final trade for Wednesday came in at $51.12.

UBS Group A.G. (NYSE: UBS): Keefe Bruyette raised the Swiss investment giant to Outperform from Market Perform. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $10.39 to $16.31 and have a $17.91 consensus price target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $15.93 a share.

Zendesk Inc. (NYSE: ZEN): UBS not only upgraded it to Buy from Neutral but also raised the price target to $190. The lower consensus target is $182.47, and Wednesday’s closing trade was at $136.45.

Zscaler Inc. (NYSE: ZS): Cowen initiated coverage with a $225 price target and an Outperform rating. The consensus target is up at $232.56. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $194.20.

With the potential for a sizable market correction looming, it might be a good idea for investors to look at stocks on the Dividend Aristocrats list that are in sectors poised to do well for the rest of 2021.

Note that short sellers have made some big moves in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and General Motors.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Boston Scientific, Intel, Kinder Morgan, Nordstrom, Riot Blockchain and Virgin Galactic. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on AMC, AutoZone, Nordstrom and more.

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