The futures traded lower across the board Thursday, as all the major indexes scored some small gains on Wednesday. The so-called meme stocks were the story of the day, returning to the spotlight with AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) exploding 95% higher and once again leading the speculative short-covering group higher. All eyes are focused Thursday on the ADP employment report, and then the big story for the week will be Friday’s nonfarm payrolls, which many across Wall Street are expecting to come in below forecasts.

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, June 3, 2021.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Citigroup downgraded the insurance giant to Neutral from Buy but raised the price target to $142. The consensus target is in line at $142.83. The last trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $138.14. This could be a valuation call.

Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE): Zacks named this food distribution company as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst suggested that agriculture is in the early innings of its next cycle. The stock most recently closed at $31.83 but so far has a consensus price target of just $29.67.

Apartment Income REIT Corp. (NYSE: AIRC): Mizuho upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and has a $53 price target. The consensus target is lower at $45. The shares closed Wednesday at $48.18.

Arrival S.A. (NASDAQ: ARVL): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $25 price target. A consensus target was not available as the company had a recent initial public offering. The shares ended trading Wednesday at $20.25, which was up almost 4% on the day.

Benefitfocus Inc. (NASDAQ: BNFT): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell from Neutral came with a $13 price target. The consensus target is $14, and the last trade Wednesday came in at $14.76 a share.

Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ: CRTO): Stifel not only upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold but also raised the price target to $47. The consensus target is $43.27. The shares closed Wednesday at $37.37.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG): Barclays upgraded the energy company to Overweight from Equal Weight and also raised the price target to $100 from $74. The consensus price target is $89.90. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $85.27.

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $160 price target. The consensus target is $156.71. Wednesday’s closing price was $109.12 per share.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT): Mizuho upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $129. The consensus target is just $111.71. The stock closed on Wednesday at $119.03.

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE: IHG): This U.K.-based lodging company was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst wonders whether the rally in hotel stocks is over. Shares last closed at $71.00, and the consensus price target is $75.00.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): Barclays raised the energy giant to Overweight from Equal Weight. The analyst also raised the target price to $33 from $28. The consensus target is $30.87. The shares closed on Wednesday at $29.23.

Progenity Inc. (NASDAQ: PROG): The Baird downgrade to Neutral from Outperform included the price target lowered to $2. The consensus target is up at $6.50, but the stock closed Wednesday at $2.19. That was down a stunning 23%, as the company announced a massive corporate transformation on Wednesday.

Sapiens International Corp. N.V. (NASDAQ: SPNS). Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to Sell from Neutral and also lowered the price target to $27. The consensus target is higher at $37.50. Wednesday’s last trade was reported at $28.94. Shares were down almost 4% in the premarket.
SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG): Guggenheim started the stock with a Buy rating and a $314 price target. The posted consensus target is just $290.82. The stock closed Wednesday at $247.48.

Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVA): Guggenheim started coverage with a Buy rating with a $51 price target. The consensus price objective is $51.73. Wednesday’s final trade hit the tape at $28.27.

Sunrun Inc. (NYSE: RUN): Guggenheim started the shares with a Buy rating and a $56 price target. That compares with the much higher $77.27 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $42.98.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and also raised the target price target to $231. The consensus target for the videogame software giant is $219.74. The stock pulled back more than 3% on Wednesday to close at $176.91.

Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY): Cantor Fitzgerald raised the leading marijuana stock to Overweight from Neutral. However, it lowered the price target to $22. The consensus target is lower still at $18.98. The shares closed Wednesday at $19, which was up almost 12%. The stock went even higher in the premarket, up almost 5%.

Vertex Inc. (NASDAQ: VERX): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell from Neutral included the price target lowered to $18 The consensus price objective is up at $24.75. The stock closed Wednesday at $19.68 and was trading almost 6% lower in the premarket.

Vimeo Inc. (NASDAQ: VMEO): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $52 price target. No consensus target was available as the company had a recent initial public offering. The shares were last seen trading on Wednesday at $40.81, after retreating almost 5% for the day.

Given the volatile situations around the globe and the big foreign purchasing, the aerospace and defense sector remains a good place to keep capital in growth portfolios. Four industry leaders look like solid picks for long-term investors.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Canopy Growth, Cinemark, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Facebook, IMAX, Microsoft, Salesforce.com and SBA Communications. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Baidu, DraftKings, Petco, Zoom Video and more.

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