Investing

Monday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Capital One, Etsy, Fiserv, Progessive, Splunk, Ulta Beauty, Visa and More

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The futures were mixed Monday, following a Friday rally that saw all the major indexes close higher. The S&P 500 is once again closing in on an all-time high, and the others are not far behind. Treasury yields fell Friday across the curve as the lower than expected jobs report for the second month in a row is slowing down some of the quantitative easing tapering talk that has dominated Wall Street recently.

Despite those concerns across Wall Street about tapering and a clear building of inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. That could be 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 coming 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 Monday, June 7, 2021.

AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC): Keefe Bruyette downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform and has an $18.25 price target. The consensus target is $18.33. The stock closed Friday at $18.65. With it trading just shy of the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Americold Realty Trust (NASDAQ: COLD): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $43 price target. The consensus price objective is $44.38. The stock was last seen at $38.69 on Friday.

ArcBest Corp. (NASDAQ: ARCB): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Neutral from Buy included the price target lowered to $71. The consensus target is higher at $92.78. The shares ended Friday’s trading at $69.83. after pulling back almost 10% on the day.


AudioEye Inc. (NASDAQ: AEYE): H.C. Wainwright started coverage with a Buy rating and a $28 price target. The consensus target is $31. The stock closed trading on Friday at $17.91.

AutoDesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): This software company was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The analyst said that the bulls in danger of losing technical battle. Shares last closed at $284.78, and the consensus price target is $330.24.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL): Bradesco BBI raised its rating on the leading Brazilian airline to Outperform from Neutral. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $10.50 to $26.81 and have a consensus price target of $21.24. The stock closed Friday at $26.66, up almost 5% for the day.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF): Baird downgraded the bank to Neutral from Outperform and has a $145 price target. The consensus price objective is higher at $166.87. The last trade for Friday came in at $166.26. As it is trading just below the 52-week high after a strong run, this is likely another valuation call.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRW): Goldman Sachs raised its from Sell to Buy, a rare double upgrade, and has a $108 price target. The posted consensus target is $102.06. The final Friday trade came in at $96.34 per share.


Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Atlantic Equities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price target. That compares with the $225.07 consensus target and Friday’s closing trade of $164.18.

Fate Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE): H.C. Wainwright raised the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $120 price target. The consensus target is $111, and Friday’s closing print of $72.79 was up over 8% for the day after the company posted positive Phase 1 clinical data on B cell lymphoma.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE: FIS): The Truist Securities downgrade was to Hold from Buy. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $120.17 to $156.73 and have a $169.87 consensus price target. The last trade for Friday was reported at $146.86 a share.

Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV): Truist Securities downgraded it to Hold from Buy. The stock has traded between $92.15 and $127.34 over the past year, and it has a $143.28 consensus target. The stock closed most recently at $113.40 per share.
Merus N.V. (NASDAQ: MRUS): Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $31. The consensus target is $28.75. The stock was last seen trading at $20.68 on Friday.

NextDecade Corp. (NASDAQ: NEXT): Morgan Stanley both upgraded it to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price target to $6. The consensus target is $2.80. The stock closed Friday at $2.44.

Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and lowered the price target to $85. The consensus target is $103.58, and Friday’s closing share price was $100.36.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): Summit Insights raised its Hold rating on the big data leader to Buy with a $160 price target. The consensus target is $168.30. The last trade to hit the tape on Friday came in at $112.41.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day. The analyst said that bulls looking good again after a blowout earnings report. Shares most recently closed at $326.62 and have a consensus price target of $369.37.

Unity Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: UBX): H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is just $6.00. The stock closed on Friday at $4.56

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V): Piper Sandler upgraded the credit card and payments giant to Overweight from Neutral and also raised the price target to $260. The slightly higher $265.85 consensus target is also well above Friday’s closing print of $230.14 a share.

Vocera Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: VCRA): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $45 price target. The consensus price objective is $46.27. The last trade for Friday came in at $34.11 per share.


The five highest-yielding S&P 500 stocks have Buy ratings from top Wall Street firms provide investors great total return potential and could be just the right idea now for income-oriented investors looking for some upside appreciation as well.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included ADS, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Freeport-McMoRan, Northrop Grumman, Simon Properties and U.S. Steel. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Capital One, Diageo, Wells Fargo and more.

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