The futures were mixed on Thursday after investors enjoyed a second snapback day of stock gains on Wednesday, as all the major indexes and the transportation index closed higher. With the second-quarter earnings reporting season in full swing, most companies so far have posted very solid results. However, some on Wall Street are starting to tap the brakes. Many have attributed the two-day bounce to short-term oversold conditions, but the reality is that there is a host of very bearish technical divergences as we head toward the seasonally weak August to October time period.

Despite the remerging COVID-19 concerns, many across Wall Street are also leery of the beginning of the tapering of the quantitative easing program after the clear building of inflationary pressures, despite the fact 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 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, July 22, 2021.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): BTIG Research upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $170 price target. That compares with a slightly higher $172.50 consensus target and Wednesday’s final print of $139.25 per share.

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX): Though Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Sell from Hold, it also raised the price target to $48 from $32. The consensus target $47.72. The shares popped 4% on Wednesday to close at $56.54 a share.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T): RBC Capital Markets resumed coverage of the telecommunications giant with a Sector Perform rating and a $30 price target. The consensus target is $30.87. The shares closed on Wednesday at $27.90.

Aviat Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNW): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. The consensus price objective is $51. The shares closed Wednesday at $31.26, which was up over 4% on the day.

Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: BSET): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst said that furniture sales continue to defy gravity. Shares most recently closed at $24.39 and have a consensus price target of $35.00.

Carrier Global Corp. (NASDAQ: CARR): Baird started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $55 price target. That compares with a $52.06 consensus and Wednesday’s last trade of $50.45. As it is trading just shy of a 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): Redburn raised its Neutral rating on the integrated energy giant to Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $65.16 and $113.11 apiece. The consensus price target is $122.79, and the stock closed Wednesday at $99.82, after climbing almost 4% on the day.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $70 price target. The consensus target for the popular retailer is $70.05. The last trade for Wednesday was at $58.68.

HighPeak Energy Inc. (NYSE: HPK): Seaport Global Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 price target. No consensus target was posted. The stock has traded in a wide 52-week range of $4.20 to $21.82 and was last seen on Wednesday at $11.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Neutral from Underperform and also raised the target price to $37 from $27. The posted consensus target is $34.14. The stock was last seen on Wednesday at $34.81, up almost 12% on the day after posting very strong second-quarter results.

Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE: NOG): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and bumped up the price target to $23 from $22. The consensus target is $23.88. The shares closed Wednesday at $16.77, which was up almost 4% for the day.

Payoneer Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYO): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $13 price target. The consensus target is $14, and the shares closed on Wednesday at $9.80.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN): This real estate brokerage was the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst wonders if the housing market will cool off soon. Shares last closed at $60.46, and the consensus price target is $68.73.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A): HSBC Securities downgraded the European energy giant to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded in a range of $23.07 to $44.50. The consensus price target is $54.60. The shares rose nearly 4% on Wednesday to close at $38.48.
STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM): Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $26.90 and $43.02 apiece, and they have a $47 consensus target. Wednesday’s last trade was reported at $38.51, a gain of over 4% for the day.

Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBI): Piper Sandler raised the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $75 price target. The consensus price objective is $75.63. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $62.41.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS): RBC Capital Market resumed coverage with a Sector Perform rating and a $133 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $166.15, and the shares were closed on Wednesday at $144.57.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV): BofA Securities downgraded the insurance giant to Underperform from Buy and dropped the price target to $161 from $171. The $163.29 consensus target compares with Wednesday’s $151.84 close. The move came despite solid earnings and revenues that beat expectations.

Vimeo Inc. (NASDAQ: VMEO): JPMorgan started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $50 price target. The consensus target is $55.20. The stock closed Wednesday at $44.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell from Neutral included a price target cut to $154 from $193. The consensus target for the high-end retailer is $172.61. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $158.93. The shares were down almost 4% in premarket trading.

Baird is very positive on some of the large-cap aerospace and defense leaders. Four of them have Outperform ratings and are likely to give positive forward guidance when they report earnings. They look like outstanding ideas, especially for long-term growth portfolios.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included ADM, Allegiant Travel, Cimarex, ContextLogic, Electronic Arts, Halliburton, IAC/InterActive, Levi Strauss, RealReal, Sabre and Zillow. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Box, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Netflix and and more.

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