The futures were lower across the board on Monday as we open the new trading week after a wild ride last week. We saw the “buy the dip” retail army come in big after a massive sell-off last Monday, and by Friday all the major indexes ended up closing at all-time highs. What also helped propel the market as the week wore on was the commentary coming from companies posting solid results showing solid demand and enough pricing power to cushion margins from higher input costs.
Yields also moved higher on Friday as there was selling across the curve to end the week. This week is a monster for earnings, with Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook reporting, plus a Federal Reserve meeting joining the festivities.
Many across Wall Street remain 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.
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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, July 26, 2021.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI | ADI Price Prediction): Wells Fargo started coverage of the chipmaker with an Equal Weight rating and a $170 price target. The consensus target is up at $185.52. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $163.55.
Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $210 price target. The consensus price objective is $227.14. The stock closed on Friday at $196.51.
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AvePoint Inc. (NASDAQ: AVPT): Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $13 price target, while William Blair started the shares with a Buy rating. The stock had a recent SPAC conversion, so no consensus has been set yet. The shares closed on Friday at $11.45.
Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI): CLSA downgraded the shares to Outperform from Buy and lowered the price target to $114 from $128. The consensus price objective is up at $146.24. The stock plunged over 12% on Friday to close at $95.21. The selling continued in Monday’s premarket, with the stock down an additional 7%.
Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY): BMO Capital Markets raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and also raised the target price to $235 from $200. The consensus target for the stock is posted at $223.40. Friday’s final trade came in at $195.15.
Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY): This stock was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that the specialty retailer’s outlook remains strong and the stock is starting to regain momentum. Shares most recently closed at $86.74 and have a consensus price target of $97.32.
DiDi Global Inc. (NASDAQ: DIDI): Atlantic Equities downgraded the stock from Overweight to Neutral with a $25 price target. The consensus price target is $24.97. The stock closed Friday at $8.06, down another 20% on the day, as Beijing punishes the ride-hailing group for alleged data security lapses on the back of its blockbuster New York listing. The shares were another 12% lower in premarket action.
Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH): MoffettNathanson raised its Sell rating to Neutral and also hiked the price target to $40 from $15. The posted consensus target is $49.59. The stock closed on Friday at $41.68.
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D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI): Wedbush raised its rating on the homebuilder to Outperform from Neutral and also lifted the price target to $125 from $94. The consensus target is $108.31. The stock ended trading Friday at $93.55, which was up almost 5% on the day.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE): Evercore ISI’s upgrade to Outperform from In line included a price target hike to $20 from $16. The consensus price objective is $17.16, and the stock was last seen Friday at $14.10 a share.
Krispy Kreme Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT): Truist Securities started coverage on the donut giant with a Buy rating and a $25 price target, while Deutsche Bank began coverage with a Neutral rating and a $17 target. The stock reemerged in a recent initial public offering and has traded between $15.50 and $21.69 since the deal priced. The shares were last seen Friday at $16.71, up almost 4% on the day.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Wedbush downgraded the retail giant to Neutral from Overweight and lowered the price target to $210 from $225. That compares with a consensus price target of $228.75 and Friday’s last trade at $200.84 a share.
National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: FIZZ): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, pointing out that it has gone on a wild ride in 2021, as part of a wave of short squeezes that hit Wall Street earlier in the year. Shares last closed at $43.27, and the consensus price target is just $40.33.
Penske Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: PAG): Though Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight, the firm also raised the price target to $94 from $92. The consensus target is higher at $105.67. Friday’s last trade hit the tape at $81.45 a share.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the price target to $200 from $160. The consensus target is $171.60. The last trade for Friday was reported at $151.31.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX): As Wedbush upgraded the theme park giant to Outperform from Neutral, it also raised the price target to $50 from $44. The consensus target is $54.20. The stock closed at $40.22 on Friday.
Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the airline, citing that the company continues to see revenue momentum build, with corporate demand in particular expected to accelerate this fall. The analyst has a $66 price target, though the consensus target is $69.46. The shares closed at $50.70 on Friday.
Trinity Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRN): Susquehanna upgraded its Neutral rating to Positive and lifted the price target to $36 from $32. The posted consensus target is $32.18. The stock closed on Friday at $26.29,
Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. After the company’s second-quarter results, the firm says it is increasingly confident in Whirlpool’s ability to realize improved profitability across its geographies, and the analyst raised the price target to $290 from $280. The consensus target is just $253.40, and the shares were last seen on Friday at $219.52.
W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE: WPC): CapitalOne raised the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and has a $90 price target. That compares with the lower $80.86 consensus price objective and Friday’s closing print of $79.43.
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The analysts at Goldman Sachs have initiated coverage on Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) and three other sizzling stocks with Buy ratings. These picks could offer some outstanding alpha potential for aggressive growth investors.
Returning capital to investors shows that a company is doing well and has the earnings and cash flow strength to increase the payouts. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is among six top companies expected to hike their dividends this week, and top Wall Street firms rate all their stocks at Buy.
Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Airlines, Boston Beer, CarMax, Danaher, Domino’s Pizza, D.R. Horton, Monster Beverage and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alphabet, Facebook, Intel, Snap, Twitter and more.
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