The futures were lower across the board as the end of a busy trading week approaches and following a month that saw a flood of major earnings reports come in, with many companies posting very positive results. Continuing and initial jobless claims came in higher than expected, while the first estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product came in much lower than expected, at 6.5% versus the Wall Street estimates for 8.5%. Supply chain issues were once again cited as a disrupting force in the data. All the major indexes closed up Thursday, with both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 hitting new all-time highs.

While the Federal Reserve did not raise rates earlier this week, 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.

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 Friday, July 30, 2021.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): This was named as the Bull of the Day stock at Zacks. The analyst said that the semiconductor company raised guidance again because its teams continue to execute and win market share. Shares most recently closed at $102.95 and have a consensus price target of $104.79.

Albany International Corp. (NYSE: AIN): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $105 price target. The consensus target is just $90.50. The final trade for Thursday came in at $85.63.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (NASDAQ: ALEX): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and lifted the price target to $22 from $20. The consensus target is $22.33. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $19.35.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH): JPMorgan upgraded the shares to Neutral from Underweight and has a $90 price target. The consensus target price is up at $103.56. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $84.91.

Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: BMTC): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and lowered the price target to $50 from $52. The consensus price objective is $43.80. The shares closed at $39.68 on Thursday.

Gentherm Inc. (NASDAQ: THRM): Craig Hallum raised its Hold rating to Buy from and boosted the price target to $110 from $70. The consensus target is $77.50. The stock was last seen Thursday at $81.48, which was up almost 13% on the day after earnings and revenues blew past Wall Street estimates.

Gibraltar Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ROCK): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight and an $85 price target. The consensus price objective is much higher at $103.33. The final trade on Thursday was reported at $73.80 a share.

GreenSky Inc. (NASDAQ: GSKY): Citigroup’s upgrade was to Neutral from Sell. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $3.34 to $7.40 and have a $6 consensus target. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $6.28, which was up over 7% for the day.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, and it also raised the price target to $76 from $75. The consensus target is $74.93. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $63.21.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC): Needham raised the semiconductor capital equipment giant from Hold to Buy with a $390 price target. The consensus target is $362.76, and the stock ended trading Thursday at $319.43. The shares were up almost 5% in premarket action after the company posted stellar results, raised the dividend and authorized a $2 billion share repurchase.

N-able Inc. (NASDAQ: NABL): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $17 price target. No consensus target price was available. Thursday’s closing share price was $13.47.

NeoGenomics Inc. (NASDAQ: NEO): This stock was selected as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst suggests that this emerging diagnostics provider is steadily growing sales and key M&A but that it ran into an earnings cliff. Shares last closed at $45.70, and the consensus price target is $57.27.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK): The Cowen upgrade to Outperform from Neutral included a target price hike to $8 from $5. The consensus target is $6.03. The last trade for Thursday hit the tape at $6.05.
Pinterest Inc. (NASDAQ: PINS): JPMorgan downgraded the popular stock to Neutral from Overweight and dropped the price target on the shares to $68 from $95. Evercore ISI downgraded it to In Line from Outperform and also lowered the target to $60 from $98. The consensus target was last seen at $84.32. The shares retreated 6% on Thursday and closed at $72.04, and they were pummeled in premarket trading, down an additional 21% after posting disappointing second-quarter results.

PolyPid Ltd. (NASDAQ: PYPD): Cantor Fitzgerald resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $24 price target. No consensus target was available. The shares closed on Thursday at $7.23

Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $45 price target. That compares with a $49.27 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $31.90, after declined close to 4% on the day.

SPS Commerce Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSC): Baird upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral and boosted the price target to $130 from $124. The posted consensus price objective is $125.29. The stock closed trading at $100.37 on Thursday.

Summit Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMF): When Piper Sandler upgraded it to Overweight from Neutral, the firm also lifted the price target to $26 from $25. The consensus price target is $26.50. The shares ended trading on Thursday at $23.06.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS): RBC Capital Markets raised its Sector Perform rating to Outperform and hiked the target price to $180 from $133. The consensus target is $166.16. The stock closed on Thursday at $144.63.

Viant Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: DSP): BofA Securities raised the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $30 price target. That compares with a $46.50 consensus price objective and Thursday’s last trade of $15.98. Shares were up almost 8% on premarket action.

Six Goldman Sachs conviction stock picks all pay healthy dividends and offer great total return potential and less potential volatility in a very overbought stock market that may be poised for a long-needed correction.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boeing, Campbell’s Soup, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hess, iRobot, Robinhood Markets, Spotify, Tesla and Zoom Video Communications. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Facebook, Spotify, Wingstop and more.

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