The futures were all higher on Monday as investors start a new trading week and month with all-eyes focused on Friday’s July jobs report and the completion of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. All of the major indexes closed lower Friday, as Amazon joined Facebook in the big-tech penalty box for issuing some very disappointing guidance for the rest of the year, despite posting reasonably solid results. Wall Street pundits explaining Friday’s risk-off move also cited the renewed weakness in China, especially among the technology stocks, and concerns that the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant could dampen the recovery momentum.

While the Federal Reserve did not raise rates last week, many across Wall Street remain leery of the beginning of the tapering of the quantitative easing program after the clear buildup 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 Monday. August 2, 2021.

AllianceBernstein Holdings L.P. (NYSE: AB): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised the target price to $54.50 from $44. That compares with a lower $46.14 consensus target and Friday’s closing price of $48.27.

Avantor Inc. (NASDAQ: AVTR): Piper Sandler raised the stock to Overweight from Neutral and boosted the price target to $45 from $40. The consensus target price is $37.15. The stock was last seen on Friday at $37.58.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BKR): Though Goldman Sachs lowered the price target on the oil services giant to $26 from $29, it kept a Buy rating on the shares. The consensus target is $27.90. The last trade on Friday was reported at $21.24 a share.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN): Deutsche Bank raised the stock to Hold from Buy and has a $34 price target. The consensus target is right in line at $34.77. The closing trade for Friday was reported at $25.13.

Cano Health Inc. (NASDAQ: CANO): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and an $18 price target. The consensus target is $22, and the shares were last seen at $10.75 on Friday.

ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPT): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $24 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $37.50. The shares ended trading on Friday at $23.65.

Doma Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: DOMA): JMP Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $14 price target. No consensus target for the stock was available. The shares closed at $6.84 on Friday.

DoorDash Inc. (NYSE: DASH): Gordon Haslet started the food delivery giant with a Buy rating and a $206 price target. That compares with the $175.47 consensus target and Friday’s closing trade of $174.29.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL): Deutsche Bank downgraded the fragrance and makeup giant to Hold from Buy but slightly raised the price target to $322 from $320. The consensus target is $336.81, and the final trade on Friday came in at $333.83.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Susquehanna raised the stock to Positive from Neutral and lifted the $89 price target to $120. The consensus target is just $86.90. The shares closed Friday at $86.04, which was up almost 3% on the day, and they were up an additional 3% in premarket trading.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE: HGV): Zacks says the Delta variant is throwing a wrench into vacation plans around the world, and so it has named this as its Bear of the Day stock. The shares ended last week trading at $40.67 apiece and have a consensus analyst target of $49.50.

Infinity Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI): JPMorgan raised its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $6 price target. The consensus target is up at $8.50. Friday’s last trade came in at $2.12. The shares were up over 16% in the premarket, and this was one of our top stocks to buy under $10 this past weekend.
Leslie’s Inc. (NASDAQ: LESL): Baird reiterated its Outperform rating on the pool supply leader and has a $35 price target. The consensus price objective is $34.09. The stock closed on Friday at $24.35.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI): Stifel started coverage of the famous jeans maker with a Buy rating and a $38 price target. The consensus price objective is lower at $34.88. The shares were last seen trading on Friday at $27.52.

Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE: LBRT): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a price target cut to $13 from $17. The posted consensus target is $15.02. Friday’s closing price was reported at $10.19, which was over 4% lower for the day.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): Gordon Haslett started coverage on the ride-sharing stock with a Hold rating and a $69 price target. The consensus target is $69.34. The last trade for Friday hit the tape at $55.32.

Mondelez Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the food giant, but it removed the stock from its Conviction List of top picks, citing industrywide concerns. The analysts have a $67 price target, which compares with a $69.17 consensus target and Friday’s close at $63.26.

Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX): Stifel raised the $55 price target to $62 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The consensus target is $57. The last trade for Friday was reported at $47.92.

Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI): Baird reiterated its Outperform rating on the cooler and outdoor gear giant and lifted the price target to $110. The $98.50 consensus target and is closer to Friday’s final print of $96.33.

With dependable dividends and long histories of market dominance, four top stocks make good sense for growth and income investors looking to add energy but who are wary due to the big run-up in oil pricing over the past year.

In addition, five top companies are expected to hike their dividends this week, and top Wall Street firms rate all their stocks at Buy. And one analyst sees huge upside potential in gig economy stocks.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Hartford Financial, Nokia, Pinterest, Riot Blockchain and T-Mobile. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Amazon, Gilead Sciences, Mastercard, Pinterest and more.

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