The futures were mixed after Thursday’s big snapback rally in which all the major indexes posted solid gains. Friday morning, investors were scrutinizing the July jobs report that came in slightly above expectations. Pundits across Wall Street continue to note a consistent focus on the coronavirus, with U.S. cases hitting a six-month high. Dr. Fauci says that U.S. cases could soon hit 200,000 a day and warns against even harsher variants, while others feel that we are close to a peak in cases. In addition, there is more and more chatter that the United States could mandate all foreign visitors be vaccinated.

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 Friday, August 6, 2021.

ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN): Cowen raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $29 price target. The Wall Street consensus target is $22.17. The shares ended Thursday at $21.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX): JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and had a $265 price target. The consensus target is $276.93. The shares ended trading Thursday at $243.08, which was down almost 5% on the day, despite an earnings beat and raised 2021 outlook.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP): Morgan Stanley raised its Underweight rating on the European oil giant to Equal Weight. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $14.74 to $28.49 and has a $32.57 consensus price target.

Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET): Baird downgraded the cybersecurity stock to Neutral from Outperform but raised the price target to $117 from $95. That compares with the $100.73 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $121.46. The stock was down almost 5% in premarket trading after the company reported a second-quarter loss.

Diodes Inc. (NASDAQ: DIOD): Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating and bumped the $100 price target up to $110. The consensus target is $91.67. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $87.38.

Dynavax Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: DVAX): Goldman Sachs started coverage with Buy rating and a $19 price target. That compares with a consensus target of $18.67 and Thursday’s last trade of $10.33. Shares were up over 5% in premarket trading.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE): JMP Securities downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Market Outperform. The online travel giant’s stock has traded between $80.89 and $187.93 a share over the past year, and it has a $192.46 consensus price target. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $161.69, which was up almost 6% on the day. The shares retreated almost 7% in the premarket.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE): Baird downgraded the cybersecurity stock to Neutral from Outperform and lowered the price target to $20 from $24. The consensus price objective is $22.48. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $20.09. However, shares were hit hard in premarket action, down almost 10%.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Credit Suisse began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $520 price target. The consensus target for the home generator leader is lower at $437. The last trade for Thursday came in at $407.72 a share.

iTron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI): Baird downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform and also dropped the price target to $75 from $100. The posted consensus target is $115.33. The stock closed on Thursday at $71.84.

Leslie’s Inc. (NASDAQ: LESL): BofA Securities raised shares the pool equipment and supplies retailer to Buy from Neutral and has a $36 price target. The consensus target is $34.09. The stock ended Thursday at $22.65, after declining almost 7% on the day despite posting record results. Shares rebounded almost 3% in the premarket.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO): Scotiabank upgraded the energy giant from Sector Perform to Sector Outperform with an $18 price target. That compares with the $15.48 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $11.79, which was up almost 7% for the day after the company posted earnings that beat estimates.

Minim Inc. (NASDAQ: MINM): H.C. Wainwright started coverage with a Buy rating and a $4 price target. No consensus target was available. Thursday’s last trade was reported at $2.36.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): Oppenheimer downgraded the shares to Perform from Outperform, and Piper Sandler downgraded the COVID-19 vaccine developer to Neutral from Overweight, though it raised its target price to $445 from $246. The consensus target is a surprising $184.92. The stock closed at $416.26 on Thursday.
Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD): China Renaissance raised its Hold rating to Buy from with a $150 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $168.42. The closing trade for Thursday came in at $88.74.

Switch Inc. (NYSE: SWCH): JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $25 price target. Cowen also raised the stock, to Outperform from Market Perform with a $26 price objective. The consensus price target is $21.50. The final trade Thursday came in at $20.31. Shares were up a whopping 16% in premarket action after the company posted earnings and announced new initiatives, including the evaluation of a REIT election and review of Switch’s operational and financial targets.

Triumph Group Inc. (NYSE: TGI): The OBS upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $5.96 and $22.71 apiece, and they have a consensus price target of $18.80. The stock closed at $18.12 on Thursday.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Zacks has named this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst pointed out that this cloud darling for intelligent corporate comms has a bright future but a persistent earnings squall. Shares last closed at $377.08, and the consensus price target is $464.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX): This biotech was selected as Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst makes the case that scientific innovation in the treatment of cystic fibrosis bolsters success and pipeline confidence. Shares last closed at $202.99 and have a consensus price target of $260.91.

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC): Deutsche Bank raised the programming and broadcasting giant’s stock to Hold from Sell. The firm also lifted the price target from $22 to $45, which is still less than the $50.32 consensus target. Thursday’s last trade hit the tape at $41.55, following a pop of over 7% after the company posted solid quarterly results.

Four top companies are hitting on all cylinders, have earnings out of the way for the quarter and their stocks look poised to head higher the rest of 2021. That’s why Goldman Sachs just raised price targets on all of them.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Avis Budget, Chewy, Danaher, Eli Lilly, Etsy, Fastly, Halliburton, Robinhood, Roku, Walmart and Western Digital. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Bath & Body Works, GoDaddy, PetMed, Qorvo and more.

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