The futures were lower across the board on Tuesday, after starting the week with the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 once again hitting new all-time highs, with only the Nasdaq closing lower. The biggest item on Monday was the stunning and swift fall of Afghanistan over the weekend as many across Wall Street were concerned about the effects of the withdrawal on growth after 20 years of another nation-building effort that has proven to be a failure. The volatility and concern over the forced evacuation had buyers of U.S. Treasury debt anxious to get in as yields fell across the curve after a week of selling reversed to the buy side.

Despite worries and the potential for a “taper tantrum” like we saw in 2013, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. This comes as some of the Fed governors and media pundits are hinting that a tapering of the $120 billion per month purchase of government and mortgage debt known as quantitative easing could be in the works sooner rather than later.

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 Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $66 price target. The consensus target is $61.56. Monday’s last trade came in at $61.64 a share.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Wolfe Research started coverage on the insurance giant with a Peer Perform rating and a $130 price target. The consensus target is up at $147.58. The stock closed Monday at $136.54.

AppLovin Corp. (NYSE: APP): While Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight, the firm also lowered the price target to $60 from $68. The consensus target is $77.71, and the stock ended Monday’s trading at $55.88.

Asana Inc. (NASDAQ: ASAN): RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Perform from Outperform but also lifted the price target to $70 from $45. The consensus target is $59.18. The shares were last seen on Monday at $74.56, after retreating close to 3% on the day.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP): JPMorgan downgraded the shares to Underweight from Neutral and have a $224 price target. That compares with the lower $210.03 consensus target and Monday’s last trade at $216.56.

Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the oilfield service giant and has a $28 price target. The firm also added the stock to the Conviction List of top picks. The consensus price target is also $28.00. Monday’s closing trade was reported at $21.28.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) Berenberg upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and lifted the target price to $60 from $54. The consensus target is $59.06. The stock fell over 4% on Monday to close at $46.39.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): RBC Capital Markets downgrade to Sector Perform from Outperform included a target price cut to $210 from $300. The consensus target is $283.79. Monday’s final trade was reported at $210.86.

Cytek Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: CTBK): Goldman Sachs began coverage with a Buy rating and a $28 price target, while Piper Sandler started it at Overweight with a $28 price objective. No consensus target was available as the stock had a recent initial public offering. Since then, the stock has traded between $17.40 and $28.46 a share. Monday’s last trade hit the tape at $22.89, up almost 11% on the day.

Diamondrock Hospitality Co. (NYSE: DRH): The Truist Securities upgrade was to Hold from Sell. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $4.52 to $11.49 and has a $10.29 consensus price target. The shares closed Monday at $8.58 apiece.

DXC Technology Co. (NYSE: DXC): JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral and has a $45 price target. The consensus target is $44.75, and the final trade on Monday was posted at $41.75.
Fiverr International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FVRR): Zacks named this online marketplace for freelancers as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst wonders whether the reopen will slow the creator economy. Shares last closed at $166.73, and the consensus price target is $215.78.

Fortis Inc. (NYSE: FTS): Wells Fargo lowered the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $38.49 and $47.02, and it has a $44.98 consensus target price. The shares closed on Monday at $46.76. As it is trading just shy of the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H): Truist’s upgrade was to Hold from Sell. The shares have traded between $51.21 and $92.22 over the past 52 weeks and carry an $81.07 consensus price objective. The last trade for Monday came in at $72.25.

Lemonade Inc. (NYSE: LMND): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $53 price target. The higher $82.14 consensus target compares with Monday’s $71.87 closing print.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC): Wolfe Research began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $171 price target. The posted consensus target is $152.58. Monday’s closing share price was $153.53.

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NYSE: HOOD): Redburn started the new-age brokerage firm’s stock with a Buy rating and a $65.35 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $83.07. Monday’s final print came in at $47.19, after shares tumbled almost 7% on the day.

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating but lowered the price target to $25 from $29. The consensus target is up at $42.83. The last trade for Monday came in at $18.85.

23andMe Holding Co. (NYSE: ME): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $13 price target. No consensus target was available. The shares closed at $7.29 on Monday.

Five tech stocks have had an awesome 2021 and look poised to trade much higher. Each has been a big purchaser of its own shares as well, and Goldman Sachs sees more of the same for the rest of this year.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Automatic Data Processing, Angi, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ecolab, Honest, PG&E, Seagate Technologies and Sonos. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Arch Capital, Paycor, Planet Fitness and more.

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