The futures were mixed Thursday morning. With the Jackson Hole Symposium on for this weekend, it is uncertain where markets will go from here. The build-up to this weekend has been fairly strong, with rallies on both Monday and Tuesday, although Wednesday was somewhat muted. As it stands now, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are once again holding near new all-time highs.

Across Wall Street, the focus this week will be the commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who will be speaking via videoconference at the annual Economic Policy Symposium on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Despite worries and the potential for a “taper tantrum” like we saw in 2013, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. Recent Fed commentary suggested that the tapering of the $120 billion per month purchase of government and mortgage debt could be in the works by the end of the year and purchases could be completed by the end of 2022. That could become clearer this week.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, which may have seen beginning last week, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into any market strength while repositioning portfolios for the balance 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 Thursday, August 26, 2021.

AFC Gamma Inc. (NASDAQ: AFCG): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $24 price target. The consensus target is $26.70. The shares closed on Wednesday at $21.11.

Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ: ALLK): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and an $88 price target. The consensus target is higher at $149.22. The final Wednesday trade was reported at $84.52.

Blade Air Mobility Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDE): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $14 price target. The consensus price objective is $16.00, and the stock closed Wednesday at $7.95.

CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVI): Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral and cut the price target to $15. The shares have traded between $9.81 and $27.02 in the past year. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $13.62.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS): Raymond James upgraded it to a Market Perform from Underperform. The consensus target is $115.33. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $129.60.

Fate Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $77 price target. That compares with a $108.24 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $72.94.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst pointed out that, after the pandemic catapulted sales, growth is now slowing much faster after than the maker of Kleenex anticipated. Shares last closed at $135.72, and the consensus price target is $139.96.

Mirati Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX): Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $160 price target. The shares have traded between $130.60 and $249.42 in the past year and closed on Wednesday at $155.88.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a price target cut to $27 from $36. The $35.88 consensus target is higher than Wednesday’s close at $31.14.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX): Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut the price target to $75 from $95. Shares last closed at $72.18, but they have traded as high as $94.34 in the past year.

Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $92 price target. The shares most recently closed at $90.34 and have a consensus price target of $90.25.

SelectQuote Inc. (NYSE: SLQT): Keefe Bruyette downgraded it to a Market Perform from Outperform and cut the price target to $13.50 from $30. RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to a Sector Perform from Outperform and reduced the price target to $13 from $33. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $13.00 and $33.00, and it has a $73.86 consensus target. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $14.35.

Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE: TALO): KeyBanc Capital Markets raised its Sector Weight rating to Overweight and has a $15 price target. The closing share price on Wednesday was $11.03. The 52-week trading range is $5.39 to $18.93.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX): This stock was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this off-price retailer once again delivered strong earnings, and its long-term outlook remains bright. Shares most recently closed at $75.81 and have a consensus price target of $79.73.

Veon Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON): BofA Securities upgraded it to Buy rating Underperform and has a $2.70 price target. The last trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $1.84. Analysts have a consensus price target of $2.47.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): BMO Capital Markets upgraded it to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $100 price target. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $84.89, in a 52-week range of $51.22 to $89.80.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): Morgan Stanley raised its Equal Weight rating to Overweight. The firm also raised its $360 price target to $400. The shares most recently closed at $337.74, and they have a consensus price target of $414.79.

Many top oil stocks have pulled back and are offering investors looking for energy exposure some outstanding entry points. Four Goldman Sachs picks could be poised to have a big end of the year and a very strong 2022.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Beyond Meat, Boston Beer, Campbell Soup, Nordstrom, Okta, Owens Corning and Victoria’s Secret. More analyst calls were seen later in the day, including on Applied Materials, Best Buy, Intuit and Toll Brothers.

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