The futures were lower across the board Friday, as investors and traders looked to wrap up a rollercoaster week of trading that saw some big moves. Very narrow breadth in the market is an ongoing issue for Wall Street strategists, and the continuing concerns hanging over the market remain the same: growth headwinds from the spread of the Delta variant hurting reopenings, supply chain and input price pressures that may hurt upcoming third-quarter earnings, concerns over the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling, strong (and in some cases bipartisan) pushback on additional fiscal stimulus, higher taxes in a reconciliation bill and a host of additional items.

While traders initially welcomed the news that consumer prices cooled off in August, those prices still rose a staggering 5.3% from a year before as supplies and labor continued to drive them up. Those who have been touting the fact that the higher inflation trends are “transitory” will point to this print as some proof. The fact of the matter is that, across the board, prices have trended higher. Whether it is in the grocery store, at the gas pump or a host of other items, Americans are paying far more this year than last year.

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, September 17, 2021.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst said that the big warehouse clubs are still printing money every day. Shares most recently closed at $58.90, above the consensus price target of $58.28.

Chart Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLS): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $193 price target. The consensus target is $190.24. The last trade for Thursday came in at $190.01 a share.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral and has a $92 price target. That compares with higher consensus target of $105.83 and Thursday’s closing print of $88.18.

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE): BofA Securities downgraded the shares from Neutral to Underperform with a $93 price target. The consensus price target is $101.23. Thursday’s final trade came in at $88.30.

DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE): Evercore ISI raised the utility to Outperform from In Line and has a $127 price target. The consensus target is $127.70. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $117.56.

EOS Energy Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: EOSE): Johnson Rice started coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The consensus target is $22.33. The stock closed at $13.09 on Thursday.

Great Western Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: GWB): RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to Sector Perform from Outperform and cut the target price to $33 from $35. The consensus price objective is $35.17. The shares were last seen on Thursday near $32, which was up almost 12% after the South Dakota-based bank announced an agreement to be acquired by Montana-based First Interstate BancSystem in an all-stock deal valued at $2.0 billion.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): The Jefferies downgrade to Hold from Buy included the target price slashed to $40 from $60. The consensus target for the gaming giant is $63.92. The stock closed Thursday at $37.52. The gaming sector is being hammered as the threat of restrictions in Macau continues to grow.

MarketWise Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTW): Needham began coverage with a Buy rating and a $13 price target. The consensus target is higher at $15.33. The stock closed on Thursday at $9.08, after a rise of almost 5% on the day.

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY): BofA Securities downgraded shares of the car parts giant to Neutral from Buy and has a $680 price target. The consensus price objective is $652.07. The shares closed Thursday at $606.88.

Realty Income Inc. (NYSE: O): RBC Capital Markets started coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a $79 price target. That compares with a consensus target of $78 and Thursday’s closing print of $68.39.

Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $138 target price. The consensus price objective is $124.53. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $116.87.
Snap-On Inc. (NYSE: SNA): BofA Securities downgraded the popular tool company to Underperform from Neutral and has a $240 price target. The consensus target is $237.63. The shares closed Thursday’s trading at $219.46.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB): Wedbush raised its Neutral rating to Outperform, and it lifted the target price to $700 from $600. The posted consensus target is $666.65. The stock closed on Thursday at $608.45.

Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform and slashed the target price to $150 from $225. The consensus target for the gaming software giant is $212.79. The stock ended trading on Thursday at $151.89.

UiPath Inc. (NASDAQ: PATH): Barclays raised the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and also bumped the target price to $71 from $70. The consensus target is $72.50. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $53.90.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): The UBS downgrade to Sell from Buy comes with a $15 price target. The consensus target is up at $25.25. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $16.72, which was down over 5% for the day.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): BofA Securities resumed coverage of the high-end retailer with an Underperform rating and a $142 price target. That compares with the much higher consensus target of $191.39 and Thursday’s final print of $188.29.

Zoominfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ZI): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and boosted the price target to $83 from $66. The consensus target is just $71.44. Thursday’s closing trade came in at $68.17.

With the potential for a sizable correction looming and interest rates still at generational lows, five Dividend Aristocrats stocks are more defensive and look like solid ideas for growth and income investors now.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Express, Anheuser-Busch, Avis Budget, Beyond Meat, Cisco Systems, DoorDash, Fisker, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts. More analyst calls were seen later in the day, including on Adobe, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Ferrari and Lordstown Motors.

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