The futures traded higher Wednesday, after a back-and-forth Tuesday that saw a big jump higher on the open after Monday’s big losses, and then shares reversed before trading mixed into the close. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials closed down, with only the Nasdaq posting a gain.

Although more blame was pointed at Evergrande, the wobbling Chinese real estate company with more than $300 billion in liabilities, Chinese restrictions on various sectors also have been cited as a fly in the ointment. While the problems at Evergrande are massive, talking heads across Wall Street said that despite the issues, this is not a “Lehman Brothers” moment. In September of 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. At the time, the 164-year old firm was the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, and its bankruptcy kicked off a global financial crisis.

While the consumer price index and retail sales last week tempered some of the inflation and growth worries, mounting stagflation concerns continued to pick up amid the ongoing supply chain and input pressures and recovery headwinds from the spread of the Delta variant. Many across Wall Street think that the Federal Reserve talking heads will offer very tangible tapering hints at this week’s meeting, but strategists also expect monetary policy to remain extremely accommodative.

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 Wednesday, September 22, 2021.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): MoffettNathanson upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $405 price target. The Wall Street consensus target is just $338.06. The shares closed on Tuesday at $331.15.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): KeyBanc Capital Markets raised its Sector Weight rating to Overweight and has an $85 target price. The consensus price objective is $142.80. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $148.92.

America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT): Investors should wait for the next catalyst for this auto dealer recommends Zacks, which has named it the Bear of the Day stock. Shares closed most recently at $119.92 apiece and have a consensus price target of $165.75.

Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY): Zacks has selected this convenience store operator as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes a case that it is time to fuel up for a long-term bet with this stock. Shares last closed at $187.23, and the consensus price target is $225.36.

DXC Technology Co. (NYSE: DXC): MoffettNathanson downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $40 price target. The consensus target is $45. The last trade for Tuesday was recorded at $34.50 a share.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): Raymond James downgraded the delivery giant to Market Perform from Outperform. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $234.79 to $319.90 and have a $343.38 consensus price target. The stock closed at $252.07 on Tuesday.

FibroGen Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral and dropped the price target to $11 from $16. The consensus target is $21.57. The stock closed Tuesday at $11.24, and the shares were trading 4% lower in Wednesday’s premarket.

Golub Capital BDC Inc. (NASDAQ: GBDC): Oppenheimer started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $16 price target. The consensus target is $16.13. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $15.36 per share.

LiveRamp Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RAMP): Berenberg resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $64 price target. The consensus target is $71.09. Tuesday’s closing trade came in at $45.42 a share.

McAfee Corp. (NYSE: MCFE): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Neutral rating, and the firm has a $26 price target. The posted consensus target is $29.38. The shares closed on Tuesday at $21.53.

PubMatic Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM) Berenberg started this meme stock favorite with a Buy rating and a $37 price target. The consensus target is higher at $45.67. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $27.20, which was up almost 6% for the day.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): DZ Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a massive $725 price target. The consensus target across Wall Street for the company is set lower at $658.86. The final trade for Tuesday hit the tape at $654.20.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG): Argus raised the commercial real estate giant from Hold to Buy with a $142 price target. The consensus target is $149.56. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $130.38.
SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): Jefferies started coverage of this meme stock darling with a Buy rating and a $25 target. The consensus target is $23.17, and Tuesday’s last trade of $15.17 was up over 4% for the day. The stock tacked on almost 5% in premarket trading Wednesday.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $27 price target. The consensus target is $25.20. The shares ended Tuesday’s trading at $21.09.

Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD): Berenberg resumed coverage with a Buy rating and an $85 price target. That compares with the slightly higher $86.44 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $72.14.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): The BofA Securities downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $20 from $27. The consensus target for the South American metals and mining giant is $25.25. The shares were last seen on Tuesday at $15.88.

Vimeo Inc. (NASDAQ: WMEO): Wells Fargo began coverage with an Overweight rating and a $47 price target. The consensus price objective is $49.29. The final print for Tuesday came in at $32.39.

Volta Inc. (NYSE: VLTA): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 price target. No consensus target for the stock was available. It closed trading on Tuesday at $12.59, after an almost 6% gain on the day. The shares were up an additional 4% in premarket trading.

Xponential Fitness Inc. (NASDAQ: XPOF): Raymond James upgraded the shares to Strong Buy from Market Perform and has a $14 price target. The consensus target is higher at $17.50. The last trade on Tuesday hit the tape at $10.34 per share.

Hedge fund managers are getting more defensive, and it is probably time individual investors do as well. Five stocks come with reliable dividends, are not overextended and are rated Buy at major Wall Street firms. They look like great picks for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

Meme stocks on the move Tuesday included Aterian, DraftKings and Lucid. Wednesday morning, Marin Software pushed its way into the meme stock spotlight.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Comcast, First Solar, Fortinet, Jefferies Financial, Next Era Energy Partners, T-Mobile and Walt Disney. More analyst calls were seen later in the day, including on Bath & Body Works, General Mills and Verizon.

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