The futures were higher across the board Wednesday, after a brutal session Tuesday in which all the major indexes were torched. Technology and health care were hit especially hard, as the swift move higher of interest rates has caught many off guard. The combination of higher oil and natural gas prices is strengthening the inflation narrative once again.

The market heard Tuesday from Federal Reserve Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen in testimony on the coronavirus and CARES Act before a Senate committee. In his prepared remarks, Powell said, “inflation is elevated and will likely remain so in coming months before moderating.” To many, that is an understatement as prices at almost every level have gone higher.

While the recent consumer price index and retail sales data has 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. Federal Reserve assurances that rates will remain accommodative continue to provide a tailwind for equities though.

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 29, 2021.

Arch Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCH): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a price target boost to $110 from $62. The consensus target is $80. The stock was last seen on Tuesday at $85.65.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight and lifted the target price to $116 from $70. The consensus price target is up at $138.14. The stock closed on Tuesday at $122.48.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Bernstein upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and raised the target price to $279 from $252. Shares have traded as high as $278.57 in the past year, but the stock closed at $218.41 on Tuesday.

CDW Corp. (NYSE: CDW): JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight and has a $200 price target. The consensus target is $204.20. The stock closed on Tuesday at $186.14.

Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG): Credit Suisse upgraded shares of the food giant to Neutral from Underperform and has a $34 price objective. The consensus target price is $37.06. Tuesday’s final trade hit the tape at $33.64 per share.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the adult beverage giant, which resides on the firm’s Conviction List as well. The analyst has a $275 price target for the stock. The posted consensus target is $263.95, and the stock closed Tuesday at $209.96.

Covenant Logistics Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLG): Zacks named this its Bull of the Day stock, citing the huge demand for goods causing delays and creating profits for trucking stocks. Shares last closed at $28.58, and the consensus price target is $31.67.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY): Citigroup raised its Neutral rating on the pharmaceutical giant to Buy from and hiked the price target on the shares to $265 from $210. The shares have traded as high as $275.87 apiece this year but ended Tuesday’s session at $221.60.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS): Goldman Sachs raised its $274 price target on the stock to $308, while keeping a Sell rating. The consensus target is $348.17. Tuesday’s closing trade was reported at $283.29, which was up almost 4% for the day.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX): BofA Securities resumed coverage of the mining giant with a Buy rating and a $40 price target. The consensus target is $43.11. The stock closed at $33.57 on Tuesday.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the energy giant, citing free-cash-flow growth from the company’s Guyana operations. Its $97 price target for the stock is less than the $99.42 consensus target. The stock was last seen on Tuesday at $78.66.

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ): JPMorgan downgraded the venerable tech leader’s stock to Neutral from Overweight and dropped the price target to $30 from $35. The consensus target is $32.11, and Tuesday’s closing print was $28.58 per share.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT): Cowen downgraded the aerospace and defense giant to Market Perform from Outperform and dropped the target price to $375 from $400. That compares with the consensus price objective of $425.42 and Tuesday’s final trade of $352.15 a share.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Because earnings estimates have been “swooshed lower” amid a tough environment, Zacks has named this athletic apparel giant as its the Bear of the Day. Shares closed most recently at $145.30 apiece and have a consensus price target of $181.13.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI): Bernstein downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered the price target to $230 from $245. The consensus target is $235.30. Tuesday’s last trade came in at $206.19.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): The Evercore ISI upgrade of the energy giant to Outperform from In Line included a price target raised to $40 from $35. The consensus target is $34.64, and the stock was last seen on Tuesday at $29.90.

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPR): Bernstein raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform and lifted the target price from $53 to $66. The consensus target is $55.21. The stock closed most recently at $43.16.

Teck Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: TECK): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Buy rating and has a $36 price target. The $29.26 consensus price objective also compares with Tuesday’s final trade of $24.86 per share.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on the popular restaurant chain with a Hold rating and a $178 price target. The consensus target is $181.95. The shares closed on Tuesday at $165.50.

Zevia PBC (NYSE: ZVIA): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the stock following upbeat meetings with company management. The analyst has a huge $28 price target, while the consensus target is $20.30. Tuesday’s closing print was $11.18 per share.

With the prospect for rising interest rates, Jefferies is positive on the banking industry and has five top dividend-paying stocks rated Buy that really are value plays when compared to the very overbought and pricey stock market as a whole.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Applied Materials, Aurora Cannabis, Chewy, Coinbase Global, Kinder Morgan, Macy’s, Qualcomm and Wells Fargo.

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