The futures traded higher Thursday, as the last trading day for September and the third quarter began. While the market came back with a nice snapback rally initially Wednesday, the strength faded into the closing bell. Note that many funds and their portfolio managers may be adding typical end-of-quarter window dressing Thursday.

While this week’s volatility still is being pegged to the swift back-up in interest rates, it appears that many feel the buy-the-dip strategies that have been a big part of the market for some time now should continue to work. Top strategists are citing the ongoing easy financial conditions and accommodative monetary policy, the strong corporate profit backdrop, expected capital expenditures, inventory and corporate buybacks, and the peaking Delta variant spread.

Though 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 Thursday, September 30, 2021.

Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD): JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $16 price target. The consensus target is higher at $17.11. The stock closed Wednesday at $9.66, which was down over 5% on the day. Shares rallied back in the premarket, up almost 6% after the company announced the spin-off part of its gene therapy business.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD): Argus downgraded the King of Beers to Hold from Buy. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $51.45 and $79.67, and they have a $75 consensus price objective. The stock closed trading at $57.54.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG): Truist Securities raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $250 price target. The consensus target is just $229.71. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $203.24.

Aterian Inc. (NASDAQ: ATER): Citing inflation and supply chain constraints that continue to weigh on this meme stock, Zacks has named it as the Bear of the Day. Shares closed most recently at $9.96 apiece and have a consensus price target all the way up at $18.20.

Black Knight Inc. (NYSE: BKI): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has an $83 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $95.50. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $71.22, after almost a 4% gain for the day.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG): Wolfe Research raised shares of the energy company to Outperform from Peer Perform and hiked the target price to $28 from $25. The consensus target is $22.19. The stock closed on Wednesday at $22.55, up over 3% on the day.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS): UBS upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell and increased the price target to $415 from $303. That compares with a $357.62 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $394.51.

Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV): William Blair resumed coverage with an Outperform rating. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $92.81 to $127.34 and has a $142 consensus price target. Wednesday’s final trade came in at $110.67.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL): BofA Securities resumed coverage of the popular athletic shoe retailer with an Underperform rating and a $45 price target. The consensus target is a much higher $75.16. Wednesday’s closing share price was $49.39.

Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXA): Rosenblatt upgraded the broadcast giant to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price to $48 from $39. The consensus target is $42.09. The final trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $40.25.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL): Stifel its Hold rating to Buy and boosted the target price to $68 from $63. The consensus target is $71. Wednesday’s closing trade came in at $57.23, which was down over 6% for the day. Shares were fighting back in premarket, gaining almost 3%.

Kohl’s Inc. (NYSE: KSS): BofA Securities downgraded the popular low-cost retailer from Buy all the way to Underperform with a $48 price target. The consensus price objective is $67. The stock closed on Wednesday at $53.66. The shares were down over 7% in the premarket, after the double downgrade by the BofA Securities analyst, who cited supply-chain pressures.

New Residential Investment Corp. (NYSE: NRZ): Barclays resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $13 price target. The consensus target is $12.50. The stock closed Wednesday at $11.02.
Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO): The Jefferies upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $63 from $45. The stock closed Wednesday at $43.50. Shares were up a stunning 14% in premarket action after the company announced Wednesday that it has reached a settlement with the Irish Office of the Revenue Commissioners for the Notice of Amended Assessment dated November 29, 2018.

Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. (NASDAQ: SBRA): Truist Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, and it has an $18 price target. The consensus target is $19.14. The last trade for Wednesday was spotted at $14.92.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): BTIG Research raised the red-hot tech shares from Neutral to Buy with a $350 price target. The posted consensus target is $323.51. The stock closed at $293.80 on Wednesday.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) Atlantic Equities downgraded shares of the ubiquitous coffee retailer to Neutral from Outperform and has a $105 price target. The consensus target is up at $131.11. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $112.17.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst pointed out that this home decor and furniture retailer forecasts more record growth on the horizon. Shares most recently closed at $191.66, but the consensus price target is just $190.88 so far.

Zevia PBC (NASDAQ: ZVIA): Telsey Advisory started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $15 price target. The consensus target is higher at $20.20. The stock closed Wednesday at $11.01, and shares were up almost 3% in the premarket.

ZScaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Daiwa Securities started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $266 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $307.39. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $258.88 a share.

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Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boeing, Conagra Brands, Constellation Brands, Eli Lilly, Hess, HP, Lockheed Martin, Nike, Occidental Petroleum and Wingstop. More analyst calls were seen later in the day, including on Alcoa, BHP and Netflix.

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