The futures were mixed Tuesday, after the week started with a nice risk-off rally early on Monday that turned into a big sell-off into the close. Soaring commodity prices remain a big concern on Wall Street, as oil prices are at their highest levels since 2014 and natural gas prices have skyrocketed as well. Interest rates were a non-issue Monday, as the Treasury markets were closed for the Columbus Day federal holiday. All eyes will be focused on the big banks and brokerage firms as they post third-quarter results later starting on Wednesday.

Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on rising interest rates, Federal Reserve tapering due to begin soon, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries, and analysts are not nearly as positive on the upcoming earnings season as they were for the second quarter. Toss in the debt ceiling and China worries, and the cauldron continues to simmer.

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 Tuesday, October 12, 2021.

Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI): UBS upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell and boosted the price target to $206 from $163. The consensus target is $205.78, and the stock closed on Monday at $205.82.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): Cowen raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform and boosted the $160 target price to $220. The consensus target is s$175.32. The stock closed on Monday at $166.67.

Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ALSN): Goldman Sachs lowered its price target to $35 from $39 while maintaining a Sell rating on the stock. The posted consensus target is $42.25. The final trade for Monday was reported at $35.41.

Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS): Goldman Sachs slashed the $40 price target to $24 but kept the firm’s Buy rating. The consensus price objective is $34.11. The stock closed at $18.12 on Monday.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP): Wolfe Research started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $328 price target. The consensus target is just $303.88. The last trade for Monday was reported at $277.23.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM): While Stephens downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight, the firm also nudged the price target higher to $67 from $65. The consensus target is $67.54. The shares closed on Monday at $63.97.

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line and raised the price objective to $130 from $105. The consensus target is just $97.32. The stock closed on Monday at $92.56.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR): Deutsche Bank’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price target cut from $825 to $725. The consensus target is $820.541, and Monday’s closing price was $695.23 a share.

Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS): William Blair downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform. It has traded in a 52-week range of $94.40 to $146.03 and has a consensus price objective of $114.18. The final trade Monday hit the tape at $94.68, which was down almost 4% on the day. The stock was down an additional 2.5% in Tuesday’s premarket.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Roth Capital started coverage with a Sell rating and a $41 price target. The consensus target for the online gambling giant is up at $71.48. The stock closed on Monday at $48.88.

Enact Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ACT): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $24 price target. No consensus target was available. The shares closed Monday at $20.45.

Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI): The RBC Capital Markets upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform came with a price target bump to $11.00 from $10.50. The consensus target is $12.24. The stock closed trading on Monday at $8.77.

Hippo Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HIPO): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $5.40 price target. The shares closed Monday at $4.36 but have traded as high as $4.46 since its IPO early in the year.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA): Evercore ISI upgraded the shares to Outperform from In Line and raised the price target to $220 from $160. The consensus target price is $187.13. The closing price on Monday was $167.76 per share.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE): Raymond James downgraded the shares from Strong Buy to Outperform with a $96 price target. That compares with the $95.88 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $85.54.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM): Credit Suisse raised its Neutral rating on the gambling giant’s stock to Outperform and lifted the $33 price target to $68. The consensus target is $47.49. The final trade Monday hit the tape at $44.42.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Goldman Sachs started the sports shoe and apparel giant with a Buy rating and a $172 price target. The consensus target is up at $180.97. The last trade for Monday came in at $150.28.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI): Zacks has selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst says that this discount retailer is feeling the pain of tough year-on-year comparisons and a disrupted supply chain. Shares closed most recently at $61.12 apiece and have a consensus price target of $84.57.

Revolve Group Inc. (NYSE: RVLV): Because a big celebrity hire coupled with strong earnings is pushing this fashion-forward retail stock higher, Zacks has named it the Bull of the Day. Shares last closed at $67.74, and the consensus price target is $71.88.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Atlantic Equities raised its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $300 price target. The consensus target is $301.32. The stock closed Monday at $232.33, down almost 3% for the day, but shares bounced back in the premarket, up just shy of 2%.

Five red-hot stocks are ideal for growth stock investors looking to capitalize on the solid natural gas pricing and demand environment. They may be off the radar for some investors, but they offer outstanding growth potential and reasonable entry points compared to some other companies in the sector.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Carvana, Cloudflare, Comcast, ConocoPhillips, Constellation Brands, Exxon Mobil, Eli Lilly, SoFi Technologies and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Charter Communications, DraftKings, Taiwan Semiconductor and more.

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