The futures were all higher on Friday, as investors enjoyed the biggest risk-off rally since March on Thursday. This was spurred in part by outstanding earnings from the mega-cap financials and the best numbers on new filings for unemployment since the beginning of the pandemic. While this week’s Consumer Price Index reading indicated the supply chain issues are continuing to force prices higher, top pundits say stagflation will not happen and the inflation will taper. That may be a reasonably tough sell to consumers paying the highest gasoline prices in seven years.

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 many 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 Friday, October 15, 2021.

Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI): While JPMorgan raised the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also trimmed the target price to $23 from $25. The Wall Street consensus target is $25.43. The final trade Thursday was posted at $17.10. Shares were up almost 4% in premarket trading.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT): Piper Sandler started coverage on the venerable semiconductor capital equipment giant with a Neutral rating and a $130 price target. The higher consensus target is $162.70, and Thursday’s closing share price was $132.07.

AngioDynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO): Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and lifted the $28 target price to $37. The consensus target is $30. Thursday’s close was at $25.76 a share.

Array Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): Truist Securities started coverage with a Hold rating and a $23 price target. The consensus target is $24.42. The stock closed Thursday at $20.00.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $338 price target. The consensus target is $349.74. The closing trade for Thursday was at $289.17 a share.

Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP): Truist Securities started coverage with a Hold rating and an $18 price target. The posted consensus target is $22.71. The shares closed on Thursday at $15.69.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): Goldman Sachs raised its $45 price target on the money center banking giant to $50 while maintaining a Buy rating. The $45.29 consensus target is closer to Thursday’s closing price of $45.07.

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE): Truist Securities began coverage with a Hold rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target is $29.50. The shares closed at $21.83 on Thursday.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP): Berenberg raised its Hold rating on the European oil giant to Buy. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $14.74 to $29.67 and have a $34.17 consensus price objective. Thursday’s final trade was at $29.45 per share.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): Goldman Sachs upgraded the technology leader to Buy from Neutral and raised the price target to $589 from $527. The consensus target is $556.37, and the stock closed Thursday at $497.60.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): This is the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The analyst points out that, despite beating expectations in each of the past four quarters, sentiment on this stock has slipped. Shares last closed at $261.17 apiece, more than 2% lower than a month ago.

Duck Creek Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DCT): JPMorgan’s downgrade was from Overweight to Neutral with a $50 price target. The consensus target is $51.50. The last trade for Thursday came in at $46.23.

Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS): UBS raised its Neutral rating to Buy and lifted the $42 target price to $46. The consensus target is $43.36. The stock closed on Thursday at $35.60.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Truist Securities started coverage on the generator leader with a Buy rating and a $500 price objective. The consensus price target is $505.88, and Thursday’s $433.75 closing share price was up almost 4% on the day.
Health Catalyst Inc. (NASDAQ: HCAT): This stock was named the Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst said that this information services company had been reporting losses but posted a break-even quarter in the more recent print and that could start a new trend. Shares most recently closed at $48.78 and have a consensus price target of $64.83, which would be an all-time high.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC): Piper Sandler started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $420 price target. The consensus target is just $394.58. The shares closed Thursday at $329.78, which was up almost 3% for the day.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $88 from $104 but kept a Buy rating on the chip giant. The posted consensus target is $103.32. The stock closed at $67.80 on Thursday.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS): The RBC Capital Markets downgrade of the financial powerhouse to Sector Perform from Outperform came with a $97 price target. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $101.01, which is not far off the recent 52-week high of $105.95.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN): Cowen resumed coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $33 price target. The consensus price objective is $30.13, but the shares closed Thursday at $32.26.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) Goldman Sachs slashed the target price on the hard disc drive giant to $62 from $91 and kept a Neutral rating. The stock closed at $56.55 a share on Thursday was down almost 2% in Friday’s premarket.

While not suited for conservative investors, two top biotech stocks could have huge total return potential and offer investors with a touch more risk tolerance some very tempting entry points.

See how U.S. lithium miners are getting a big boost from expansion in Chile. And Friday’s early meme stock movers included LM Funding America and Virgin Galactic.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Abbott Laboratories, Avis Budget, Bed Bath & Beyond, Beyond Meat, Caterpillar, UPS, Walmart and Wynn Resorts. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Deere, Petrobras, TJX Companies and more.

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