The futures were mixed after a sparkling risk-off rally Tuesday, in which all the major indexes traded higher on the strength of continued solid third-quarter earnings reports and some brighter economic news. The standoff over the massive social infrastructure plan continues in Washington. In the cryptocurrency world, the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund began trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on rising interest rates, quantitative easing tapering due to begin soon, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. 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 Wednesday, October 20, 2021.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD): Citing lingering COVID-19 challenges, Zacks has named this global beverage giant as the Bear of the Day. Shares closed most recently at $55.92 apiece, and the consensus price target is $74.13.

Array Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): Guggenheim lowered its Buy rating on shares of the solar parts giant to Neutral. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $12.72 and $54.78. The consensus price target is $24.42. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $20.41 a share, after more than a 5% gain for the day. The shares gave it back in the premarket, down right at 5%.

Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AVIR): JPMorgan slashed the $61 price target on the stock to $16 and downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight. The consensus target, which is sure to be lowered, is $43.67. The stock collapsed Tuesday, tumbling 66% to close at $13.82, after the company posted disappointing clinical results on a potential antiviral COVID-19 pill.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): Goldman Sachs raised the $56 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $62. The consensus target is $60.28. The stock closed on Tuesday at $57.65.

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $183 price target. The consensus target is just $161.75. Tuesdays’ final trade hit the tape at $158.83.

Cyclerion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCN): Truist Securities started coverage of the micro-cap biotech with a Buy rating and a huge $14 price target, double the $7 consensus target. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $2.66.

DD3 Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ: DDMX): Benchmark started coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 price target. The last trade on Tuesday was posted at $9.92 per share.

Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock and lifted the target price to $193 from $176. The consensus target is $182.92. The final trade for Tuesday was reported at $167.91.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): Cowen resumed coverage of the biotech leader with an Outperform rating. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $56.56 and $73.34, and it has a $76.23 consensus price objective. The final trade for Tuesday was recorded at $66.90.

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE: HGV): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $63 price objective. The consensus target is lower at $54.33. The stock closed on Tuesday at $46.50.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG): Baird reiterated its Outperform rating on the robotic surgery leader and lifted the $350 price target to $370. The consensus target is $344.12, and Tuesday’s closing print was $336.30.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Mizuho’s downgrade of the chip giant to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $75 from $90. The consensus target is $100.74. The shares were last seen on Tuesday at $67.57.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Goldman Sachs raised the price target on the Neutral; rated shares to $44 from $39. That is versus the $42.28 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $41.82.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating on the streaming entertainment giant but nudged the price target to $595 from $590. The posted consensus target is much higher at $634.43. The stock closed at $639 on Tuesday.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the tobacco leader and has set a $110 price target, which, like the $110.27 consensus target, would be a 52-week high. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $95.79.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): Mizuho downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and slashed the target price to $175 from $220. The consensus target is up at $218.68. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $168.76.

Quipt Home Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: QIPT): Benchmark started coverage with a Buy rating and a $7.50 price target. The consensus target is up at $10.50. The stock closed on Tuesday at $5.72.

Synchrony Financial Inc. (NYSE: SYF): JPMorgan’s downgrade from Overweight to Neutral included a target price trim to $55 from $57. The consensus target is $58.58. The final trade on Tuesday came in at $52.36

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day. The analyst said that growing demand and two new, successful brands are pushing this retailer higher. The stock last closed at $30.56 and has a consensus price target of $43.33, which would be a 52-week high.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC): Mizuho lowered its Buy rating on the hard disk drive leader to Neutral and dropped the $92 price target to $62. The shares closed on Tuesday at $55.65, in a 52-week trading range of $36.59 to $78.19.

Five top technology companies pay solid and dependable dividends and have solid growth prospects for the rest of the fourth quarter and beyond. They look like outstanding ideas now for investors looking for growth and income.

Tuesday’s meme stock movers include Coinbase and Tesla, and Wednesday’s early meme stock movers included BlackBerry and Tilray.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Enterprise Products Partners, FuboTV, Nvidia, SunPower, Target, Verizon Communications and Walmart. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Albertsons, CRISPR, Marriott, Teladoc and more.

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