The futures were lower across the board on Thursday, after a mixed trading day Wednesday that saw the Dow Jones industrials hit an intraday all-time high and the S&P 500 trade higher while the Nasdaq closed down. Continued solid earnings are helping to push the positive risk-off narrative, as the large-cap leaders continue to deliver the goods.

Earlier this week the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 6.3%, following a 0.2% increase in the prior week. Pundits cite rising interest rates for the slowdown, but 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates remain historically very reasonable. Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on continued rising interest rates though, as well as the 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 Thursday, October 21, 2021.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Oppenheimer lowered the price target on shares of the video game giant to $100 from $105 while keeping an Overweight rating. The consensus price target is $114.85. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $78.08 a share.

Aramark Corp. (NYSE: ARMK): Berenberg upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and also nudged the target price to $40 from $36. The consensus target is $40.19. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $36.07.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Oppenheimer slashed the price target on the biotechnology leader to $390 from $450 despite maintaining an Overweight rating. The consensus target is $370.56. The last trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $266.57.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL): Berenberg raised its Sell rating on the cruise line to Hold with a $22.50 price target. The consensus target is up at $28.45 The last trade on Wednesday was at $22.44 per share.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Though Goldman Sachs raised the $78 price target to $86, the firm also maintained a Sell rating on the stock. The consensus price objective is $85.61. The stock popped almost 4% on Wednesday to close at $86.93.

Denny’s Corp. (NASDAQ: DENN): Truist Securities upgraded shares of the ubiquitous restaurant chain to Buy from Hold and has an $18 price target. The consensus target is $19.13. The stock was closed on Wednesday at $14.60.

Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN): Barclays resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $215 price target. The consensus target is $201.83, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $158.83.

Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR): The RBC Capital Markets downgrade to Sector Perform from Overweight included a price target cut to $195 from $200. The consensus target is $215.78, and Wednesday’s last print of $192.81.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES): Goldman Sachs raised the price target on the oil giant to $118 from $106 and maintained its Buy rating. The consensus target is $101.58. The closing price on Wednesday was $89.56 per share.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and an $800 price target. That compares with a consensus price objective of $797.43 and Wednesday’s close at $795.39.

Krispy Kreme Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT): HSBC Securities lowered its Buy rating on the popular donut maker to Hold with a $14 price target. The consensus target is up at $20.50. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $13.92.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX): Summit Insights downgraded shares of the semiconductor capital equipment giant to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $333.31 and $673.80 a share, and it has a consensus price target of $723.25. The stock closed on Wednesday at $565.30.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the gaming giant and noted that the recent sell-off in the stock has created an attractive risk-reward level for the shares. The firm’s huge $68 price target is well above the consensus target of $54.08. The stock closed trading at $39.52 on Wednesday.
RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $350 price target. The posted consensus target is $397.78. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $241.46.

Squarespace Inc. (NYSE: SQSP): Truist Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. The consensus target is $59.91. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $39.23.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating, despite the electric vehicle giant reporting somewhat mixed results, though deliveries hit an all-time high. The analysts have a $905 price target, which compares with the much lower $708.41 consensus target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $865.80, and shares are down just over 1% in the premarket.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Sector Perform from Outperform and dropped the $270 price objective to $210. The consensus price target is $266.78. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $197.35.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): Barclays initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $270 price target. The consensus target is up at $374.40. The closed on Wednesday at $275.71 a share.

Five top stocks on the Goldman Sachs European Conviction List all trade on American exchanges, have liquidity and pay very dependable dividends. They are outstanding total return ideas now and are positioned well for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

See which five uranium-mining stocks are soaring. Wednesday’s meme stock movers included ContextLogic and Sundial Growers.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of New York Mellon, Gilead Sciences, Micron Technology, Mosaic, Netflix, Philip Morris International, Urban Outfitters and Western Digital. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Ford, First Solar, Halliburton and more.

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