The futures were higher this Monday, as we start another trading week that will be loaded with third-quarter earnings reports, including many from the big tech companies. The three major U.S. stock indexes hovered near record highs last week. The Nasdaq rose 1.3% over the past five sessions, the S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the Dow Jones industrials advanced 1.1%.

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell acknowledged last week what has become painfully clear to traders and investors: Inflation may not be as transitory as once thought, and worries over rising prices are becoming increasingly evident as mutual fund and hedge fund portfolio managers have turned bearish on growth prospects for the first time since the worst depths of the pandemic, according to a Bank of America Securities survey.

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 Monday, October 25, 2021.

Benson Hill Inc. (NASDAQ: BHIL): Barclays initiated coverage on the stock with an Overweight rating and a $10 price target. No consensus target was available. The stock closed trading on Friday at $6.52.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): Citigroup downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and slashed the target price from $34 to $24.50. Shares have traded as high as $31.52 apiece in the past year but were last seen on Friday at trading at $22.29.

Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS): Evercore ISI raised its Sector Weight rating to Overweight with a $381 price target. The lower $345.76 consensus target is closer to Friday’s closing print of $335.36.

Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the shares from Sector Weight to Overweight and has a $200 price target. The consensus target is $200.72. Friday’s closing trade was reported at $161.43.

Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL): Barclays started coverage of the South American airline with an Overweight rating and an $8 price target. The consensus target is up at $10.39. The closing share price on Friday was $6.12.

Golden Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN): JPMorgan started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $60 price target. The consensus target is $63. The stock closed at $48.73 on Friday.

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: INDB): Though Piper Sandler downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight, the firm also lifted the price target to $88 from $82. That compares with $91 the consensus target and Friday’s closing price of $84.83 a share.

Knight Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX): UBS upgraded the trucking giant to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price to $65 from $51. The posted consensus target is $63.95. The last trade on Friday came in at $56.28 per share.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the casino giant but trimmed its price target to $67 from $68. Also, citing the impact that COVID-19 is still having on the travel industry, Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares last closed at $38.00, and the consensus price target is $49.86.

Lithia Motors Inc. (NYSE: LAD): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst pointed out that car sales remain red hot. Shares most recently closed at $338.37 and have a consensus price target of $469.33, which would be an all-time high.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NCLH): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $39 price target. The consensus target is just $30.63. The shares were last seen on Friday trading at $25.48.

Paysafe Ltd. (NASDAQ: PSFE): Credit Suisse’s downgrade to Neutral from Outperform included a target price chop to $9 from $12. The consensus target is $13.88. The shares closed on Friday at $8.10.

Revance Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RVNC): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and slashed the price target to $17 from $35. The consensus target is $31.89. The shares closed on Friday at $15.44. The stock was down over 5% in premarket trading.

Simply Good Foods Co. (NASDAQ: SMPL): Stifel upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and also raised the target price to $42 from $38. The consensus target is $39.82. Friday’s closing print of $37.27 came after almost a 9% gain on the day, in the wake of a solid quarterly report.

Valens Semiconductor Ltd. (NYSE: VLN): Oppenheimer started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is $16.50. The shares closed on Friday at $8.55 and were up over 11% in premarket action.

Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NYSE: VIR): JPMorgan upgraded it to Neutral from Underweight and boosted the target price to $37 from $29. The consensus target is up at $68.14. The stock closed on Friday at $40.21.

Warby Parker Inc. (NASDAQ: WRBY): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $72 piece target. The consensus target is set much lower at $51. Shares of this eyewear maker closed Friday at $56.93, but they were almost 3% higher in premarket trading.

Whirlpool Inc. (NYSE: WHR): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Underperform from Sector Perform and cut the target price on the company to $190 from $208. The consensus target is up at $256.40. The stock closed on Friday at $213.44.

WSFS Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: WSFS): Keefe Bruyette downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform and has a $56 price target. The consensus target is $53. The shares closed on Friday at $55.67. As it is trading right at the 52-week high, this looks like a straight valuation call.

With crude oil apparently headed to $85 a barrel, 24/7 Wall St. screened the best dividend-paying energy stocks rated Buy at major Wall Street firms and found four that look cheap and have some serious upside potential.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boeing, Cinemark, Freeport McMoRan, Intel, Moderna, Nvidia, Southwest Airlines, Urban Outfitters and Zoom Video.

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