The futures were up across the board on Monday, the first trading day of November. All three of the major indexes and the Russell 2000 closed higher Friday, and once again the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted fresh all-time highs as October closed out the best month of the year. While earnings will continue to roll in this week, many on Wall Street will be focused on Friday’s nonfarm payroll report for October. After two consecutive disappointing reports in August and September, analysts are projecting a gain of 425,000 jobs. Another bad report could be just the cue the risk-off crowd is looking for.

Despite the continued market strength, top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on potential for rising interest rates, the quantitative easing tapering due to begin this month, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue (which is on hold for now but will return in December) and the ongoing 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 Monday, November 1, 2021.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Bernstein upgraded the popular video game company to Market Perform from Underperform. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $71.19 to $104.53 and have a $114.24 consensus price target. The final trade for Friday was reported at $78.19.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Northland Capital downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform with a $120 price target. But Zacks named it the Bull of the Day stock, saying that AMD is better valued than competitors and CEO Lisa Su is lighting up the semiconductor industry again. Shares last closed at $120.23, and the consensus price target of $133.07 would be an all-time high.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating on the technology giant’s shares but cut the price target from $4,200 to $4,000. The consensus target is $4,145.46. The final trade for Friday was reported at $3,372.43 a share.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Credit Suisse resumed coverage of the popular consumer electronics leader with a Neutral rating and a $150 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $168.84. The closing price on Friday was $149.80 per share.

Avantor Inc. (NASDAQ: AVTR): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the shares and has a $46 price target. The consensus target is $43.42. The stock closed Friday at $40.38, which was up almost 6% on the day after the company beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): Baird lowered its Neutral rating on the money center giant to Underperform with a $42 price target. The consensus target is $47.17, and Friday’s closing print was $47.78. As shares are trading just shy of the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Cohu Inc. (NASDAQ: COHU): Rosenblatt resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $45 price target. The consensus target is $44.89. The shares closed on Friday at $32.04.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): BTIG Research downgraded the cybersecurity stock to Neutral from Buy. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $118.10 and $297.40, and they have a consensus price objective of $310.48. The final trade for Friday hit the tape at $281.80.

Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the stock after the company posted solid third-quarter results. The analyst has a $237 price target, well above the $197.86 consensus target and Friday’s close at $197.37 a share.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): Piper Sandler reiterated its Overweight rating on the shares and lifted the $194 price objective to $205. The consensus target is $187.89. The final trade for Friday was reported at $175.35 per share.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $172 price target. That compares with a $150.84 consensus price objective and Friday’s final trade at $125.10 a share.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT): BofA Securities downgraded the aerospace and defense giant to Neutral from Buy and slashed the price target to $375 from $440. The posted consensus target is $398.44. The stock closed at $332.32 on Friday.
Pinterest Inc. (NASDAQ: PINS): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $57 price target. The consensus target is up at $70.86. Friday’s last trade was posted at $44.64.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the broker-dealer and lifted the price target to $177 from $167. That compares with the lower $163.50 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $164.69.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK): Truist Securities raised the fast-food favorite to Buy from Hold but lowered the $101 target price to $90. The consensus target is $96.80. Friday’s closing trade came in at $69.17 a share.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Stephens raised its Equal Weight rating on the ubiquitous coffee retailer’s stock to Overweight and boosted the target price to $130 from $118. The consensus target is $123.19. The stock closed Friday at $106.07, down almost 7% on the day.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR): Worse than the big earnings miss is rising doubt about user and revenue targets, says Zacks, which selected this as the Bear of the Day. Shares closed most recently at $53.54 and have a $68.74 consensus price target.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X): Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating on the venerable industrial giant despite the company posting solid results that beat estimates. The analyst has a $24 price target, which compares with the higher $30.95 consensus. The closing print on Friday was $26.39, which was up almost 13% on the strong earnings results.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC): Though Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the hard disk drive leader, the firm slashed the price target to $97 from $115. Despite better than expected results, forward guidance was very disappointing. The stock has traded as high at $78.19 in the past year but ended last week at $52.29, down almost 9% after the report.

In this massively overbought market, health care stocks could benefit from a shift toward more defensive sectors. Five health care stocks offer strong balance sheets, attractive dividend yields and improved cost structures, and they are Buy rated by top analysts.

See what Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has been buying and selling most recently and why Bakkt and Lucid were among the meme stock movers early Monday.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Decker’s Outdoors, eBay, Hilton Worldwide, KLA, McDonald’s, ServiceNow, Starbucks, Teladoc and Yum Brands. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Altria, Apple, Caterpillar, IBM and more.

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