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Tuesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Apple, Dell, DraftKings, Exxon, Microsoft, Qualcomm and More

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The futures were mixed on Tuesday, after investors and traders kicked off November with all three of the major indexes once again posting all-time highs. Market pundits continue to cite the very strong third-quarter earnings as the major reason for the continued strength, but some across Wall Street also have noted the possible easing of the supply-chain issues, and a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases. The big focus this week will remain the October nonfarm payroll report scheduled for Friday.

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 Tuesday, November 2, 2021.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $770 price target. The consensus target for the legacy technology giant is $703.92. The stock closed trading on Monday at $640.20.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Jefferies upgraded shares of the aluminum leader to Buy from Hold and lifted the $52 target price to $60. The consensus target is $57.75. The last trade for Monday hit the tape at $46.73.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating on the technology giant and has a $142 price target. The analyst cited Apple’s weak quarter with revenue guidance commentary consistent with the firm’s model. The consensus price target is $169.06. The final trade for Monday came in at $148.96.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Barclays resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $59 price target. The consensus target is up at $118.99. The final trade on Monday hit the tape at $111.51.

Discover Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: DFS): Seaport Research Partners upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $138 price target. The consensus target is $141.39. The shares closed on Monday at $114.66.


Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA): Bernstein’s upgrade of the cable giant was to Market Perform from Underperform. The stock has traded in a wide 52-week range of $20.02 to $78.14 and has a $38.44 consensus target. The stock popped over 4% on Monday to close at $24.42 a share.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the online gambling leader with an Equal Weight rating and a $53 price target. The consensus price objective is much higher at $70.75. The last trade on Monday was reported at $49.02, after almost a 6% gain for the day.

Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN): JPMorgan lowered its Buy rating to Neutral and cut the target price to $110 from $130. The consensus target is $132.10, and Monday’s last trade was at $105.47 per share.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Truist Securities downgraded the energy behemoth to Sell from Hold and dropped its $66 target price to $50. That compares with the higher $70.84 consensus and Monday’s closing share price of $65.63.

Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: KNSA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $34 price target after a very positive earnings report and clinical study data. The consensus target is $30. The final trade Monday came in at $12.72, which was up a stunning 22% for the day.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $390 price target. The consensus target for the software giant is $355.22. The last trade for Monday came in at $329.37 a share.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): Redburn started coverage with a Neutral rating. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $76.92 to $99.809 and have a $105.24 consensus price objective. The shares closed at $85.46 on Monday.


Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Citigroup’s downgrade was to Neutral from Buy. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $16.01 and $43.24. The last trade for Monday was recorded at $41.46. As the stock is trading close to the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Underperform and lifted the $9.25 target price to $10.50. The consensus target is $10.71. The stock closed on Monday at $8.84.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM): Goldman Sachs has a Neutral rating and a $162 price target, ahead of Wednesday’s quarterly report. The higher $178.72 consensus target is well above Monday’s closing share price of $134.81.

Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst said that it presents a unique opportunity to obtain Bitcoin exposure at a sizable discount as its underlining profit driver takes flight. The stock most recently closed at $28.09 and has a consensus price target of $52.29.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG): UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $140 price target. Shares hit a 52-week high of $97.36 on Monday and closed at $96.39, which was up over 8% for the day.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK): BofA Securities downgraded it to Underperform from Neutral and slashed the $230 target price to $170. That compares with a much higher $223.79 consensus target and Monday’s final trade at $177.99 a share.

Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI): Though RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform, it lifted the target price to $122 from $118. The consensus target is $115.44, and Monday’s closing share price was $118.72.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP): Barclays downgraded the stock to Underweight from Overweight and slashed the target price to $30 from $48. The consensus target is up at $42.73. Monday’s closing trade was reported at $32.80.

Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAT): Evercore ISI started coverage with an In Line rating and a $16 target price. The consensus target is $18.50. The last trade for Monday was reported at $13.11.

Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day, suggesting that it is time to pull profits from this pandemic winner, as society’s online-driven home improvement binge decelerates, ahead of its quarterly report. Shares last closed at $252.52, and the consensus price target is $307.70.

Zoominfo Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZI): Deutsche Bank’s upgrade from Hold to Buy included a target price boost from $60 to $90. The consensus target is $76.81. The closing share price on Monday was $68.36. The stock was up almost 7% in Tuesday’s premarket, after the company posted very solid results for the third quarter.


Even with oil certain to hit $90 a barrel, four Goldman Sachs top energy stock picks still have room to run and offer investors looking for income dependable quarterly payments.

Four top Buy-rated stocks are expected to see dividend hikes this week. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is selling Palantir and buying Robinhood.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon.com, Apple, Bank of America, Hershey, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Pinterest, Starbucks, Twitter and U.S. Steel. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Intel, Merck, Newell Brands, Spotify and more.

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