The futures were modestly higher after a big rally Friday, which was spurred on by the solid nonfarm payrolls report that finally came in above analyst estimates. All the indexes once again printed all-time highs. With earnings reporting starting to slow down, and Wall Street starting to look down the road at the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we may see volumes start to taper some. Buyers returned to the Treasury market once again on Friday as yields across the curve all fell to their lowest levels in over a month.

Despite the continued market strength, top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on the potential for rising interest rates, the aforementioned quantitative easing tapering, big increases in energy costs and, while perhaps easing some, the ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue that will return in December and the ongoing China worries, 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 8, 2021.

Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN): Truist Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and also raised the target price to $116 from $105. The consensus price target is $106.57. The stock closed Friday at $90.73, which was down almost 13% after the company missed analysts’ earnings estimates.

Apria Inc. (NASDAQ: APR): Citigroup resumed coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $43 price target. The consensus target is lower at $38. The stock retreated over 2% on Friday to close at $35.75.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and has an $11 price target. The consensus target is $22.40. The stock closed Friday at $13.14, which was down almost 20% for the day after the company reported a third-quarter loss and revenue came in way below estimates.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Sell rating and $14.30 price target. The consensus target is up at $23.73. The last trade Friday came in at $22.11, up over 8% on the day after reported revenue beat expectations.

Cryoport Inc. (NASDAQ: CYRX): Roth Capital cut the stock to Neutral from Buy, but raised its $78 target price to $90. The $80.44 consensus is below Friday’s closing share price of $81.27.

DataDog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Moness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the target price to $220 from $160. The consensus target is $165.44. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $185.51, which was up over 11% on the day, as earnings and forward guidance topped analysts’ expectations.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price to $110 from $104. The consensus target is $107.12. Friday’s final trade was at $95.12 a share, after almost a 5% gain due to blowout earnings for the latest quarter.

Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K): Goldman Sachs raised the $64 target price on the cereal and food products giant to $67 while keeping a Neutral rating on the shares. The posted consensus target is $67.77. The shares closed on Friday at $62.56.

Krispy Kreme Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT): As Truist Securities downgraded the popular doughnut maker to Hold from Buy, it also cut the $21 price target to $15. The consensus target is $18.78. The final trade for Friday was reported at $14.10 a share.

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE: LSPD): Though Scotia Bank raised its Sector Perform rating to Sector Outperform, the firm also cut the price objective to $104 from $121. The consensus target is $124. The last trade Friday was reported at $73.05.

Maxor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MAXR): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and $50 price target after the company posted solid quarterly results. That compares with the lower $42.86 consensus target and Friday’s final print of $32.04.

McAfee Corp. (NASDAQ: MCFE): Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered the price objective to $25 from $32. The consensus target is $28.44. The last trade Friday came in at $25.46. That was up over 20% for the day after it became known the security-software company is possibly nearing a deal to sell itself to a group including private-equity firms Advent International and Permira for more than $10 billion, according to published reports.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Though Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy, the firm raised the price target from $127 to $136. The consensus target is $131. Friday’s closing print of $132.29 was down almost 6% for the day, despite the company beating estimates and lifting guidance.
Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Telsey Advisory joined many Wall Street firms and downgraded the stock. Its Outperform rating was lowered to Market Perform and the $135 target price was slashed to $70. The current consensus target is $127.19, but that won’t last for long. The stock closed Friday at $55.64, down a stunning 35% after the company posted horrible numbers and drastically cut forward guidance.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM): BofA Securities resumed coverage of the homebuilder with an Underperform rating and a $53 price target. The higher consensus target is $66.64, and Friday’s closing print was $50.43, after almost a 3% pullback for the day.

Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the stock, which remains on the firm’s Conviction List of top stock picks. The firm also has an $86 price target for the company, which just reported in-line earnings. The consensus target is $79.25. The last trade to hit the tape Friday was reported at $71.77 a share.

Redbox Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: RDBX): Canaccord Genuity started coverage on the popular video rental company with a Buy rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target is up at $35. The closing share price on Friday of $15.60 was down a stunning 13% for the day.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): The Summit Insights downgrade was to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $134.28 and $204 a share, and it has a $210.39 consensus price target. The shares were last seen Friday at $164.06, or down over 4% on the day.

For growth and income investors looking for big dividend stocks that are still trading at reasonable levels, four outstanding blue chips offer solid entry points, come with reliable dividends and are Buy-rated by top analysts.

Four well-known Buy-rated stocks have dividend hikes expected this week.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Allstate, AMC Entertainment, Costco, Electronic Arts, Etsy, Lyft, Peloton Interactive, Plug Power, Qualcomm, Roku and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on GlaxoSmithKline, Nikola, Regeneron, Shake Shack and more.

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