The futures were higher on Friday, after a wild week that saw some very disturbing inflation reports that provoked some serious selling. Yet, we did see a mild rally on Thursday for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Top pundits across Wall Street still feel the bullish trend is intact, citing the very strong earnings for the third quarter and a huge inflow of money from the sidelines. In addition, the more positive COVID-19 news, along with the Treasury markets being closed for Veterans Day, seemed to calm things down some.

Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on the potential for rising interest rates, the quantitative easing tapering, big increases in energy costs, and ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue that will return soon 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 Friday, November 12, 2021.

Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the stock and has a $245 price target. The $257.45 consensus target is slightly higher, and Thursday’s closing print was $188.71 per share.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): Credit Suisse reiterated an Underperform rating and slashed the $75 price target on the plant-based food stock to $60. Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating and dropped its price target to $74 from $85. Zacks pondered whether the stock was beyond repair, as it selected Beyond Meat as its Bear of the Day. The consensus target dropped from $94.31 to $79.69 after the company posted bad results. Shares last closed at $81.93.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ): Gordon Haskett raised shares of the popular east coast retailer to Buy from Hold. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $36.07 to $63.29 and has a $59.56 consensus target. The last trade for Thursday came in at $61.19.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed the price target to $60 from $65. The consensus target is $63.31, but that is sure to come down as the stock closed Thursday at $38.56, down almost 20% after the company posted very disappointing earnings.

Donnelley Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE: DFIN): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst pointed out that a big earnings surprise led to a huge jump in the stock price of this Chicago-based financial services company. The stock has outrun its consensus price target of $47 and closed most recently at $50.37.

Embraer S.A. (NYSE: ERJ): UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the $16 target price to $24. The consensus target is $21. The share price rose almost 4% on Thursday to close at $17.04.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE): Goldman Sachs downgraded the legacy silicon valley tech giant to Sell from Neutral and sliced the target price to $14 from $16. The consensus target is $17.71. Thursday’s final trade came in at $15.94. The stock was down almost 5% in premarket trading.

Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSE: HYLN): Cantor Fitzgerald resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is $8. The stock closed on Thursday at $7.93, which was almost 5% higher for the day.

Intellicheck Inc. (NASDAQ: IDN): Craig Hallum downgraded the shares from Buy to Hold with an $8.50 price target. The consensus target is $13.13. The shares closed Thursday at $7.03, down almost 20% on disappointing earnings results.

Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: RIDE): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Sell rating on the stock and has a $5 price target. The consensus target is $4.75. The last trade on Thursday came in at $6.89, after a 24% gain for the day. The sellers emerged in the premarket, as the stock was down almost 7% as production dates were pushed out.

Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI): Argus raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $280 price target. That compares with the $270.27 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $247.84.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Though Wedbush downgraded the chip giant’s stock to Neutral from Outperform, it also raised its price target to $300 from $220. The posted consensus target is $253.69. The stock was last seen Thursday at $303.90, after almost a 4% gain on the day.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Benchmark started coverage on the popular pizza stock with a Buy rating and a $145 target. The consensus price objective is $146. The last trade for Thursday was delivered at $129.96 a share.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the shares and lowered the price target to $7.70. The consensus target is much higher at $12.46. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $8.72.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX): Gordon Haskett upgraded the popular discount retailer to Buy from Hold. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $58.23 and $76.16, and they have an $83.68 consensus price objective. The stock closed on Thursday at $68.22.

Tractor Supply Inc. (NASDAQ: TSCO): Gordon Haskett raised its Accumulate rating to Buy. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $128 and $224.83, and it has a $223.22 consensus price objective. The stock closed at $218.63 on Thursday.

Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAT): Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $13.50 target price. The consensus target is $18.50. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $13.20.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): UBS reiterated its Buy rating on the entertainment and theme park giant but reduced the $220 target price to $205. BMO Capital Markets maintained a Market Perform rating and cut the price target to $180 from $195. The final trade Thursday came in at $162.11, which was down over 7% on the day.

Xometry Inc. (NASDAQ: XMTR): While RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Outperform from Sector Perform, it also slashed the $80 target price to $53. The consensus target for the stock is $82.33. The share price was last seen Thursday at $45.81, which was up almost 6% on solid results.

With the potential for a sizable correction looming, and interest rates still at some of the lowest levels this year, investors may want to consider Dividend Aristocrats that are in sectors that are considered defensive in nature. Five top defensive stocks look like great ideas for growth and income investors after this week’s very alarming inflation data.

A much-anticipated IPO gave electric vehicle stocks a boost on Thursday. And Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest continues to reduce its stake in Pfizer.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Beyond Meat, Coinbase Global, GoPro, DoorDash, General Electric, Plug Power, Unity Software, Walt Disney and Wynn Resorts. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Carvana, Costco Wholesale, Nordstrom and more.

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