The futures were mixed Wednesday, after a solid bounce-back rally that saw all four of the major indexes close higher. The ongoing debate across Wall Street is about the increasing inflation pressures and whether they are indeed transitory or will remain a persistent and growing problem. The strong October retail sales numbers were the impetus behind the move higher Tuesday, as some of the big-box retailers came in with outstanding results. The only investments seeing sellers Tuesday were U.S. Treasury debt, as yields went higher across the curve.

Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on the potential for rising interest rates, the quantitative easing tapering, big increases in energy costs and the ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the debt ceiling issue that returns 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 Wednesday November 17, 2021.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Credit Suisse started coverage on the venerable technology giant with a Neutral rating and a $700 price target. The posted consensus target is $706.37. The shares were last seen on Tuesday at $671.03.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the target price to $282 from $256. Citigroup also reiterated a Buy rating, and it boosted its $282 price target to $290. The consensus target is $240.65. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $235.69.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Wolfe Research started coverage on the aluminum giant with an Outperform rating and a $63 price target. The consensus target is just $59.19. The shares were last seen at $48.20, after they retreated almost 5% on Tuesday.

Anika Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK): Stephens began coverage with an Overweight rating and a $55 price target. The consensus target is $52. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $39.95.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Goldman Sachs updated its stance on the technology giant but kept a Neutral rating and a $142 price target. The higher $168.45 consensus target is above Tuesday’s closing price of $151.00 a share.

Aramark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ARMK): Goldman Sachs reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares and kept a $42 price target. The consensus target is $40.42. The stock closed on Tuesday at $38.24.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR): While Barclays cut its Equal Weight rating on the rental car giant to Underweight, it also raised the $125 target price to $217. The consensus target is $163.57. However, the shares closed trading on Tuesday at $281.50.

Ballard Power Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP): Citigroup downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and has a $19 price target. The consensus target is $22.71. The closing share price on Tuesday was $17.84.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Wells Fargo raised shares of the aerospace and defense giant to Overweight from Equal Weight, and it lifted the $224 price target to $272. The consensus target is around $260, but the stock closed on Tuesday at $225.80, after pulling back almost 4% for the day.

Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP): Credit Suisse started coverage of the legacy cybersecurity company’s stock with an Underperform rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is up at $134.03. Tuesday’s final trade was reported at $116.84 a share.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS): Zacks named this retailer its Bull of the Day. The analyst pointed out that strong earnings have taken this stock to all-time highs. The stock most recently closed at $360.35, having overrun its consensus price target of $221.67.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a target price hike to $96 from $82. The consensus target is $83.66, in line with Tuesday’s final share price of $83.67.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL): UBS downgraded shares of the trucking giant to Neutral from Buy but raised the target price to $365 from $288. The consensus target is lower at $319.23. The final trade for Tuesday came in at $361.35.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR): Credit Suisse started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target is $23.66. The stock closed at $23.13 on Tuesday.
Poshmark Inc. (NASDAQ: POSH): Cowen downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform and slashed the $42 target price to $22. The consensus target is $28.70. The stock was last seen on Tuesday at $20.81.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock, suggesting that supply-chain challenges have stopped this stock from running. The shares last closed at $48.01, and the consensus price target is $61.42.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $225 price target. The consensus target is just $179.29. Tuesday’s last trade was recorded at $141.39.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN): BofA Securities kept a Neutral rating on the shares but lifted the target price to $90 from $85. Stephens reiterated its Overweight rating and boosted the $95 target price on the stock to $100. The consensus target is $88.17. The stock was last seen Tuesday at $83.58.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): B. Riley Securities raised its Neutral rating on the popular clothing retailer to Buy, and the $36 price target increased to $45. The consensus target is $42.80. The final trade for Tuesday was filled at $37.65.

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ: WMG): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut the target price to $42 from $53. The consensus target is $46.38, and the stock pulled back almost 4% on Tuesday to close at $43.64.

Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN): Argus downgraded the popular fast-food stock to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $18.86 and $29.46, and they have a consensus price objective of $26.29. The final trade for Tuesday was at $21.76 a share.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): The UBS upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price boost to $370 from $255. The consensus target is $315.23. Tuesday’s closing price was $299.84 per share.

24/7 Wall St. screened the BofA Securities research universe database looking for the mega-retailers that look poised to cash in this year. Five stocks are all rated Buy and look like excellent choices for investors looking to add retail exposure in front of the holiday season.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Cisco Systems, FuboTV, PayPal, Petco Health and Wellness, Robinhood Markets, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Southwest Airlines, TotalEnergies and Wayfair.

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