The futures were mixed Thursday, after a weak trading session on Wednesday that saw the return of the risk-off crowd. Inflation concerns clearly overshadowed the very positive retail earnings posted this week. All the indexes closed in the red, and we may be poised for some additional selling as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier this week that December 15 is the new drop-dead date for raising the debt ceiling. Democrats are expected to use the reconciliation process to get something completed by then. Buyers returned to the Treasury market as yields across the curve were lower by the close.

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 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 Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the aluminum giant, noting that the company continues to have a positive outlook for aluminum driven by continued demand strength from its role in the green transition and supply tightness, primarily from constrained supply in China. The firm’s $63 price target compares with the consensus target of $59.19 and Wednesday’s closing print of $47.92.

Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR): Scotiabank raised the energy giant stock to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform and has a $58 price target. The consensus target is $51.55. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $46.49.

CrowdStrike Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: CRWD): D.A. Davidson started coverage of the cybersecurity leader with a Buy rating and a $320 price target. The consensus target is $309.15. The shares were last seen on Wednesday at $269.78.

Doximity Inc. (NYSE: DOCS): Baird started coverage with an Outperform rating and an $84 price target. The consensus target is just $73.44. The shares were last seen Wednesday at $69.52, which was up close to 3% for the day.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Loop Capital started coverage with a Buy rating and a $124 target price. The consensus target is $108.95. The stock closed on Wednesday at $94.31.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the mining giant’s stock, which is on the firm’s Conviction List of top picks, and has a $46 price target. The posted consensus target is $42.33. The stock was last seen at $38.87 on Wednesday.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD): Loop Capital reiterated a Hold rating on shares of the home improvement retail giant but raised the $325 price target to $340. The consensus target is up at $381.44. The shares closed on Wednesday at $394.85.

IHS Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: IHS): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating after the company announced a very positive sale/leaseback tower deal. The analyst has a $29 price target for the stock, higher than the consensus target of $24.17. The stock closed at $15.68 on Wednesday.

International Game Technology PLC (NYSE: IGT): The Jefferies downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price target trim to $33 from $38. The consensus target is $37.27. The stock was last seen Wednesday at $29.44, after retreating almost 3% on the day.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU): Exane BNP Paribas lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral with a $17 price target. The consensus target is a bit higher at $19.33, and the stock ended Wednesday’s trading session at $14.86.

NetEase Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES): Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating on the stock but trimmed the target price to $136 from $142. BofA Securities maintained a Buy rating and raised the $128 price objective to $145. The consensus target is $113.35. The shares closed on Wednesday at $112.49.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): UBS resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $263 price target. The consensus target is up at $288.21. The stock closed Wednesday at $206.27, which was down almost 5%.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A): Scotiabank upgraded the integrated oil colossus to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform, and the firm nudged its $54 price target to $56. The consensus target is just higher at $59.32. The shares were last seen on Wednesday at $45.34.

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE: SAH): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight and has a $40 price target. The consensus target is much higher $73.29. The stock closed Wednesday at $47.21, down almost 9% for the day on basically no news.

Southwestern Energy Co. (NYSE: SWN): UBS raised its Sell rating to Neutral and lifted the target price to $6 from $4. The consensus target is higher at $7.39. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $5.21 a share.

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ): UBS started coverage with a Buy rating and a massive $322 price objective. The consensus target is just $299.18, and Wednesday’s last trade was at $231.85 per share.

Veritone Inc. (NASDAQ: VERI): Zacks named this artificial intelligence company its Bull of the Day. The analyst pointed out that this stock has moved lower of late, giving investors an excellent opportunity to buy the dip. Shares most recently closed at $26.95 and have a consensus price target of $38.17.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): Barclays resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $92 price target. The consensus target is $91.97. The shares closed on Wednesday at $86.22.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO): The BofA Securities downgrade from Buy to Neutral included a price target cut to $88 from $97. The consensus price objective is $103.48, and the closing share price on Wednesday was $77.58.

Health care is poised to benefit from a shift toward more defensive sectors. Five fit stocks have strong balance sheets, attractive dividend yields and improved cost structures. With even moderate appreciation in their shares prices, investors should be looking at double-digit total return potential.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Alcoa, Apple, Avis Budget, Ballard Power, Boeing, Palantir Technologies, Splunk, Tyson Foods, Urban Outfitters, Wendy’s and Workday. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Home Depot, Marathon Oil, PayPal, Qualcomm and more.

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