The futures were mixed on Thursday, as the volatility roller-coaster continues into the final trading month for 2021. The combination of the Omicron variant (which the CDC confirmed a case in the United States on Wednesday) and Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s indications that the Fed may have to be more aggressive in the tightening policy was all the risk-off crowd needed on Tuesday. While the buy-the-dip risk-on traders returned early Wednesday, the sellers also returned in the final hours of trading to hammer all the major indexes. The manic buying in Treasury debt slowed, but yields still dropped on the 10-year and 30-year bonds.

Top strategists across Wall Street now are starting to focus on the potential for a faster taper to the quantitative easing program and an earlier rate increase, big increases in energy costs and other inflation issues, and the ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries. Toss in the very pressing debt ceiling issue and the ongoing China concerns, and there is still plenty of potential for continued volatility.

24/7 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.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): UBS started coverage of the stock with a Neutral rating and a $176 target price. The consensus target is $197.52. The shares were last seen on Wednesday at $163.08, which was down almost 6% for the day.

Allbirds Inc. (NASDAQ: BIRD): Stifel maintained a Buy rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target for the popular show company is $24.91. The stock was hammered Wednesday, closing down almost 17% to $16.06 despite posting very solid results.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): UBS resumed coverage of the tech giant with a Buy rating and a massive $4,700 price target. The consensus target is just $4,093.86. The final trade on Wednesday was recorded at $3,443.72.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and a $200 price target. The consensus target is $163.88. Both targets look to be going higher soon as the stock closed Wednesday at $204.89, up almost 15% after posting very positive earnings. A host of additional Wall Street firms raised target prices during Wednesday afternoon.

Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX): BMO Capital Markets raised the stock to Market Perform from Underperform and has a $25 price target. The consensus target is $26.11. The stock closed on Wednesday at $22.25.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS): Seaport Research Partners started coverage with a Buy rating and a $110 price target. The consensus target is $103.67, and Wednesday’s closing print was $88.78.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI): Goldman Sachs downgraded the homebuilder to Neutral from Buy and has a $119 price target. The consensus target is $118.17. The shares were last seen on Wednesday at $97.76.

DTE Energy Inc. (NYSE: DTE): Though Wells Fargo raised its Equal Weight rating on the Michigan-based utility to Overweight, it also trimmed the $124 target price to $123. The shares closed on Wednesday at $109.15.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): UBS started coverage with a Sell rating and a $215 target price. That is much less than the $265.52 consensus and Wednesday’s final print of $259.28, which was down almost 6% for the day.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Wolfe Research downgraded the legacy automaker from Outperform to Peer Perform with a $22 price target. The consensus target is $17.94, but the last trade for Wednesday was reported at $19.58.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): This retailer was selected as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The analyst said that the apparel chain has fallen victim to the all too familiar hyper-congested global supply chain. Shares last closed at $15.98, and their consensus price target is $24.64.

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO): Citigroup cut its Buy rating to Neutral and lowered the $18 price objective to $13.60. The consensus target is $16.91. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $10.08 a share.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE): Stifel maintained a Buy rating on the shares and has a $20 price target, citing a strong fiscal 2022 outlook. The consensus target for the legacy tech giant is $17.62. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $14.21.

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE: PAGS): ScotiaBank started coverage with a Sector Perform rating and a $39 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $54.57. The last trade for Wednesday rolled in at $28.83.

RBC Bearings Inc. (NASDAQ: ROLL): Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $220 price objective. The consensus target is up at $272.50, and the stock closed at $190.82 on Wednesday.
Regency Centers Corp. (NASDAQ: REG): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and nudged the target price to $82 from $80. The consensus target is $76.65. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $68.68.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Goldman Sachs raised its $360 price target on the stock to $370 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is just $325.71. The stock closed Wednesday at $252.70, down almost 12% on the day after beating estimates but offering up some tepid guidance.

Sonos Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO): Zacks says that this audio products maker is successfully challenging tech titans and growing its share of the expanding consumer technology market, so it was named as the Bull of the Day stock. Its shares most recently closed at $31.44 and have a consensus price target of $46.43, which would be an all-time high.

TG Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX): Goldman Sachs slashed the price target in half, from $26 to $13, to go along with the firm’s Sell rating. The consensus target is up at $50.63. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $15.69.

United Fire Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UFCS): Piper Sandler’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral included a target price bump to $25 from $22. The consensus target is $30, and the shares were last seen on Wednesday at $21.82, which was up almost 5% on the day.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH): Truist Securities reiterated their Buy rating on the stock and lifted the target price to $520 from $500. The consensus target for the company is lower at $480.69. The last trade on Wednesday was filled at $444.34.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Goldman Sachs raised their target price on the stock to $386 from $295 while keeping a Neutral rating on the stock. The consensus target is set much lower at $337.24. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $318.21 down over 8%.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, e-commerce is bigger than ever. The leaders in the industry continue to dominate, making them top stock picks for aggressive investors looking for long-term growth ideas.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Beyond Meat, Capital One, Decker’s Outdoors, Diageo, DoorDash, Foot Locker, Krispy Kreme, Redbox Entertainment, Tronox, and Urban Outfitters. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on American Water Works, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Lennar, StoneCo, Vertex Energy and more.

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