The futures traded higher across the board Tuesday, after a massive Monday rally that sent all the major indexes and the transports higher. The only selling witnessed was in the Treasury bond market, where yields were higher across the curve. While the Omicron variant is still getting plenty of attention, the market seems to be focusing more on vaccines that can be tweaked to account for the new strain.

The biggest data point this week that could shake up the markets comes on Friday, as the Consumer Price Index report will come out just five days before Federal Reserve policymakers huddle up to discuss inflation risks. Wall Street economists and strategists are expecting the headline CPI number to hit a stunning 6.7%, which would be the highest rate posted since 1982. If a larger number hits the tape, we could see a big risk-off move.

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 Tuesday, December 7, 2021, the 80th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked America’s entrance into World War II.

Armstrong World Industries Inc. (NYSE: AWI): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral and has a $145 price objective. The consensus target price is much lower at $115. The shares were last seen Monday at $112.50, up over 4% for the day.

Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN): Zacks named this as its Bear of the Day stock, suggesting that restaurant stocks may have bounced back a little too much before earnings caught up. Shares last closed at $19.35, though they have traded as high as $32.81 in the past year.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Cowen upgraded the popular beer brewer from Underperform to Market Perform with a $500 price target. The consensus target is up at $604.43. Monday’s final trade was reported at $492.26, after close to a 7% gain for the day.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL): JPMorgan raised its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $55 price target. The consensus target for the dating app operator is $57.93. The stock closed Monday at $33.35, up almost 5% on the day, and the shares were up an additional 7% in the premarket following positive comments from Raymond James.

Funko Inc. (NASDAQ: FNKO): Earnings are catching up while the stock bottoms, says Zacks, which named it as the Bull of the Day stock. The shares most recently closed at $16.25 and have a consensus price target of $24.89.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS): Morgan Stanley upgraded the Wall Street powerhouse to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $479 price target. The consensus target is $453.84. The last trade for Monday was reported at $389.30.

Hibbett Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB): Baird upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral and has a $100 target price. The consensus target is $114.17. The last trade for Monday hit the tape at $73.59, which was up almost 7% for the day.

Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM): JPMorgan started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $45 target price. The consensus target is $53.44. The stock closed on Monday at $26.81.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR): Jefferies upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and boosted the $28 price target to $42. The consensus target is $28.50. The stock closed on Monday at $31.45. The shares were up close to 4% in premarket trading.

Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII): Deutsche Bank raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $392 price target. The consensus target for the HVAC heavyweight is $316.64. The stock was last seen on Monday at $327.82, after rising close to 4% for the day.

Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLU): After the recent initial public offering, this stock has been hit hard, but it got some love as Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a huge $33 price target. Cowen started the shares at Outperform with a $21 target, while Jefferies began its coverage with a Buy rating and a $23 price objective. Monday’s closing print was $11.61, which was up almost 5% for the day.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK): Guggenheim downgraded the pharmaceutical giant to Neutral from Buy. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $68.44 to $91.40 and have a $95.74 consensus price objective. The final trade for Monday was reported at $73.42.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): Cowen started coverage of the vaccine giant with a Neutral rating. Over the past year, the shares have traded in a wide range of $102.66 to $497.49, and they have a $301 consensus price target. The stock pulled back almost 14% on Monday to close at $265.43.

Nektar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NKTR): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the shares and has a $25 price target. The consensus target is slightly higher at $25.86. The final Monday trade was reported at $11.86, which was up close to 10% for the day.

Omnicell Inc. (NASDAQ: OMCL): Wells Fargo resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $203 target price. The consensus price objective is $186.33. The final trade on Monday was reported at $180.27.
Petco Health and Wellness Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF): Wedbush raised its Neutral rating to Outperform with a $23 price target. The consensus target is $25.70. The shares closed Monday at $19.46, after a pop of almost 6% for the day.

Shockwave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAV): Wells Fargo’s upgrade was from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $235 target price. That compares with a $246.80 consensus target and Monday’s closing share price of $177.40, which was up almost 8% on the day.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO): Mizuho upgraded the utility leader to Neutral from Underperform and lifted the $55 price target to $60. The consensus target is $66.74. The stock closed at $64.66, after rising almost 3% on Monday.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE): Evercore ISI upgraded the low-cost carrier to Outperform from In Line. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $19.52 and $40.77, and it has a consensus price target of $32.70. The shares closed Monday at $22.80, up over 6% for the day.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating on the very popular shoe and accessories retailer to Overweight. It also bumped the price target to $56 from $54. That compares with a $55.70 consensus target and Monday’s closing price of $47.76 per share.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and has a $985 price target. The consensus is just $821.29. The shares were last seen on Monday at $693.39.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and has a $61 price objective. The consensus target is $51.96. The stock closed at $48.81 on Monday.

As tax-loss selling season arrives, five stocks may be some of the best bargains for investors looking to reset portfolios for 2022. They are Buy-rated large-cap names with very strong positions in their respective sectors.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Apple, AT&T, Chevron, Dollar General, Fastly, Ford, Hertz, Kroger, Marvell Technology, Peloton Interactive, Salesforce.com, Stitch Fix and Twitter. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on American Airlines, Citigroup, Meta and more.

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