The futures were lower Thursday after the markets pulled off a three-day winning streak after two huge risk-off days to start the week. One big reason for the market strength has been attributed to the data for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that showed that a third dose could still offer a sufficient level of protection against the Omicron variant and two doses may still induce protection against severe disease. Toss in some big-time final corporate stock buybacks and the House of Representatives passing a procedural bill to start the process for increasing the debt ceiling, and many of the near-term worries seem to have faded some.

The biggest data point this week that could shake up the markets comes Friday. The Consumer Price Index report comes out just five days before Federal Reserve policymakers will 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 Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $71 price target. The posted consensus target is even higher at $95.71. The last trade for Wednesday was at $54.71, which was up almost 4% for the day.

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes a case that auto retailers are in the driver’s seat in 2022. Shares most recently closed at $168.96, and the consensus price target is $249.25, which would be an all-time high.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO): Raymond James reiterated an Outperform rating on the car parts retailing heavyweight and boosted the $1,950 price target to $2,200, while Stephens kept an Overweight rating and raised its target price to $2,210 from $1,850. The consensus target is $1,947.29. The final trade for Wednesday came in at $1,988.86 a share.

Becton Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX): Piper Sandler cut its Overweight rating on the medical devices and supply giant to Neutral and lowered the $285 target price to $260. The consensus target is $271, and Wednesday’s closing print was $246.45.

Cardiff Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDF): Baird started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $19 price target. The consensus price objective is $25.33. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $6.12, after a gain of over 11% for the day.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR): Morgan Stanley downgraded the cable and communications giant to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $740 target price. The consensus target is $795.86. The shares closed trading on Wednesday at $642.07.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating and a $105 price target after the company announced preliminary 2022 guidance largely in line with expectations. The $120.65 consensus target is just above Wednesday’s close at $119.46, which was up almost 4% for the day.

Elastic N.V. (NYSE: ESTC): JPMorgan upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight with a $156 price objective. The consensus target is up at $178.50. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $128.31, after rising over 10% on the day. The company posted stellar earnings last week.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG): Barclays upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted the $50 target price to $56. The consensus target is $52.82. The shares closed at $50.51 on Wednesday.

Evercore Inc. (NYSE: EVR): Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of the boutique broker-dealer from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $156 price target. The consensus price objective is $169.13. The last trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $136.66.

FuboTV Inc. (NASDAQ: FUBO): JPMorgan started coverage of the stock with an Overweight rating and a $28 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $44.63. The popped almost 7% on Wednesday to close at $19.77.

Littelfuse Inc. (NASDAQ: LFUS): Cowen maintained an Outperform rating and raised the target price to $330 from $305. The consensus target for the shares is $316. The last Wednesday trade was reported at $309.90.

MFA Financial Inc. (NYSE: MFA): Raymond James upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $5.25 price target. The consensus target is $4.90, near Wednesday’s close at $4.71 a share.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX): JPMorgan upgraded the energy heavyweight to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted the target price to $93 from $83. The consensus target is $93.13. The stock was last seen on Wednesday at $71.85.
Pulmonx Corp. (NASDAQ: LUNG): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $45 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $54.33. The stock closed Wednesday at $36, up over 6% on the day.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV): Jefferies downgraded the popular low-cost carrier to Hold from Buy and lowered the $60 price target to $45. The consensus target is $62.38. The stock closed at $45.27 on Wednesday.

Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX): Telsey Advisory kept its Outperform rating but slashed the price target to $40 from $55. The consensus target is $45.35. The shares closed Wednesday at $19, which was down a stunning 24% following a new, downbeat growth outlook. The e-commerce apparel retailer is predicting that it will lose customers in the current quarter before growth begins to recover in the second half of the fiscal year. Other analysts think Stitch Fix has bottomed.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a price target hike to a stunning $900 from $715. The consensus target is $831.29. Wednesday’s final trade was filled at $710.21.

Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA): Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating and raised the price target to $310 from $250. The consensus target is $261.82. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $290.64.

TechnipFMC PLC (NYSE: FTI): Jefferies raised the oil services stock to Buy from Hold and has a $9 price target. The consensus target is $7.58. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $6.61.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL): Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating on the shares of the luxury home builder and has a $60 price target. The consensus target is $70.68. Wednesday’s last trade was at $72.45 per share.

Shares of five top established and mature biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have been hit hard and are offering some of the best entry points in months. The stocks also are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms and come with dividends.

AMC and GameStop were once again among the meme stock movers on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boeing, Coterra Energy, Goodyear Tire, Honeywell, JD.com, Kraft Heinz, Lowe’s, Nio, Patterson-UTI Energy, Pinduoduo and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on AutoZone, NXP Semiconductors, Stitch Fix and more.

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