The futures traded higher Friday after the Consumer Price Index numbers came in pretty much where Wall Street had anticipated. All the major indexes closed lower Thursday, following the 3.6% move higher the first three trading days this week. There is more positive news on the Omicron variant, as data has revealed the likelihood of less-severe cases and some degree of protection from the currently existing vaccines. While investors and traders are optimistic over the potential for a “Santa Claus rally,” the reality is the market is very pricey and somewhat overbought, and we could see a sideways move through the end of the year.

Top strategists across Wall Street are focused on the potential for a faster taper to the quantitative easing program and the distinct possibility for an earlier rate increase liftoff. All that is driven by big increases in energy costs and other inflation issues, and, while perhaps easing some, the ongoing supply chain concerns and stagflation worries remain front and center.

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 Friday, December 10, 2021.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD): Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Peer Perform from Outperform and nudged the $332 target price down to $331. The analysts’ consensus target is $323.22.

Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS): JPMorgan downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight and has a $20 price target. The consensus target is up at $27.64. The closing share price on Thursday was $15.02, after a retreat of close to 6% for the day.

AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ: APP): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $112 price target. That compares a $111.60 consensus and Thursday’s final print of $90.78, which was down close to 6% on the day.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Wells Fargo resumed coverage of the biotechnology giant with an Equal Weight rating and a $250 price target. The consensus target is a whopping $342.83. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $232.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY): Wells Fargo resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $58 price objective. The consensus target is $72.06. The stock closed at $57.54 on Thursday.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): Goldman Sachs raised the $589 price target on the Buy-rated tech giant to $670. The consensus target is $586.37. The shares ended Thursday’s trading session at $583.42. The stock traded almost 7% higher in the premarket after posting strong earnings, raising the dividend and announcing a big share buyback plan.

Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE): Janney raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $35 price objective. The consensus target is $35.72. The shares were last seen Thursday at $29.92.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating and raised the price target to $78 from $69. The consensus target is $70.87. The stock closed Thursday at $71.93, up over 15% after the company reported stellar earnings and very favorable forward guidance. Shares were flat in premarket trading after Thursday’s big move.

Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET): DZ Bank started coverage of the cybersecurity leader with a Buy rating and a $200 price target. The consensus target is up at $207.71. The last trade on Thursday came in at $150.20, down almost 7% for the day.

Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN: DNN): Zacks has selected this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst suggests that it is time for investors to look at uranium stocks. Shares most recently closed at $1.49, and the consensus price target is $2.40, which would be a 52-week high.

Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the spirits giant to Underperform from Sector Perform. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $153.67 and $213.12, and they have a $225.34 consensus price objective. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $208.06.

Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY): Wells Fargo resumed coverage of the pharmaceutical heavyweight with an Equal Weight rating and a $270 target price. The shares have traded as high as $275.87 in the past year but closed at $242.90 on Thursday.

Informatica Inc. (NYSE: INFA): Macquarie started coverage on the tech stock with an Outperform rating and a $40 price target. The consensus target is $40.73, and the stock closed Thursday at $35.00 down almost 4% for the day.

LGI Homes Inc. (NASDAQ: LGIH): Wells Fargo raised the homebuilder to Equal Weight from Underweight and boosted the target price to $160 from $125. The consensus target is $137.75. Thursday’s closing share price was $158.31.
Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE: PDS): The TD Securities upgrade was to Buy from Hold. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $15.60 to $50.42 and have a consensus price target of $55.51. The last trade on Thursday came in at $34.03.

Radius Health Inc. (NASDAQ: RDUS): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $12 price target. The consensus target is a stunning $22.50. The shares closed Thursday at $7.60, down over 5% for the day.

Rio Tinto Inc. (NYSE: RIO): Morgan Stanley upgraded the miner to Overweight from Equal Weight. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $59.58 and $95.97, and it has a consensus price objective of $71.12. The stock closed at $63.98 a share on Thursday.

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) Susquehanna started the trucking giant with a Positive rating and a $400 price target. The consensus target is just $329.57. Thursday’s final trade was posted at $329.83 per share.

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT): Oppenheimer upgraded the shares to Outperform from Perform and has a $125 price objective. The consensus target is $123.39. The stock closed most recently at $85.46.

Southern Copper Inc. (NYSE: SCCO): Morgan Stanley raised the stock from Underweight to Equal Weight with a $55 price target. The consensus target is $61.87. The closing share price on Thursday was $61.12.

Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV): Goldman Sachs downgraded the popular low-cost carrier to Sell from Neutral and lowered the $59 price target all the way to $36. The consensus target is up at $60.33. The stock was last seen Thursday at $43.61, which was down almost 4% for the day. The shares a=were down an additional 4% in premarket action.

Typically, rising interest rates are bad for companies, as borrowing costs increase. Yet, certain companies in specific silos may actually benefit from rising rates. Five top dividend stocks make sense now for growth and income investors who want to be prepared.

See which five top semiconductor stocks now offer investors big returns and big potential.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AutoZone, Charter Communications, Edwards Lifesciences, FuboTV, MFA Financial, Phillips 66, Southwest Airlines, Stitch Fix, TechnicFMC and Toll Brothers. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on AbbVie, Occidental Petroleum, Pfizer, SunPower, Yum! Brands and more.

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