The futures traded higher Thursday after data and direction from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell came in largely as expected. While he reminded everyone that tapering quantitative easing isn’t the same as rate tightening, the writing is on the wall for 2022 and beyond, with rate hikes expected every year for the next three years and perhaps beyond. While the inflation issues remain front and center, the central bank still feels that the supply chain logjams will normalize next year, helping to tap the brakes on the runaway inflation.

With much of the Fed initiatives now baked in, Wall Street strategists are continuing to focus on big increases in energy and food costs and other spiraling inflation issues, as well as supply chain concerns and stagflation worries.

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 16, 2021.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Sector Perform from Outperform and lowered the price target on the popular home-sharing stock to $175. The consensus price target is $196.88. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $168.14 a share.

Atmos Energy Corp. (NYSE: ATO): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price to $107 from $100. The consensus target is $108.67. The closing share price on Wednesday was $98.52.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C): Odeon raised its Hold rating on the money center heavyweight to Buy with a $69.25 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $82.55. The last trade Wednesday came in at $60.24.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the price target to $142 from $120. That compares with a $126.43 consensus price objective and Wednesday’s closing price of $119.91 per share.

Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN): Goldman Sachs upgraded the chemical giant to Buy from Neutral and moved the $40 target price to $43. The posted consensus target is $40.86. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $32.36 a share.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY): BofA Securities upgraded the bank to Buy from Underperform and lifted the $25 target price to $27. The consensus target is $25.41. The stock closed on Wednesday at $23.11.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK): Northcoast downgraded the fast-food favorite to Neutral from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $77.13 and $124.53, and it has a $110.71 price target. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $83.05 per share.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX): Deutsche Bank reiterated a Hold rating on the semiconductor capital equipment giant, but it lifted the target price from $650 to $720. The consensus target is $707.17. The last trade Wednesday hit the tape at $697.31.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating on the fast-food behemoth and nudged the target price to $300 from $298. The consensus target is just $273.37. The shares were last seen on Wednesday trading at $264.52.

Mesa Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: MLAB): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day stock. The analyst suggests that another solid quarter and growth ahead in genetic diagnostic services makes this small cap a buy. The stock most recently closed at $325.55 and has a consensus price target of $331.67, which would be an all-time high.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Benchmark slashed the video streaming giant to Sell and lowered the $485 price target to $470. The consensus target is much higher at $673.71. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $605.04 per share.

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE): Argus upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy with a $40 price target. The posted consensus target is $37.11. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $37.04 a share.

Palomar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR): JMP Securities upgraded the shares to Market Outperform from Market Perform and have an $85 price target. The consensus target for the insurance company is $101.50 a share. The stock popped almost 5% on Wednesday to close at $63.46.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Though JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares, it also cut its price objective to $70 from $90. The consensus target is $77.56, and Wednesday’s closing trade was at $38.50 a share.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV): Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating for the popular low-cost carrier, but the firm lowered the price target from $72 to $65. The lower $58.28 consensus target is closer to Wednesday’s closing print of $40.11.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating on the ubiquitous coffee retailer and raised the target price on the shares to $236 from $128. The posted consensus target is $123.14. Wednesday’s closing share price was $114.68.

Sunoco L.P. (NYSE: SUN): Citigroup raised its Neutral rating to Buy and bumped the price target to $44 from $40. The consensus target is $41.10, and the final trade on Wednesday was at $37.57 per share.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR): JPMorgan reiterated its Overweight rating on the social media stock. It also cut its price objective to $70 from $86. The consensus target is $66.19. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $44.07 a share.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA): Wells Fargo resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $33 price target. The consensus target for the sports apparel giant is $30.04, and the stock closed most recently at $22.37 per share.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS): Citigroup upgraded the package delivery giant to Buy from Neutral, and it nudged the $246 price target u[ to $250. The consensus target is lower at $230.91. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $205.77 a share.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): Citing a big earnings miss and a year of expansion and investment that have moved analysts to cut 2022 earnings estimates, Zacks named this entertainment giant as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $203.02 in the past year and last closed at $150.40 apiece.

Many across Wall Street feel that the place to be when inflation rears its ugly head is in commodities and real estate. Six Buy-rated stocks have sizable and reliable dividends and distributions, making them attractive in a risky and overbought stock market.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albertsons, AppLovin, Array Technologies, eBay, Freeport-McMoRan, GameStop, Melco Resorts, Navitas Semiconductor, Nike and Novartis. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Comcast, Chipotle Mexican Grill, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lyft, Oracle, Roku and more.

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