The futures were higher on Monday, as traders and investors return from the long Christmas holiday weekend for the final trading week of 2021. With many financial professionals out for this week as well, we could see some lighter volumes, and perhaps some increased volatility as the final tax-loss selling trades and end of the year portfolio window dressing buying are wrapped up. About the only selling that we saw last Thursday as the “Santa Claus” rally gained some legs, with all the major indexes closing higher, and the S&P 500 setting yet another all-time high at 4,725.72, was in the Treasury debt market, where we saw selling of all the maturities across the yield curve.

With much of the Federal Reserve’s forward-looking 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 the ongoing 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 fresh 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 Monday, December 27, 2021.

Bionano Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: BNGO): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares and has a huge $14 price target. The consensus target is $12. The stock closed most recently at $3.24 a share.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX): Baird raised the price target on the Outperform-rated stock to $170 from $150 and made the company one of the firm’s focus ideas for 2022. The consensus target is $153.38. The shares closed most recently at $126.31.

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $24 target price. The consensus target is $18.51. The most recent close was at $18.89, up close to 3% on the day.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and has a $205 price target. The consensus price objective is lower at $190.95. The shares closed most recently at $135.37.

Infosys Ltd. (NYSE: INFY): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $27.80 target price. The consensus target is just $24.75. The shares closed most recently at $24.73.

InnovAge Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: INNV): Baird maintained an Outperform rating but slashed its price target in half, to $11 from $22. The consensus target is $8.64. The stock was massacred last Thursday, closing at $5.94, down a stunning 35% after the company announced audit sanctions in Colorado and pulled guidance.

Innovid Corp. (NYSE: CTV): BMO Capital Markets started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $13 price target. No consensus target was available. The stock closed most recently at $6.98.

Huya Inc. (NYSE: HUYA) BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $10 price target. The consensus target is $11.20. The shares closed most recently at $7.09.

JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD): Stifel kept its Buy rating on the shares and has a $110 price target. The analyst noted that Tencent will be distributing 457.3 million of the shares it holds in the company to Tencent shareholders. The consensus price target is $104.52. The stock closed trading most recently at $68.65, down almost 7% for the day.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating after the company announced it plans to acquire privately held Personal Genome Diagnostics, expanding the company’s genomics footprint. The analysts have a $350 target price, which compares with the $340.57 consensus and the most recent closing print of $310.91.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc. (NYSE: MSM): Baird reiterated its Outperform rating with a $103 target price. The lower $98.71 consensus target is closer to the most recent close at $83.94 a share.

Ortho Clinical Diagnostic Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: OCDX): BofA Securities discontinued coverage after the company announced it would be acquired by Quidel, which will be using cash and newly issued shares to close the deal. The consensus price target is $27.53. The stock ended last week at $21.16, after almost a 7% gain on Thursday.

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating and highlighted the stock as a top pick idea for 2022. The analysts have a $148 price target, while the consensus price objective is lower at $125.48. The stock closed most recently at $110.22.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX): Baird boosted its $120 price target to $137 while maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock. The consensus target is just $117. The stock closed most recently at $135.37 per share.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) Baird maintained a Neutral rating and a $64 price target after the company announced it would acquire Firehouse Subs. The consensus target is $59.31. The stock was last seen trading at $59.31 a share.

SciPlay Corp. (NASDAQ: SCPL): Truist Securities kept a Hold rating and an $18 price target on the stock after the parent company, Scientific Gaming, withdrew its offer to acquire the company. The consensus target is up at $19.29. The stock closed trading most recently at $13.49, which was down almost 13% for the day.

Verve Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VERV): Stifel maintained a Hold rating with a $58 price target after the FDA approved the company’s adjunct therapy for LDL-c reduction in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The consensus target is up at $70.40. The most recent closing trade was reported at $41.32, up close to 6% on the day.

Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: VIR): Baird downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral and has a $36 price objective. The consensus target is much higher at $91.43. The final trade for last week was reported at $41.75, down just over 2% on the day.

WiPro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT): BofA Securities maintained an Underperform rating on the shares and has a $9.10 price target. The consensus target is $8.32, and the shares were last seen trading at $9.45 apiece.

Four battered stocks have as much as 90% upside to the analysts’ price targets, and even if they only get halfway to the targets, they will be huge winners for the coming year. They look like great ideas for growth stock investors seeking stocks to rotate into their portfolios.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Abbott Laboratories, Advanced Micro Devices, Affirm, Canopy Growth, Cleanspark, Eli Lilly, ESS Tech, Global Payments and Luminar Technologies. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Paychex, Porch, Scientific Games, StoneCo, T-Mobile, Verizon and more.

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