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Thursday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, Coupang, FuelCell Energy, Lucid, Meta Platforms, Virgin Galactic and More
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The futures were slightly higher Thursday, after another slow trading day on Wall Street. While both the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 carved out gains Wednesday, the sellers returned across the curve in the Treasury markets, sending yields to the highest level in a month. With just two trading days left in 2021, we probably will see an increase in tax-loss selling and a jump in year-end portfolio window dressing, even with many investment professionals off this week.
The headlines are still dominated by the increase in Omicron cases across the country. With much of the Federal Reserve’s forward-looking initiatives now baked in, Wall Street strategists also 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 Thursday, December 30, 2021.
AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE: ASIX): There is no slowdown in sight for earnings from this chemical company, says Zacks, which named it the Bull of the Day stock. Shares most recently closed at $46.32 and have a consensus price target of $58.67, which would be a 52-week high.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the technology heavyweight’s stock, which is also one of the firm’s top picks for 2022. The analysts have a $4,000 price target, though the consensus target of $4,110.76 is higher. Wednesday’s closing trade was reported at $3,384.02 per share.
APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating on the stock and has a $45 price target. The posted consensus target is $27.63. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $27.91 a share.
Armada Hoffler Properties Inc. (NYSE: AHH): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating and $15 price target. The consensus target is $16.00, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $15.17 a share.
Coupang Inc. (NYSE: CPNG): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the shares and has a $52 price target. The consensus target is much lower at $34.10. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $28.93.
Datto Holding Inc. (NYSE: MSP): Needham reiterated a Buy rating and lifted its $29 price objective to $32. The consensus target is $32.75, and the shares closed on Wednesday at $26.55 apiece.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL): Craig Hallum raised its Sell rating to Hold with a $5 price target. The consensus target for the stock is $7.38. The final trade Wednesday was reported at $5.11, which was down almost 13% for the day.
GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ: GFS): Needham reiterated its Buy rating on the shares and has an $87 price target. The analyst cited an expansion of a long-term agreement with AMD. The consensus target price for the stock is $78.43. The closing share price on Wednesday was $63.80.
Icosavax Inc. (NASDAQ: ICVX): Jefferies resumed coverage with a Buy rating. The firm’s $50 target price is the same as the consensus price objective. The stock popped nearly 4% on Wednesday to close at $22.76.
iTron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI): Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating on the shares, and the firm has a $98 price target. The consensus target is $88.78, and the final trade for Wednesday was reported at $68.65 per share.
Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID): Citigroup resumed coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a $57 price target. The consensus target is just $38. The stock closed on Wednesday at $36.97.
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on shares of the company formerly known as Facebook, and it noted this is top technology pick for 2022. The analysts have a $390 price target, which compares with the higher $401.01 consensus target and Wednesday closing share price of $342.94.
Methanex Inc. (NASDAQ: MEOH): Raymond James downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and cut the $62 target price to $52. The consensus price objective at $46.62. The shares closed Wednesday at $39.66, which was down over 6% for the day.
Nutrix Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NRIX): H.C. Wainwright began coverage with a Buy rating and a $62 price target. The posted consensus target is $51, and the stock closed at $30.27 on Wednesday.
Pear Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PEAR): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $13 price target. The consensus target is $14.40. The stock closed trading on Wednesday at $4.98.
Tenable Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: TENB): Needham reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. It also pushed the price target from $62 to $66, more in line with the consensus target of $66.33. The stock closed on Wednesday at $55.65 a share.
Vaxcyte Inc. (NASDAQ: PCVX): Jefferies resumed coverage on the shares with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. The consensus is $50.50, and the stock rose 8% on Wednesday to close at $24.04.
Virgin Galactic Inc. (NYSE: SPCE): Kerrisdale Capital recommended that trades sell short the shares of this company. The stock has changed hands in a wide 52-week range of $13.52 to $62.80 per share, and it has a $27 consensus target price. The last trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $13.04, which was down over 5% for the day.
Five legacy tech leaders may not have the stunning growth potential some momentum tech stocks have, but they do have one thing that makes it easier for investors to sleep at night, and that’s dependability and staying power. These dividend payers look like solid ideas for 2022.
Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Akamai Technologies, BridgeBio Pharma, Ciena, Eqonex, Hilton Worldwide, Paysafe, Riot Blockchain, Shopify, Tesla and Williams-Sonoma. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Inovio Pharmaceuticals, McDonald’s, VBI Vaccines, Wingstop and more.
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