The first trading day of the new year has arrived, and the futures were higher across the board. With the holidays out of the way, traders and investment professionals will be back in full force and we are likely to see a big pick up in trading volume. While the focus remains on the spike in Omicron variant cases, South Africa where the first cases were diagnosed, has said its wave of Omicron cases appears to have peaked, according to published reports. It is thought we could see a peak in cases here at home by the end of the month.

With much of the Federal Reserve’s forward-looking initiatives now baked in, including the rate lift-off and faster quantitative easing tapering in 2022, Wall Street is continuing to focus on the big increases in energy and food costs and other spiraling inflation issues. While top strategists and economists are somewhat divided on when the current inflation increase will ease, 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 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, January 3, 2022.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Baird maintained a Neutral rating on the biotech giant with a $258 target price after rumors of a Samsung buyout emerged last week. Samsung has denied those rumors, according to reports. The consensus target price is much higher $325.63. The final trade of 2021 was posted at $239.92 a share.

Cemex SAB de C.V. (NYSE: CX): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating on the stock and has a $9.20 price target, after the company announced last week that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its operations in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The consensus target is up at $10.64. The final trade for Friday was reported at $6.78.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ): Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating on the spirits heavyweight and moved the target price from $268 to $271. That compares with a $263.32 consensus price objective and Friday’s closing print of $250.97.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Argus reiterated a Buy rating on the popular pizza chain and raised the $520 target price to $640. The consensus price objective is $526.11. The stock closed trading on Friday at $564.33.

Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) Maxim reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and nudged the target price to $50 from $48. The posted consensus target is $46.50. The stock closed Friday’s trading at $24.91, which was up over 3% for the day.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and has a $71 price target. The firm cited data that indicated fourth-quarter results may come in better than expected. The consensus target for the energy behemoth is $72.38. The stock closed Friday’s session at $61.19.

Fastly Inc. (NYSE: FSLY): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $43 price objective. The consensus target is $47.75. The shares closed Friday at $35.45, down almost 5% on the day.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE: HLT): Raymond James raised the $148 price on the lodging giant to $160 while keeping an Outperform rating on the stock. The consensus target is $148.32. The shares closed Friday at $155.99.

IAC/InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IAC): JPMorgan resumed coverage with a Buy rating but cut the price objective on the stock to $175 from $185. The consensus target is set at $181.21. The stock was last seen Friday at $130.71.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Piper Sandler upgraded the fast-food giant to Overweight from Neutral and boosted the target price to $283 from $232. The consensus target is $274.73. The stock closed on Friday at $268.07.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): UBS reiterated a Buy rating, noting that the company’s direct-to-consumer business could have big upside potential. The analyst has a $192 price target, which compares with the lower $184.21 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $166.67 per share.

OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE): UBS kept a Buy rating on the shares and has a $40 price target after the company filed its Oklahoma rate case, which included a request for a performance-based rate plan. The consensus target is set at $37.33. The last trade on Friday was reported at $38.38.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): BMO Capital Markets raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform but slashed the price target to $224 from $278. The posted consensus target is $275.58, and the shares closed at $188.58 on Friday.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): JMP Securities downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Market Outperform. The shares have traded in a wide 52-week range of $33.91 to $171.09, and they have a $74.15 consensus price target. Friday’s closing share price was $35.76, which was almost 4% lower on the day.

Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO): Raymond James maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and has a $55 price target. The stock has traded as high as $50.90 a share in the past year but closed on Friday at $38.90.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PSTI): Alliance Global trimmed its $12.50 price target on the stock to $9.50 but maintained a Buy rating. The consensus target is $8.63. The last trade for Friday was reported at $1.46 a share.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Bernstein upgraded the shares from Market Perform to Outperform with a $660 target price. The consensus target is higher at $715.68. The final trade on Friday was reported at $631.52.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: XHR): Raymond James raised the price target on the Outperform-rated company to $21 from $20. The consensus target is $21.13, and the stock ended trading Friday at $18.11.

For investors looking to start 2022 with big dividends and inflation protection, five top real estate investment trusts offer dependable distributions above 4.5% and are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms.

Meet the 2022 Dogs of the Dow, and see the outlook for the top cryptocurrency-mining stocks this year.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Ford, General Motors, Grab, Kanzhun, McDonald’s, Peloton Interactive, Tesla, Ulta Beauty, XPO Logistics, Zhihu and Zoom Video Communications.

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