The futures were higher on Wednesday, after a brutal start to the holiday-shortened trading week. Spiking interest rates were once again a major reason for the huge risk-off move, and that combined with some Wall Street pundits warning of four or more interest rate hikes this year, including the potential for a 50 basis point (half a percentage point) move in March, got the selling avalanche started.

Interest rates were up across the Treasury yield curve as sellers controlled the day, both the five-year and 10-year notes closed with their respective yields at 52-week highs.

Many on Wall Street continue to focus on the big increases in energy and food costs and other spiraling inflation issues. While strategists and economists are divided on when the current inflation surge will ease, the ongoing supply chain concerns and stagflation worries remain front and center, and they will until the price increases start to decline.

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 Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): MKM Partners upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell and lifted the target price to $95 from $54. The Wall Street consensus target is $92.27. Microsoft is buying the video game giant for almost $69 billion in a massive metaverse play. The last Activision trade on Tuesday came in at $82.31 a share, which was up almost 26% for the day.

Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE: GOLF): Compass Point upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $56 price target. The consensus target is $54.88. The last trade to hit the tape on Tuesday was at $47.91.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN): Wells Fargo started coverage on the auto retailer’s stock with an Overweight rating and a $135 price target. That compares with a higher $155.13 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $109.52.

Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC): This was selected as Bull of the Day at Zacks. The analyst points out that estimates are moving higher as commodity prices continue to rise. Shares closed most recently at $36.51, and the consensus price target is $38.50.

Decker’s Outdoors Corp. (NYSE: DECK): Seaport Research Partners started coverage on the retailer with a Buy rating and a $445 price target. The consensus target is up at $480.50. The stock closed on Tuesday at $322.79.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): Atlantic Equities upgraded shares of the video game heavyweight from Neutral to Overweight with a $160 target price. That compares with the higher $171.16 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing trade of $133.91.

First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC): Evercore ISU raised its In Line rating to Outperform and hiked the $215 price objective to $220. The consensus target is $221.43. The final trade on Tuesday was at $179.94 a share, down over 6% on the day.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL): Seaport Research Partners started coverage on the popular athletic shoe retailer with a Buy rating and a $59 price target. The consensus target price is up at $62.92. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $43.21.

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY): RBC Capital Market raised the shares to Outperform from Sector Perform and pushed the target price from $78 to $90. The consensus target is $92.38. The stock closed at $75.01 on Tuesday.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): Citigroup reiterated a Neutral rating on the venerable chip heavyweight but raised the target price to $58 from $56. The $55.69 consensus target is close to Tuesday’s closing print of $54.76.

iRhythm Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: IRTC): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the price objective to $167 from $129. The consensus target is $151.50. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $132.98, which was down close to 6% for the day.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $53 price target. The consensus target is $49.37. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $43.10, and shares were up close to 2% in premarket trading.

LiveVox Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: LVOX): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is just $9.67. The shares closed trading on Tuesday at $4.83.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB): Atlantic Equities downgraded the specialty chemicals giant from Overweight to Neutral with a $113 price objective. The consensus target is $111.28. The stock closed on Tuesday at $100.98 a share.
Mister Car Wash Inc. (NYSE: MCW): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight comes with a $20 price target. The consensus target is $23.50. The stock closed at $16.69 on Tuesday.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Seaport Research Partners started coverage of the athletic apparel and shoe powerhouse with a Buy rating and a $175 target price. The consensus price objective is a touch higher at $184.02. The stock was last seen Tuesday trading at $146.95 per share.

Pixelworks Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW): Colliers Securities upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $5 target price. The consensus target is up at $9.00, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $3.69.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Though Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating, it also slashed the $775 target price to $650. The consensus target is $730.31. The shares closed on Tuesday at $522.34.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $16 price target. The consensus target is $22.00. The final trade on Tuesday came in at $12.067, which was down almost 9% on the day.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $190 target price. The consensus target is just $173.58. The shares retreated almost 5% on Tuesday to close at $112.64.

Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK): Deutsche Bank resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $125 target price. The consensus target is $119.65. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $106.16 a share.

The Goldman Sachs energy team is out with its top ideas in the midstream energy area. Five of the picks are outstanding ideas for investors looking for dependable income streams and growth in a volatile market.

See why some analysts are now raising price targets on tech titans Apple and Tesla.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Alibaba, ConocoPhillips, Corning, Honeywell, JPMorgan, Las Vegas Sands, Lennar, Melco Resorts, Mosaic, ONEOK, Sirius XM, Snowflake and Walt Disney. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Delta Air Lines, Dollar General, Gap, Under Armour, Unilever and more.

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