The futures were mixed on Monday, as we look to close out the worst month for the stock market since March of 2020. The risk-on traders finally got a rally to hold, after another big dip early on Friday that actually put the S&P 500 in correction territory reversed to the upside, and all the major indexes closed with solid gains. That included a 3.1% gain by the Nasdaq, which has been hammered in January. The Treasury market saw selling across the curve, and yields dropped, as some of the action could have been month-end portfolio moves.

One big positive for investors and the economy is that the surge of Omicron cases appears to be peaking and starting to fall. The corporate stock buyback windows are starting to reopen, and that could put a supporting bid under the market. Some strategists even noted that stocks have performed reasonably well against an inflation backdrop and the prospect of continued rate hikes, compared to the past.

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 31, 2022.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): RBC Capital Markets started coverage of the auto parts giant with a Sector Perform rating and a $239 price target. The consensus target is $260.06. The stock closed on Friday at $228.22.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM): National Bank Financial raised its Sector Perform rating on shares of the gold-mining giant to Outperform. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $45.42 and $74.50, and they have a huge $93.82 consensus price objective. The final trade for Friday was posted at $46.26.

AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ: APP): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is much higher at $115.31. The stock was last seen Friday at $60.89.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes a case that robust sales and earnings growth, combined with a strong technical trend, justify adding shares to the mix. Shares most recently closed at $1,951.16, and the consensus price target is $2,199.89, which would be a 52-week high.

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (NYSE: BAH): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Buy and cut the target price to $80 from $100. The consensus target is $97.89. The stock closed on Friday at $75.25, down almost 9% for the day after posting disappointing numbers and guidance.

Cambium Networks Corp. (NASDAQ: CMBM): Raymond James upgraded the shares to Strong Buy from Market Perform and has a $35 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $52.86. The final trade on Friday hit the tape at $22.88, which was up a stunning 13% on basically no news.

ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPT): JPMorgan upgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight with a $20 price target. The consensus target is up at $31.06. Friday’s final trade was for $12.65 a share, after they shot up 11% on the day.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM): Seaport Research Partners upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $120 target price. The consensus target is $115. The stock closed over 3% higher on Friday to $89.94.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Susquehanna upgraded the legacy fiber optics giant to Positive from Neutral and boosted the $38 target price to $50. The consensus target is $45.92. The final trade on Friday was posted at $42.12, up close to 4% on the day.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI): Raymond James raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform with a $184 price objective. The consensus target is up at $200.53, and the closing print on Friday of $180.68 was up over 5% for the day.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD): Wolfe Research raised the aerospace and defense heavyweight to Peer Perform from Underperform. Over the past year, the shares have traded in a range of $146.53 to $214.70, and they have a $235.50 consensus price objective. The closing share price on Friday was $212.82.

Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL): UBS upgraded the shares from Sell to Neutral with a $52 price target. The consensus target is $58.08. The stock closed trading on Friday at $50.25.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH): Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered the price target to $294 from $330. The consensus target is $342.47. The stock was last seen on Friday at $270.08.

QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS): UBS started coverage on the electric vehicle battery maker with a Neutral rating and an $18 target price. The consensus target is $29.40. The stock closed on Friday at $14.42.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX): Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and slashed the price target to $129 from $190. The consensus target is $168.40. Friday’s last trade was reported at $134.85.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS): Wolf Research raised the shares to Peer Perform from Underperform and bumped the $156 target price to $159. The consensus target is $179.13. The last trade on Friday was reported at $151.59.

Skillsoft Corp. (NYSE: SKIL): Colliers Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $13 target price. The consensus target is $13.50. Friday’s closing share price was $7.14.
STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM): Baird raised the stock to Outperform from Neutral and lifted the target price to $62 from $50. The consensus target is $58.22. The stock closed on Friday at $45.46 a share, which was up almost 4% on the day.

Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR): Though Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also sliced the target price to $48 from $50. That compares with the $55.62 consensus target and Friday’s $37.63 closing print.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT): RBC Capital Markets started coverage of the popular retail giant with an Outperform rating and a $278 target price. The consensus target is $280.40. The shares were last seen on Friday at $217.67.

Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER): Craig Hallum upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and has a $138 price target. The consensus target is $154. Friday’s closing trade was reported at $112.12 per share.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV): Truist Security started coverage with a Buy rating and a $275 price target. The consensus target is higher at $317.57. The last trade on Friday was reported at $224.74, up almost 5% on the day.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Though RBC Capital Markets upgraded the popular retailer to Outperform from Sector Perform, it also trimmed the $219 price target to $202. The consensus target is just $191.56. The stock was last seen Friday at $154.81, up close to 6% for the day.

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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, ArcelorMittal, AT&T, Chewy, Clean Energy Fuels, Fisker, Freeport-McMoRan, Intel, Las Vegas Sands, Lennar, Marathon Digital, Seagate Technology, Twilio and Walmart.

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