The futures were higher Wednesday after yet another back-and-forth day on Wall Street. Tuesday ended with a third straight day of gains, with all the major indexes closing up nicely.
With January in the rearview mirror, investors are watching closely for economic data, especially any numbers showing the economy is slowing. With interest rates set to go higher in March, and inflation still the biggest concern, one bright spot was that economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in January, with the overall economy achieving a 20th consecutive month of growth. In addition, strong earnings from Alphabet, Exxon, UPS and other top companies look to be a clear positive for stocks.
Another big positive for investors and the economy is that the surge of Omicron cases appears to be peaking and starting to fall. Also, 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.
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.
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These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE | ADBE Price Prediction): Zacks named this software giant as its Bear of the Day, pointing out concerns that it can maintain its historically strong growth rate. Shares have traded as high as $699.54 in the past year but closed most recently at $535.98, which is down more than 5% year to date.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Goldman Sachs reiterated an Outperform rating on the technology behemoth after the company posted massive earnings, and the firm raised the price target on the shares to $3,400 from $3,350. Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and lifted its $3,350 target price to $3,450. JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and boosted the target price to $3,450 from $3,250. Stifel also kept a Buy rating, and its target price jumped to $3,500. UBS made the biggest splash, keeping a Buy rating on the stock and boosting the target price to $3,900 from $3,800. The consensus target is $3,328.10, and the stock closed Tuesday at $2,752. 88. The stock was up over 10% on massive premarket volume.
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLX): SVB Leerink started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $50 target price, while H.C. Wainwright started coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 price objective. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $23.36.
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Anaplan Inc. (NYSE: PLAN): BMO Capital Markets started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $49 price objective. The consensus target is up at $67.74. Tuesday’s closing trade was at $47.57 a share.
Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL): BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $209 target price. That compares with a $311.47 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing trade of $193.73.
Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): JPMorgan resumed coverage with an Overweight rating but slashed the $320 target price to $200. The consensus target is $246.51. The stock closed Tuesday at $127.61, up over 4% on the day, but the shares were down almost 7% in premarket action.
Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: CDAY): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $91 price objective. The consensus target is much higher at $156.55. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $78.16, which was up over 3% for the day.
Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: CQP): UBS downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and has a $50 price target. The consensus target is $44.69. The stock closed on Tuesday at $50.16.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS): Momentum at this retailer shows no sign of slowing down, says Zacks, which selected it as the Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $118.15 and have a consensus price target of $147.79, which would be an all-time high.
DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DV): Stifel started coverage of the digital media software firm with a Buy rating and a $29 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $38.67. The last trade on Tuesday was recorded at $27.98.
Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (NYSE: FMX): UBS downgraded shares of the Mexican Coca-Cola bottler to Neutral from Buy and slashed the $105 target price to $86. The consensus target is $95.04. The shares were last seen Tuesday at $75.09.
Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN): William Blair started coverage with an Outperform rating. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $114.37 to $211.68 and a $194.15 consensus price objective. The stock ended Tuesday trading at $126.97.
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Flywire Corp. (NASDAQ: FLYW): Raymond James raised the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform, but it trimmed the price target to $39 from $48. The consensus target is set at $48.25. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $29.36, up over 4%.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): BMO Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating on the biotech giant but cut the target price to $75 from $85. Wells Fargo kept an Equal Weight rating and trimmed the $72 target price to $70, while BofA Securities maintained a Neutral rating and lowered the target to $71 from $73. The consensus target is $77. The stock closed on Tuesday at $68.47. Shares traded down almost 4% in the premarket, after the company missed earnings estimates.
Invitation Homes Inc. (NYSE: INVH): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage of the homebuilder with an Overweight rating and a $46 price target. The consensus target is $47.71. Tuesday’s last trade was reported at $41.82.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Stifel resumed coverage with a Hold rating and a $34 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $48.17. The shares closed at $30.01 on Tuesday.
Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD): Stifel resumed coverage of the digital ad media giant with a Hold rating and a $68 price objective. The consensus target is up at $95.62. The closing share price on Tuesday was $71.09.
Trane Technologies PLC (NYSE: TT): Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and trimmed the target price to $228 from $242. Credit Suisse kept an Outperform rating and lowered its price target to $204 from $213, while Wells Fargo went the other direction and reiterated an Underweight rating on the shares and lowered the price target to $174 from $185. The final trade on Tuesday hit the tape at $167.18, down over 3% on the day. All of this even though the company posted stellar results.
Tremor International Ltd. (NASDAQ: TRMR): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and has a $20 target price. The consensus target is $28. The final trade on Tuesday came in at $15.10, which was up over 3% for the day.
Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR): Credit Suisse started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $53 target price. The consensus target is $60.02. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $52.41.
Viracta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRX): RBC Capital Markets started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $10 target price. The consensus Target is a stunning $33.50. The stock closed on Tuesday at $2.72.
Volta Inc. (NYSE: VLTA): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 target price. The consensus target is higher at $12.75. The stock closed on Tuesday at $5.24, after a gain of almost 7% for the day.
Welltower Inc. (NASDAQ: WELL): Credit Suisse started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $92 price target. The consensus target is $94.67. The shares closed at $84.66 on Tuesday.
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Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included BioNTech, ConocoPhillips, Harley-Davidson, Livent, Luminar Technologies, Meta Platforms, Moderna, Snap, Twitter, United Airlines, U.S. Foods, Workday and Wells Fargo. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Coupa Software, Ginkgo Bioworks, Enterprise Products Partners, Intuit and more.
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