The futures were lower Thursday after a wild back-and-forth day on Wall Street. The risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine appears to have lessened, as more pundits across Wall Street and in the State Department suggest that a diplomatic solution could be possible. The biggest concern remains spiraling inflation, and the January Federal Open Market Committee minutes seemed to reflect a somewhat increasing hawkish stance, as the Federal Reserve governors have left no doubt about a rate hike in March, the only question being how much.

After being down big most of the day, the major indexes reversed after the aforementioned FOMC minutes were released and closed mixed on the day, with the Dow Jones industrials and the Nasdaq posting small declines and the S&P 500 up slightly. Yields were mostly unchanged for Treasury securities, while Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes gave up early sizable gains and both closed down over 2%.

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, February 17, 2022.

Adaptive Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ADPT): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating and slashed the price target to $21 from $54. JPMorgan kept an Overweight rating but cut the $70 price target to $50, while BTIG Research maintained a Buy rating and sliced its target to $30 from $35. The consensus target is $46.20. The stock closed trading Wednesday at $15.43, up over 5% for the day.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): Truist Securities reiterated a Hold rating but raised the target price to $190 from $180. Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating but lifted the $140 price target to $150. Needham has a Buy rating and a $220 price target, which was raised from $210. Evercore ISI maintained an Outperform rating and lifted the $215 price objective to $235. The consensus target for the home-sharing giant is $192.50, and the final trade for Wednesday was at $188.53, up almost 5% after the company posted stellar results.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs raised the price target on the aluminum giant to $88 from $78 while reiterating a Buy rating. Zacks selected Alcoa as its Bull of the Day stock, suggesting that only the best companies that are experiencing stellar revenue and earnings growth are able to make this type of price move. Shares closed Wednesday at $77.84, up over 5% on the day. The consensus target is just $71.36.

Arco Platform Ltd. (NASDAQ: ARCE): JPMorgan started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $22 target. The consensus target is up at $32.14. Shares closed on Wednesday at $20.04.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $305 price target. The consensus target is $317.76. The final trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $233.74.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): Goldman Sachs slashed its $74 price target on the Sell-rated shares to $47. The consensus target is $68.63. The shares were last seen Wednesday at $59.69, down close to 4% on the day.

Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a target price cut to $180 from $200. The consensus target is $192.05. The shares closed Wednesday at $156.09.

CRISPR Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSP): Goldman Sachs dramatically cut the price target to $87 from $179, while keeping a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $148.43. The closing trade on Wednesday was at $61.97 a share.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE: FIS): Morgan Stanley reiterated it at Equal Weight and trimmed the target to $113 from $134. Credit Suisse kept an Outperform rating and dropped the target price to $135 from $140, while Jefferies maintained a Buy rating and sliced the $135 target price to $120. The consensus target is $141.77, and the closing price on Wednesday was $100.43, down over 3% for the day.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Zacks has named this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst says that the history of earnings misses and deteriorating sales and earnings estimates are a huge red flag and need to be respected. Shares have traded as high as $123.13 in the past year but closed most recently at $71.67, down almost 18% year to date.

Fluence Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNC): HSBC Securities began coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 target. The consensus target is $32.42. The stock closed on Wednesday at $13.59.
Golden Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN): Roth Capital resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $70 price target. The consensus price objective is just $65.00. The shares closed at $58.87 on Wednesday, up over 4% for the day.

Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL): Wolfe Research resumed coverage with an Underperform rating, while boosting the price target to $50 from $45. The consensus price objective is $55.92. The stock closed on Wednesday at $57.31.

Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the hotel giant and pushed the price target to $208 from $192. Loop Capital reiterated a Hold rating and raised the price objective to $170 from $163, while Truist Securities maintained a Hold rating and like the others raised the target price, to $182 from $156. The consensus target is $172.75. The final trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $183.26.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): BMO Capital Markets started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $92 price target. The consensus target for the popular energy drink company is $104.95. The shares closed Wednesday at $83.22.

Paramount Global Inc. (NYSE: VIAC): BofA Securities downgraded the former ViacomCBS to Neutral from Buy and chopped the $53 target price to $39. Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating and lowered the $64 target price to $54, while Loop Capital maintained a Hold rating and dropped the target to $35 from $45. The consensus target was last seen at $46.48. The stock closed Wednesday, at $29.58, down almost 18% after very disappointing results.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Roth Capital’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $850 from $1,400. The consensus target is $2,093.24. The shares were last seen Wednesday at $746.85, which was down over 16% after giving a very weak outlook.
SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG): UBS reiterated a Neutral rating but lifted the target price to $290 from $280. JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating while nudging the $324 price objective to $328. BMO Capital Markets kept an Outperform rating but trimmed the target to $344 from $351. The consensus target is $317.42, and Wednesday’s final trade was at $266.72 a share.

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPR): Wolfe Research resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $60 target price. The consensus price objective is $60.54. The closing share price on Wednesday was $53.11.

Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): Needham reiterated a Buy rating but slashed its $70 price target to $38. Goldman Sachs stayed with a Neutral rating while trimming the target to $34 from $38. JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating but slammed the price target down to $24 from $58. The consensus target for now is $45.89. The stock closed Wednesday at $23.00, down over 18% after the company gave very disappointing guidance.

Vacasa Inc. (NASDAQ: VCSA): JPMorgan started coverage of the property management company with an Overweight rating and a $10 price target. The consensus target is up at $12.40. The final trade on Wednesday was at $8.11, which was a gain of close to 12% for the day.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM): Cowen raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted the target price to $143 from $134. The consensus target for the restaurant chain giant is $142.30. The shares closed on Wednesday at $123.35.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ZI): UBS reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the $67 target price to $73. Goldman Sachs also maintained a Buy rating, but it cut its target to $75 from $85. Raymond James stuck with Outperform, while lowering the price objective to $70 from $82. Those compare with the $79.61 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $56.22, which was down over 4% on the day.

With the potential for a sizable correction looming and interest rates soon headed higher, it might be a good idea for investors to Dividend Aristocrats in sectors that are defensive but look poised to do well the rest of 2022.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Arista Networks, American Airlines, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, General Electric, IAMGOLD, Intercontinental Exchange, NiSource, Pinduoduo, Southwest Airlines, Suncor Energy and 3M. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on CarMax, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Raytheon and more.

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