The futures were hammered on Monday as Wall Street weighs the new sanctions on Russia after one of the wildest and craziest weeks on Wall Street in the past 20 years. The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked the biggest roller-coaster ride in recent memory. The major equity indexes were shredded for much of the day Thursday after the invasion, and then they roared back into positive territory, with the Nasdaq, which was down 3.5% at one point, closing up well over 2% and the S&P 500 up close to 1.5%. Then came a massive follow-through rally on Friday, after news sources reported that Russian President Putin has been quoted as saying he is ready to negotiate with Ukraine President Zelensky.

All the major indexes closed up big on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrials leading the way with a 2.51% gain, the S&P 500 up 2.24% and the Nasdaq adding on an additional 1.64%. The only selling was seen in the Treasury market, as yields were up across the curve as the flight to safety bid evaporated. Oil rolled over, as both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower.

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, February 28, 2022.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV): UBS downgraded the pharmaceutical heavyweight to Neutral from Buy but raised the price objective to $147 from $129. The consensus target is $149.75. The stock closed trading on Friday at $149.54. As it is trading near a 52-week high, this likely is a valuation call.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs raised the $78 target price on the aluminum giant to $88 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $71.36. The final trade on Friday was for $77.85 a share, which was up over 6% on the day as aluminum prices continue to soar.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating on the Chinese internet giant but trimmed the $216 target price to $200. UBS stuck with a Buy rating and dropped its target to $150 from $165. Stifel maintained a Buy rating but lowered its $150 target to $135. Those targets compare to the $197.18 consensus figure and Friday’s close at $107.94.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and lowered the price target to $285 from $310. Citigroup stayed with a Buy rating and dropped its $305 target to $286, while Truist Securities maintained a Buy rating and trimmed the target to $200 from $210. The consensus target is $312.52. The final trade for Friday was at $219.62 a share.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Buy rating on the electronics retailing giant but lowered the $150 target price to $125. The consensus target is $124.10. The shares ended Friday’s session almost 5% higher to $95.83.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target on the plant-based food stock to $40 from $47 while keeping a Sell rating. The consensus target is $66.44. The closing price on Friday was at $44.49 a share, down over 9% for the day.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Needham reiterated a Buy rating while lowering the price target to $175 from $315. Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating and trimmed the $250 target to $220. Jefferies maintained a Buy rating but slashed its target to $155 from $200. The consensus target is $225.81. The stock closed on Friday at $119.82, up a stunning 26% after reporting stellar results and solid forward guidance.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on the cryptocurrency trading giant to $250 from $288 but kept a Buy rating. The consensus target is up at $349.30. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $176.83.

Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS): Mizuho upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and bumped up the target price to $35 from $34. The consensus target is $37.00. The closing share price on Friday was $29.85.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL): Credit Suisse downgraded the popular athletic shoe retailer to Neutral from Outperform. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $26.36 to $66.72 and has a consensus target of $57.59. The final trade on Friday was reported at $29.07, down almost 30%, the firm’s biggest one-day drop in almost 40 years after posting awful results. To add to the misery, its biggest supplier Nike reportedly said it will cut back on business with Foot Locker.

GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO): Jefferies started coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is $12.10. The shares closed at $8.54 on Friday.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD): Edward Jones upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The shares of the big-box retailing giant have traded in a 52-week range of $246.59 to $420.61 and have a $387.22 consensus target. The last trade on Friday was reported at $316.65.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): Goldman Sachs slashed its $840 price target to $715 but maintained a Buy rating. The consensus target is $701.76. The last trade on Friday was reported at $487.18 a share.

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and has a $38 target price. The consensus target is $39.08. The stock closed on Friday at $28.74, up over 6% on the day.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX): Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $115 price target. Yet, this also is the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. That analyst says that strong growth for Ingrezza met company investment in the pipeline, sparking lowered earnings estimates. Shares have traded as high as $111.05 in the past year but closed most recently at $88.86 apiece, which is up about 4% year to date.

Nvidia Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Zacks has named this tech giant as its Bull of the Day. The analyst suggests that another beat-and-raise quarter for the King of AI is sign of the unstoppable tech super cycle. Shares last closed at $241.57, and the consensus price target is $344.51.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAS): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage of the popular theme parks operator with a Neutral rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is $72.78. The shares ended trading on Friday at $71.91, up close to 3% for the day.

Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN): Jefferies cut its Buy rating to Hold. The 52-week trading range is $9.51 to $22.75, and the stock has an $18.71 consensus target. The closing print on Friday was $19.31.

TotalEnergies S.E. (NYSE: TTE): While RBC Capital Markets downgraded the French energy giant to Sector Perform from Outperform, it also lifted the $52 target price to $55. The consensus target is up at $66.38. The final trade on Friday was for $54.70 a share, which was up close to 3% on the day.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA): BTIG Research upgraded the athletic apparel giant to Neutral from Sell. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $15.21 and $27.28, and Wall Street has a $26.44 consensus price objective. Friday’s last trade was recorded at $17.76, up close to 4% for the day.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $18 price target to $16 and has a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $18.18. Friday’s closing trade was at $9.18 a share.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW): Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $119 from $136 while keeping a Neutral rating. Stifel maintained a Buy rating and lowered its $160 target to $135. Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and trimmed the $148 price target to $135. The consensus target price is $148.98. The last trade on Friday was reported at $118.14.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating and cut the $400 target price to $330. UBS kept a Buy rating and lowered its target to $325 from $350. Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and sliced the $335 price target to $310. The consensus target is $374.06, at least for now. The shares were last seen on Friday at $221.85, down almost 16% after the company offered up a disappointing earnings forecast despite revenue surging for the past quarter on a year-over-year basis.

Goldman Sachs continues to make the case for higher oil prices, and five top stock picks make sense for growth and income investors as they pay big and dependable dividends and distributions and look like they can continue to ride the increase in oil pricing.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Dish Network, Dollar General, eBay, Gap, HollyFrontier, Mosaic, NetApp, Nextdoor, Skillz, Tesla, TJX, Toll Brothers and Vipshop. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on BP, Carvana, Iron Mountain, LivePerson and more.

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