In the movie “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray keeps living the same day over and over. So are investors. The futures were modestly lower Tuesday after all the major indexes were sledgehammered Monday, all closing down more than 2%. The Nasdaq once again took the biggest loss, hammered down 3.62% and now trading in bear market territory, or down 20%, as oil skyrocketed to highs not seen since 2008. Gasoline prices surged to levels not seen since then as well. There was some retreat from the highs as Germany pushed back on an energy ban on Russia, but the momentum is swinging toward a total ban, which will cripple the Russian economy. Brent crude closed the day at $124 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate finished at $119.

Gold continued its strong move higher, as those seeking a viable hedge against the current geopolitical fallout keep buying. The sellers returned to the Treasury bond markets and yields rose marginally higher across the curve. While a third round of talks between the two countries took place Monday, and the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Turkey on Thursday, hopes for a ceasefire remain muted.

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 Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS): Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to Perform from Outperform. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $55.63 to $102.28 and closed Monday’s session at $55.09, down almost 10% on basically no news.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and slid the $22.20 target price up to $24.20. The consensus price target is $21.81 The stock closed above both levels on Friday at $25.55.

Ares Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: ARCC): Hovde Group started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $22.50 target price. The consensus target is $23.08. The final trade for Monday was filled at $20.95, which was down over 4% for the day.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Goldman Sachs cut its target price to $220 from $250 while keeping a Sell rating. The consensus target is $290.24, and the final Monday trade came in at $199.09, down almost 4% on the day.

Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price boost to $108 from $103. The consensus target price is $104. Monday’s closing share price was $89.69.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): Baird raised its Underperform rating on shares of the money center banking giant to Neutral with a $42 target. The consensus target is up at $51.57. The stock closed Monday at $38.34, down over 6% on the day.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) Goldman Sachs cut its price target on the plant-based food stock to $40 from $47 while keeping a Sell rating. The consensus target is $52.67. The last trade on Monday was reported at $42.31.

BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC): While keeping a Buy rating on the company, Goldman Sachs cut the target price in half, to $29 from $60. That compares with a $36.83 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $20.89.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE): Barclays downgraded the shares from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $4 target. The consensus target is $12.55. The stock ended trading on Monday at $4.45, which was 11% lower on the day. Note that the shares traded at $150 four short years ago.

Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY): Goldman Sachs raised the target price for the golf clubs and accessories giant to $31 from $27 while keeping its Neutral rating in place. The consensus target is $40.17. The stock closed on Monday at $20.77, down over 9% on basically no news.

Carters Inc. (NYSE: CRI): Wedbush upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral and has a $108 target price. The consensus target is $119. The shares closed on Monday at $91.58.

Chinadata Group Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: CD): Credit Suisse raised its Neutral rating to Overweight with an $8.30 target price. The consensus target is higher at $12.62. Monday’s closing share price was over 7% lower at $5.82.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Goldman Sachs dropped its price target on the cryptocurrency trading giant to $250 from $288 while keeping a Buy rating on the shares. The consensus price objective is a stunning $315.21. The last trade for Monday hit the tape at $161.14.

ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE: COP) Though BofA Securities downgraded the energy giant to Neutral from Buy, it also raised the $110 target price to $135. The consensus target is $105.35. The last trade on Monday was reported at $101.27.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Evercore ISI upgraded the shares from In line to Outperform with a $60 target price. That compares with the $65.80 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $49.33. That was down over 5% for the day.

Empire State Realty Trust Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRT): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Underperform from Market Perform and cut the $8 target price to $11. The consensus target is $10.42. The shares ended Monday at $9.06, down almost 4% for the day.
HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC): BofA Securities upgraded the shares of the refiner to Buy from Neutral and boosted the price target to $47 from $40. The consensus target is $40. The last trade for Monday was reported at $29.34.

MicroVision Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS): Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $5 target price. The shares closed nearly 5% lower on Monday at $4.16.

Next Era Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE): KeyBanc Capital Markets lifted its Sector Weight rating to Overweight and has an $87 target price. The consensus target is $91.92. The stock closed Monday’s session at $84.18, up close to 5% for the day.

Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has an $8 price target. The consensus target is $6.88. The stock closed Monday at $7.11, up over 20% for the day.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Mizuho upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $225 price objective. The consensus target is $248.48. The stock ended Monday’s session at $154.40.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH): Wedbush cut its Outperform rating to Neutral and slashed the $140 target to $85. The consensus target is $128.26. The last Monday trade was reported at $66.19, down a whopping 15% on no news that we could locate.

TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight but moved the $3.50 target price to $2.40. The consensus target is a stunning $29.60 for now, and the shares closed Monday at $2.48, up close to 5% on the day.

UGI Corp. (NYSE: UGI): BofA Securities cut the shares to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price objective to $38 from $46. The consensus target is $50.25. The final trade on Monday was reported at $34.31, down over 5%.

Six top real estate investment trusts pay a 5% or higher distribution and are offering outstanding entry points after recent pullbacks. They are in sectors poised to do well in difficult times and are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Broadcom, Costco Wholesale, DraftKings, Exxon Mobil, Foot Locker, Marvell Technology, Nvidia, Payoneer Global, Philip Morris International, Pure Storage, Rivian Automotive, SoFi Technologies, Splunk and Tilray Brands. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on American Airlines, Citigroup, Mosaic, Palantir, U.S. Steel and more.

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