The futures were higher as we get set to end another crazy, rollercoaster week of trading that saw some huge moves both up and down. All the major indexes closed lower after diplomatic progress between Ukraine and Russia bogged down and the fighting continued, and inflation, as measured by the February consumer price index reading, came in at 7.9% on a year-over-year basis, the highest level in 40 years. All the major indexes were down big but rallied in the last hour of trading to close well off the lows. The Nasdaq once again led the slide, down close to 1%, while just avoiding closing back into bear market territory, down over 20%.

Surprisingly, the transport index posted a big 1.2% gain, as oil closed lower for the second day this week after a massive run, while gold rallied back after being bludgeoned on Thursday. The sellers returned to the Treasury market, as yields across all maturities climbed, with the benchmark 10-year note reclaiming the 2% level.

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 Friday, March 11, 2022.

Agiliti Inc. (NYSE: AGTI): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but lowered the price objective to $28 from $32. The consensus target is $26.56. Thursday’s closing trade was at $18.06 a share.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $3,150 target price. The consensus target is $3,498.33. The stock closed Thursday at $2,653.64.

Asana Inc. (NYSE: ASAN): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight and cut the price objective in half, to $32 from $66. The consensus target, for now, is $84. The last trade for Thursday was recorded at $38.01, down a stunning 22% after disappointing results.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP): Stifel raised the $222 price target to $238 and reiterated a Hold rating. The consensus target is $216.82. The final trade on Thursday was reported at $209.70.

Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA): Mizuho started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $47 price target. The consensus target is $42.60. The closing trade for Thursday was at $45.67.

C4 Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CCCC): J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $43 price objective. The consensus target is higher at $52.80. The stock closed on Thursday at $24.07.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): J.P. Morgan downgraded the integrated energy giant to Underweight from Neutral and has a $169 target price. The consensus target is $154.50. The stock closed at $170.82 on Thursday.

Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE: CTRA): Piper Sandler cut its Overweight rating to Neutral and trimmed the target price to $25 from $26. The consensus price objective is $27.80. The stock closed Thursday at $26.33, which was up almost 4% for the day. With it closing close to a 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.

Couchbase Inc. (NASDAQ: BASE): Goldman Sachs lowered the target price to $37 from $43 while keeping a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $37.14. The last trade on Thursday came in at $16.77, down almost 10% despite beating analysts’ estimates.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Morgan Stanley raised shares of the cybersecurity giant to Equal Weight from Underweight. They have traded in a 52-week range of $150.02 to $298.48. The consensus target is $266.10. The stock was last seen Thursday at $191.02, up another 12% in the wake of results that hammered expectations.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line and nudged the target price to $53 from $52. The consensus target is $54.50. The final trade on Thursday was reported at $47.15.

Hess Midstream L.P. (NYSE: HESM): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $33 target price. The consensus target is $32.17. The stock closed up almost 4% on Thursday at $33.12. As it is trading just shy of a 52-week high, this looks like another valuation call.

Kirkland’s Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK): Craig Hallum downgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and slashed the $30 target price to $15. The consensus target, for now, is $28.33. The stock closed Thursday at $12.49, after pulling back almost 10% on the day. The only news we could find was the company had an earnings conference call scheduled for Thursday, and the news had to be grim.

LifeMD Inc. (NASDAQ: LFMD): Colliers Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $14 target. The consensus target is up at $15.50. The stock closed Thursday at $3.43.

Marqeta Inc. (NASDAQ: MQ): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target to $15.50 from $18 and kept its Neutral rating intact. The consensus target is $20. The shares closed Thursday at $10.22, down close to 5% for the day.

Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH): J.P. Morgan downgraded the homebuilder to Neutral from Overweight and dropped the price objective to $111 from $148. The consensus target is $135.67. The closing print on Thursday was at $95.12.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB): Deutsche Bank started coverage of the social media heavyweight with a Buy rating and a $265 target price. The consensus target is $326.15. The final trade for Thursday hit the tape at $195.21.

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE: MTD): Goldman Sachs cut its target price to $1,240 from $1,460 but maintained a Sell rating. The consensus target is up at $1522. The shares closed on Thursday at $1338.34.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): Stifel lowered the $107 price target on the energy drink company to $103 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is $101.89. The last trade on Thursday was at $75.39.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN): This beaten-down department store chain just delivered blowout holiday quarter results, hinting that a rebound on the horizon, says Zacks, which selected it as the Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $23.96 and have a consensus price target of $25.93.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): Piper Sandler downgraded the shares to Underweight from Neutral and cut the $100 price target to $70. The consensus target is $99.02. The shares closed at $76.65 on Thursday.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day, pondering whether this digital payments giant can re-energize revenue and user growth in 2022. Shares have traded as high as $310.16 in the past year but closed most recently at $98.55, which is down almost 48% year to date.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Hold rating and a $140 target price. The consensus target is higher at $239.56. The stock closed on Thursday at $132.67.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR): Deutsche Bank started coverage on the popular social media site with a Hold rating and a $35 price target. The consensus estimate is up at $44.63. The shares were last seen Thursday at $34.12.

Weave Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: WEAV): Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and slashed the $37 target price to $13. The consensus target is $14.50. The last trade for Thursday came in at $5.76, down close to 6% on no news we could find.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and nudged the target price to $96 from $95. The consensus target is $100.86. The stock closed Thursday at $72.39, up over 3% for the day after the announcement earlier this week of some big changes in the company structure.

With the interest rates about to begin increasing, the Nasdaq close to bear market territory and the market starting to anticipate recession, it may be a good idea for investors to consider five Dividend Aristocrats in defensive sectors that are poised to do well the rest of 2022.

See why Credit Suisse is upbeat now on seven semiconductor equipment and chip stocks.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Arista Networks, Bumble, Cisco Systems, ConocoPhillips, CrowdStrike, DXC Technology, Eli Lilly, Emerson Electric, Freeport-McMoRan, Halliburton, Rio Tinto, Olaplex, PPL and Teck Resources. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Hormel Foods, KB Home, McDonald’s, NetApp, Toll Brothers and more.

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