The futures were mixed Monday as investors and traders got ready to start what could be another volatile week across Wall Street. There were some reports last week that Russian President Putin noted “certain positive shifts” in the talks between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats, but an early Friday rally rolled over once again by the noon hour, as reports circulated the Russian military was moving to reposition to attack Kyiv. The four major indexes closed down big. The Nasdaq led the slide once more, down over 2% on the day, again joining the Russell 2000 in bear market territory, which is down over 20% from the highs.

All eyes this week are focused on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points. Top economists expect as many as ten or more total rate increases between now and the end of 2023. These will be the most increases by the Federal Reserve since 2005, as well as the first increases since 2019.

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, March 14, 2022.

Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC): BofA Securities started coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and an $85 target price. The consensus target is $85.83. The stock closed trading on Friday at $73.01.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Deutsche Bank started coverage on the technology heavyweight with a Buy rating and a $4,100 target price. The consensus target is $4,099.88. The shares closed Friday at $2,910.49.

Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE): Zacks said that this is a critical link in the American agriculture supply chain, and the firm selected it as the Bull of the Day stock. The shares last closed at $43.90 and have a $45.75 consensus price target.

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target of the money management behemoth to $800 from $1,000, while keeping a Buy rating on the stock. The consensus target is $943.27, and shares closed on Friday at $687.04.

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $2,512 target price. The consensus is posted at $2,661.36. The stock closed at $2,017.40 on Friday.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): Wells Fargo started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $231 target. The consensus price objective for the construction equipment colossus is $171.87. The stock closed on Friday at $214.83.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): Morgan Stanley cut shares of the integrated energy heavyweight to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $166 price objective. The consensus target is $157.36. Friday’s final trade was reported at $170.90. As it is trading just shy of a 52-week high, this move looks like a valuation call.

Constellation Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: CEG): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $62 price objective. The consensus target is $56.45. The stock closed last Friday at $49.32, down almost 4% for the day.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with a Buy rating with a $455 price objective. The consensus target is $424.05. Friday’s closing share price of $389.48 was up 3% for the day.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): Baird downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform and slashed the $140 target price to $82. The consensus target is $170.95 for now. The stock closed over 20% lower on Friday at $75.01, after the company revealed poor full-year guidance.

DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE): UBS downgraded the Michigan utility to Neutral from Buy and trimmed the $136 target price to $133. The consensus target is $130.94. The stock closed Friday at $126.97. As it is trading very close to a 52-week high after a strong run, this looks like a straight valuation call.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Deutsche Bank began covering the stock with a Hold rating and a $145 target price. The consensus target is $220.26 for now. The shares closed Friday at $121.23, which was down close to 12% on basically no news.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE): Redburn upgraded the iconic sports car giant to Buy from Neutral. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares traded in a range of $178.87 to $278.78, and they have a consensus target of $190.45. The last trade on Friday was at $190.45 a share.

Helmrich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP): Seaport Research Partners raised the drilling giant from Neutral to Buy with a $50 target price. The consensus target is just $38.16. The shares closed on Friday at $41.88.

Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR): Goldman Sachs, while keeping a Sell rating on the grocery store heavyweight, raised the $34 target price to $45. The consensus target is $51.92. The shares ended Friday at $55.90.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW): BofA Securities downgraded the shares from Buy to Neutral with a $21 target price. The consensus target is higher at $25. The last trade on Friday was at $20.15 a share.

Nokia Oyj (NYSE: NOK): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $6.50 target price. The consensus target is $7.23. The stock closed at $4.81 on Friday and was up almost 5% in premarket trading.

Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ: NDLS): Zacks has named this as its Bear of the Day stock, citing the Omicron variant and commodity inflation as a double whammy for the fast-casual restaurant operator. Shares have traded as high as $13.55 in the past year but closed most recently at $15.03, which is down almost 30% year to date.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): Morgan Stanley downgraded the energy leader to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $52 target. The consensus target is $50.33. The shares ended Friday’s session at $57.95. With shares trading just shy of a 52-week high, this looks like a straight valuation call.
Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Morgan Stanley began coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $32 target price. The consensus target is up at $43.85. The last trade on Friday was reported at $21.14, down almost 7% on the day.

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): Goldman Sachs slashed the $90 target price on the electric vehicle shares to $48 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The consensus target is up at $116 for now. The stock was last seen Friday at $38.05, down almost 8% for the day.

Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Guggenheim raised the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $22 target price. The consensus target for the solar power parts and systems stock is $33.91. The shares closed nearly 15% higher on Friday at $17.92, after the company posted outstanding earnings.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): Deutsche Bank started coverage on the popular social media app provider with a Buy rating and a $45 target. The consensus target is higher at $56.80. The shares closed on Friday at $30.05, down over 5% on the day.

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU): Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the Buy-rated shares to $38 from $34. The consensus target is $35.76. The closing share price on Friday was $31.76.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UBER): Deutsche Bank started coverage of the popular ride-sharing stock with a Buy rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target is $59.91. Friday’s last trade came in at $30.76.

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and has a $65 price objective. The consensus target is $60.02. The stock ended last week trading at $58.50 a share.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target on the hard disc drive company from $59 to $52 while keeping a Neutral rating. Shares have traded as high as $78.19 in the past year but closed most recently at $45.30.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised the $70 target price to $96. The consensus target is $100.86. The stock closed Friday at $70.48, after a very solid week in which it announced some big changes in the company structure.

While income and growth investors may not look to the Nasdaq for total return, there are some gems in the index that make sense for investors now. The five highest-yielding Nasdaq stocks offer some of the best entry points in years.

Dollar General, Qualcomm and other top companies are expected to lift the dividends they pay to shareholders this week, making their stocks good total return candidates.

Check out the five stocks analysts loved and five stocks analysts hated last week.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Asana, Chevron, Coterra Energy, CrowdStrike, Marqeta, Meta Platforms, Monster Beverage, Nordstrom, Oracle, PayPal, Spotify Technology and Twitter.

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