The futures were higher on Tuesday after the sellers returned Monday, not the least of which were those in the Treasury market that once again pushed yields on the five-year and 10-year notes to the highest levels in a year and had the 30-year bond trading a 2.53% level. Market pundits cited a host of reasons for last week’s strength and cautioned that the end-of-month index rebalancing will not provide the massive buying ammunition it once held, after last week’s high risk-off moves. All the major indexes closed lower after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell citing the potential for more aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation.

The other big story Monday was oil storming higher, after a 6% decline last week. Brent crude closed up over 8%, while West Texas Intermediate posted a 7% gain. The most obvious talking point was the European Union mulling a Russian oil embargo, in addition to the sanctions already in place. With gasoline prices average well over $4 a gallon in the United States, you can bet consumers are getting hit hard in the wallet.

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 22, 2022.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Baird designated the stock as a “Fresh Pick,” which is a short-term trading call at the firm. The analysts kept a Neutral rating while raising the target price to $360 from $350. The last trade Monday was reported at $324.50.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): Goldman Sachs raised its Neutral rating on the tobacco giant to Buy and boosted the $48 target price to $57. The consensus target is $54.08. The stock closed Monday at $52.25.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating on the carrier and trimmed the $14 target price to $12. The consensus target is $16.99. The shares closed Monday at $16.09, which was down close to 4% for the day.

APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): Goldman Sachs kept its Neutral rating on the energy leader while raising the $36 target price to $46.50. The consensus target is $41.98. The shares closed almost 5% higher on Monday at $40.88.

Armstrong World Industries Inc. (NYSE: AWI): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $111 target price. The consensus target is $109.56. The last trade Monday hit the tape at $95.12.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL): Goldman Sachs cut the $54 target price to $42 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $35.66, and shares closed on Monday at $28.94.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): Goldman Sachs boosted its price target on the integrated energy giant to $176 from $154 while keeping a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $160.74. The stock closed Monday at $164.64.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $175 target price objective. The consensus target is up at $213.84. The final trade Monday came in at $140.14, down almost 4% for the day.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $950 target price. The consensus price objective is $832. The last trade on Monday hit the tape at $717.75.

Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. (NYSE: FBHS): Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and cut the $120 price target to $95. The consensus target is $118.27, and Monday’s closing print of $83.23 was down almost 5% on the day.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM): Jefferies maintained a Hold rating on the legacy automotive heavyweight and has a $44 price target. The consensus target is up $74. Monday’s closing share price of $43.61 was down close to 3% for the day.

Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG): Argus raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $41 target price. The consensus price objective is $40.80. Monday’s last trade was at $35.87 a share.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on share of the credit card giant and has a $470 target price. The consensus target is $430.56. The final trade on Monday was filled at $345.58.

MaxLinear Inc. (NASDAQ: MXL): This under-the-radar semiconductor play stands to benefit from the next decade of digital development, says Zacks, which named it the Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $60.16, and the consensus price target is $77.60.

On Holding AG (NYSE: ONON): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating but lowered the target price to $46 from $51. The consensus target is $42.60. The close on Monday was at $27.14.
Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD): Nomura downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed the $95 target price to $48. The consensus target is $101.59 for now. The stock closed on Monday at $39.99, down over 6% on the day, but the shares are climbing back in the premarket, up close to 5%.

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PLTK): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $20 target. The consensus target is up $28.18. The stock closed at $18.17 on Monday.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the biotech giant and has a $781 target price. The consensus target is $702.31. The shares closed on Monday at $693.20.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the electric vehicle pioneer and has a $1,250 price target. The consensus target is lower at $956.80. The stock closed trading on Monday at $921.16.

Tetra Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TTI): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $5 target price. The consensus target is $5 as well. The stock closed on Monday at $3.71.

Toast Inc. (NASDAQ: TOST): Bernstein started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $19 target price. The consensus target is higher at $32.56. The final trade Monday was reported at $20.05.

TotalEnergies S.E. (NYSE: TTE): HSBC Securities raised the French energy heavyweight’s stock to Buy from Hold. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $40.33 to $60.04 and have a consensus price objective of $68.86. Monday’s final trade was posted at $50.32.

United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR): Jefferies kept a Buy rating on the stock and has a $223 target price. The consensus target is $222.63. The close on Monday was at $182.17 a share.

Analysts at Jefferies have a dividend playbook for the rest of 2022. They consider eight blue-chip stock picks in a variety of sectors to have “rock solid” dividends that are unlikely to be cut or lowered.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Express, BlackBerry, FedEx, Garmin, Manchester United, MGM Resorts, Nike, Omnicom, TransUnion and Warby Parker. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Air Products, Blend Labs, Check Point Software, Deutsche Bank, Huntsman, ImmunoGen and more.

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