The futures traded higher Thursday, after a big midweek risk-off day Wednesday when all the major indexes were down well over 1% and the transports also closed lower. The song remains the same as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the skyrocketing energy prices, which are in turn fueling the highest inflation rates in 40 years, kept the sellers in control. The rising mortgage rates are starting to put a crimp on the housing market for first-time buyers, even though actual rates are still very low on a historical basis.

The only buying Wednesday was across the U.S. Treasury market, after rates spiked higher over the past week. Yields were lower across the curve, while both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude spiked higher, as did natural gas. Gold also rallied after days of recent selling. Spot prices are down over 6% this month alone.

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 across Wall Street on Thursday, March 24, 2022.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target on the legacy tech giant to $605 from $710, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. Though Baird kept an Outperform rating, it slashed its $750 target to $550. The consensus target is $617.59. The shares closed on Wednesday at $422.90, down almost 10% after delivering weak guidance.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $215 price objective. The consensus target is $212.86. The stock closed Wednesday at $162.35.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): Zacks selected this semiconductor maker as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst points out that investors fled after guidance fell short of expectation and shares likely will remain volatile. They have traded as high as $227.59 in the past year but closed most recently at $96.01, down more than 52% year to date.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): Stifel lowered the price target on the Buy-rated shares to $30 from $33. The 52-week high is $31.52, but the stock closed on Wednesday at $18.30, which was down over 3% for the day.

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (NYSE: CDAY): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and an $85 price objective. The consensus is up at $156.55. The last trade for Wednesday was posted at $67.97.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): Rosenblatt started coverage of the optical giant with a Buy rating and an $80 target price. The consensus target is $80.80. The shares ended trading on Wednesday at $57.85. That was down close to 3% for the day.
E2open Parent Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ETWO): Colliers Securities upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $13 target. The consensus target is $13.50 The stock closed Wednesday at $9.67, up over 3% on the day.

GDS Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: GDS): Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with an $85 target price. The consensus target is $74.60. The shares closed Wednesday at $42.63, up over 8% in the wake of results that topped revenue estimates.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H): Truist Securities bumped up the $106 target price to $111 while keeping a Buy rating on the lodging giant’s shares. The posted consensus target is $100.12. The closing share price on Wednesday was $93.17.

LGI Homes Inc. (NASDAQ: LGIH): BTIG Research downgraded the shares to Sell from Neutral and has a $98 target price. The consensus target is higher for now at $150. The stock closed on Wednesday at $108.96, down close to 10% on basically no news.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP): Goldman Sachs stuck with a Sell rating on the shares and a $74 target price. BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and has a $96 price target. The consensus figure is $98.42, and Wednesday’s closing print was $87.22.

Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO): China Renaissance started coverage with a Buy rating and a $32.40 price objective. The consensus target is up at $51.69. The final trade on Wednesday was for $21.87a share.

Nvidia Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating on the chip leader and has a $245 target. Oppenheimer kept an Outperform rating and a $350 price target. The consensus target is $341.15. Wednesday’s final share price of $256.34 was down close to 4% for the day.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING): Stifel upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, and it raised the $25 price objective to $30. The consensus target is $29.86. The stock closed on Wednesday at $24.11. Shares were up closed to 3% in the premarket.

Poshmark Inc. (NASDAQ: POSH): Goldman Sachs lowered its $24 price target to $16 but kept a Neutral rating on the shares. Stifel maintained a Buy rating and cut the target price to $19 from $23. The consensus target is $23.08. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $14.18.

Power Integrations Inc. (NASDAQ: POWI): Stifel maintained a Buy rating. Its $118 target price is higher than the consensus target of $109.17. The close on Wednesday was at $94.44.
Rattler Midstream L.P. (NASDAQ: RTLR): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating with a $12.50 price target. The consensus target is $13.50. The stock rose over 6% Wednesday on strong oil price gains, closing at $14.27.

RealReal Inc. (NASDAQ: REAL): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $13 price objective. The consensus target is $15.07. Wednesday’s close at $7.98 was down close to 4% for the day.

Spectrum Brands Inc. (NYSE: SPB): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $125 price objective. The consensus target is $124.57. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $89.17.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the ubiquitous coffee retailer, and its $130 price target compares with a consensus figure of $113.55. The analysts cited the massive 25% decline this year and noted the outstanding entry point for investors looking to own the stock. The shares closed on Wednesday at $86.22.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes a case that strong earnings and bullish guidance make for a winning combination. Shares last closed at $85.73, and the consensus price target of $100.91 would be a 52-week high.

Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN): Stifel raised the $262 price target to $274, while keeping its Neutral rating. The consensus target is up at $309.40 The last trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $255.42, after retreating 3% for the day.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX): Baird maintained an Outperform rating. However, its $240 target price is lower than the $273.14 consensus and Wednesday’s final print of $248.13.

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With the first quarter about to end, many investors are reviewing their portfolios and making changes. Five Jefferies Franchise List picks make sense for growth and income investors looking to shift to a safer profile for the rest of what could be a very turbulent year.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AES, American Express, Baker Hughes, BorgWarner, Coupang, CyrusOne, Duke Energy, Nike, Okta, Plains All-American Pipeline, Public Service Enterprise and Schlumberger. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Booking, BP, Block, T-Mobile and more.

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