The futures were modestly higher Monday, as we begin the first full trading week of the second quarter. The major indexes closed higher on Friday, after starting lower after the disastrous last day of March close, wherein traders experienced the fourth worst final hour on record to a quarter since at least the mid-1980s. Oil also plummeted, with West Texas Intermediate falling below $100 a barrel as more details of the huge draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve became public. Plus, a brief inversion on the two-year and 10-year Treasuries got the recession chatter fired up again.

Investors had been eagerly waiting for the start of the second quarter, after the first down quarter for stocks since 2020. April has been seasonally one of the strongest months and has closed positive nine straight years and 16 of the past 21 years. With another positive nonfarm payrolls report in the books from March, and first-quarter earnings right around the corner, there will be plenty for investors to be focused on this week.

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, April 4, 2022.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Zacks has named this tech giant its Bull of the Day stock despite the timidity of other analysts. Shares last closed at $108.19 and have a consensus price target of $150.91.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and has a $160 price objective. The consensus target is $174.06. Friday’s last trade was reported at $102.45.

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLX): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $10 price objective. The consensus target is $25.33. The stock closed on Friday at $12.88.

Avantor Inc. (NYSE: AVTR): Citigroup downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price objective to $38 from $48. The consensus target is $44.33. The stock closed Friday at $34.19.

BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU): Goldman Sachs raised the $42.50 price target on the Sell-rated shares to $48. The consensus target is $48.08. The shares closed on Friday at $43.88.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): This biotech stock is the Bear of the Day at Zacks. The analyst points to its Alzheimer’s treatment as a slow starter and to falling earnings forecasts. Shares have traded as high as $468.55 in the past year but closed most recently at $210.65. That is down more than 12% year to date.
Centennial Resource Development Inc. (NASDAQ: CDEV): Stifel upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and boosted the $8.40 target price to $11.20. The consensus target is $9.43. Friday’s closing trade was filled at $8.78, which was up nearly 9% for the day on no reported news.

CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $9 target price. The consensus target is $12.41. The shares closed Friday at $7.69, down close to 3% on the day.

Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN): Jefferies reiterated a Buy on the electronics and furnishings retailer and has a $24 target price. The consensus target is $23. The stock closed at $15.06 on Friday.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the popular discount retailing heavyweight and has a $265 target price objective. The consensus target is $246.04. The closing share price on Friday was $226.30.

Doximity Inc. (NYSE: DOCS): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and has a $78 price objective. That compares with the $67.55 consensus price target and Friday’s last trade at $52.79 a share.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE): Jefferies kept a Buy rating on the wildly popular retailer and has a $250 target. The consensus target is $220.75. Friday’s closing price was $162.68 a share.

Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLU): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the shares and raised its $23 target price to a massive $25. Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $17 target. The consensus target is $20.43. The shares closed on Friday at $7.75, up over 14% after last week posting outstanding earnings for the quarter and year.

LuluLemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the yoga and exercise apparel giant and has a massive $459 target price. The consensus price objective is lower at $427.57. The stock was last seen Friday trading at $367.44.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $553 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $628.89. The stock closed on Friday at $516.00 a share.

nCino Inc. (NASDAQ: NCNO): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the stock but lowered the target price to $55 from $75. The consensus target is $71.67. The stock closed on Friday at $46.58, up almost 14% after posting very solid fourth-quarter results.

Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO): UBS upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold while dropping the target price to $432 from $42. The consensus target for shares of the electric vehicle company is $44.74. The final trade last Friday was reported at $21.93, up over 4% on the day. Shares were up almost 6% in Monday’s premarket trading.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the payment giant but lowered the target price to $175 from $205. The consensus target is $179.91. The final trade on Friday was reported at $116.67.

Poshmark Inc. (NASDAQ: POSH): Stifel lowered its Buy rating to Hold and cut the price target to $15 from $19. The consensus target is $16.75. The stock closed Friday at $12.22, down close to 4% on the day.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares and raised the target price to $24 from $20. The consensus target is $19.83. The close on Friday was at $21.41.

Synchrony Financial Inc. (NYSE: SYF): Goldman Sachs lowered its target price for the Buy-rated shares to $40 from $45. The higher consensus target is $52.06, and Friday’s closing print was $35.16 a share.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA): BofA Securities maintained an Underperform rating on the pharmacy retail giant, despite the company posting strong results last week. The analyst has a $44 price target, which is lower than the $52.02 consensus. Friday’s close was at $43.86 per share.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral but lowered the $530 target price to $500. The consensus target is $563.50. The stock closed at $413.73 on Friday.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $300 target price. The consensus target is $329.43. Friday’s last trade hit the tape at $246.21.

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With the potential for a sizable correction looming, investors may want to consider five Dividend Aristocrats that are in sectors that are defensive and that are poised to do well the rest of 2022. With even moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors could be looking at double-digit total return potential.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Bank of New York Mellon, Block, Consolidated Edison, Dell Technologies, Exxon Mobil, Flex, GameStop, Huntsman, Lockheed Martin, PulteGroup, Snowflake, Take-Two Interactive Software, Western Union and Wynn Resorts.

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