The futures were lower on Monday, as investors return following a dumpster-fire week that saw all the major indexes hammered and stocks ending lower for the fourth week in a row. It was reported that U.S. large-cap stocks saw their biggest outflow (hint: selling) since February of 2018. The reasons remain the same: staggering inflation, rising interest rates, a worsening border crisis, and the ongoing and costly war in Ukraine, where once again the United States is footing the lion’s share of the bills there as we continue to pile on debt to the already $30 trillion we owe and so much more.

While earnings reports have remained solid for the first quarter, and the mega-cap technology stocks are reporting this week, many investors are becoming incredibly worried a market disaster could be right around the corner.

Despite continued hawkish rhetoric from all corners, not the least of which is Nomura coming out last week with the potential for a 200-basis-point increase in federal funds by the end of July, the Treasury market saw some buying on Friday. Yields across the curve were modestly lower or flat. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower, while natural gas closed down over 6%. Gold ended Friday down almost 1%.

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 25, 2022.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Raymond James upgraded the shares from Outperform to Strong Buy and has a $160 target price. The consensus target is $147.72. The final trade Friday was reported at $88.14.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): This stock is the Bear of the Day at Zacks. The analyst points to the hard times that chip stocks have had over the past few years. Ambarella shares have traded as high as $227.59 in the past year but closed most recently at $83.60. That is down about 59% year to date.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR): Baird trimmed its target price on the Outperform-rated shares to $319 from $334. That compares with a $340.65 consensus target and Friday’s last trade of $264.56, which was down close to 5% for the day.

DoorDash Inc. (NYSE: DASH): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $100 price objective. The much higher consensus target of $160 is also well above Friday’s closing print of $89.00.
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX): Goldman Sachs lowered its $255 target price to $221 and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock. The consensus target is higher at $256.42. The final trade on Friday came in at $203.60.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, which is on the firm’s Franchise Picks list of top picks. Its $65 price target on the mining giant is well above the $50.38 consensus target. The shares were last seen Friday at $41.91, down close to 7% for the day.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): Goldman Sachs slashed the $20 target price on the popular retailer to $14 but kept a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $17.29, but shares ended last week at $11.72, down a stunning 18% on Friday after the company issued some serious earnings warnings and the Old Navy president and CEO left the firm.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $90 target price. The consensus target is just $70.27. The last trade Friday hit the tape at $62.25.

Globus Medical Inc (NYSE: GMED): Oppenheimer maintained a Perform rating and a $72 target price after the company announced the resignation of its president and chief executive. The consensus target is $83.07. The last trade Friday was filled at $68.53. That was down 13% for the day.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN): Baird maintained a Buy rating with a $17 price target after the company posted inline first-quarter numbers. The consensus target is $16.94. Friday’s closing share price was $13.76.

Independence Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: IRT): Jefferies started coverage with a Buy rating and a $32 target price. The consensus target is $27.43. The stock closed on Friday at $27.68.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG): Oppenheimer reiterated its Perform rating on the robotic surgery leader but oddly has no current price target. The consensus target is $338.71. The shares were hammered Friday, closing down almost 15% to $252.34.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY): Goldman Sachs trimmed the $30 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $27. That compares with a $26.08 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $20.71.

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL): Raymond James raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform with an $80 target price. The consensus target is up at $96.64. The shares closed on Friday at $58.44.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the fast-food giant and has a $282 target price. The consensus target is $280.25. The last trade for Friday was reported at $250.17.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW): Jefferies downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with a $20 target price. The consensus target is $24.43. The shares closed on Friday at $18.76, down close to 8% for the day.
Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE): Goldman Sachs raised the $134 price target on the steel giant to $148. The consensus target for the Neutral-rated stock is $126.45. Shares closed on Friday at $161.05, down over 8% for the day.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the shares with a $173 target price. The consensus target is $170.18. The stock closed Friday at $86.03, down almost 4% on the day.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (NYSE: PPC): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst makes a case that, with food shortages warned of some time back, investors should take a deeper look at this stock. Shares last closed at $27.36 and have a consensus price target of $29.07.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX): Baird maintained a Neutral rating and nudged the $146 target price to $148. The consensus target is $150.57. The final trade on Friday was reported at $137.19, which was down over 3% for the day.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): Oppenheimer lowered its $55 price target on the Outperform-rated stock to $40. That compares with a $55.37 consensus target and Friday’s final print of $29.76.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Wolfe Research started coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a $250 price objective. The consensus target is up at $317.19. The last trade for Friday was reported at $173.80.

Tractor Supply Corp. (NASDAQ: TSCO): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating after the company posted solid first-quarter results. The analyst has a $250 target price, while the consensus figure is $245.77. Friday’s final print of $206.65 was down almost 6%.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL): Goldman Sachs lifted its $52 target price on the Buy-rated carrier to $59. The consensus target is $55.71. The closing price on Friday was $51.46 a share.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Underweight from Neutral included a price target slash from $105 to $78. The consensus target is $137.33. Friday close was at $82.98 per share.

Apple, Exxon and PepsiCo are among the top companies expected to hike the dividends they pay to shareholders this week, making their stocks good total return candidates.

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Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Accenture, Alcoa, American Airlines, Carvana, Comerica, CSX, Dow, JetBlue Airways, Lululemon Athletica, Netflix, PBF Energy, Range Resources, Rio Tinto, Steel Dynamics, Take-Two Interactive Software, Tesla and United Airlines. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alkermes, Callaway Golf, Canadian National Railway, Electronic Arts, Kroger, Union Pacific and more.

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