The futures traded higher across the board once again on Thursday, after a valiant effort by the risk-on crowd Wednesday to fight back from the brutal selling earlier this week. The rally, like so many recently, petered out by the end of the session, with the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 eking out small gains and the Nasdaq closing lower.

The market was so oversold that many strategists chalked up Wednesday’s gains to short covering and fast-money traders looking for a quick bounce. The technology shares initially got a big boost after Microsoft posted stellar results and offered very bullish June-quarter guidance. Most company buyback blackouts are expected to end on Friday, which many across Wall Street feel could help the beleaguered Nasdaq.

Sellers finally came back to the Treasury debt market, after some serious safe-haven buying earlier this week, as yields across the curve ended marginally higher. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude prices were flat, while natural gas was up over 3% to close at $7.14, and gold closed the day down over 1% at $1,885.

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 Thursday, April 28, 2022.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $188 target price. The consensus target is set at $145.31. The shares closed on Wednesday at $128.37.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG): Oppenheimer is staying with an Outperform rating on the technology colossus and has a $3,290 price objective, despite much weaker than expected first-quarter results. The consensus target is much higher at $3,366.67, at least for now. Wednesday’s close was at $2,300.41, which was down just shy of 4% for the day.

Antero Midstream Corp. (NYSE: AM) Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and bumped the $12 price target to $13. The consensus target is $10.43. The shares closed on Wednesday at $9.95. The stock was up over 3% in the premarket, after solid first-quarter results were posted.

Appian Corp. (NASDAQ: APPN): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is just $58, and the last trade for Wednesday came in at $47.80.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and boosted the $73 price objective to $108. That compares with the $84.42 consensus and Wednesday’s close at $93.92.

Avery Dennison Corp. (NYSE: AVY): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating, and it remains a top pick at the firm. The $250 target price compares with the $220.92 consensus target and Wednesday’s final trade of $181.33. That was a 4% gain on the day.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD): Stifel maintained a Buy rating but lowered its $90 target price to $84. The consensus target is $80.40. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday to $60.16.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF): Baird maintained a Neutral rating after earnings and has a $145 price objective. The consensus target is higher at $174.04. The last trade on Wednesday at $124.35 a share was down close to 6% for the day.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the popular restaurant chain and has a $1,900 price target. The consensus target is $1918.10. The final trade on Wednesday was at $1475.63 a share.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the legacy tech giant and has a $48 target price, after the company posted very solid earnings results. The consensus target is $46.18. Wednesday’s close was at $36.07.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL): The Zacks Bear of the Day is plagued by inflation and an aging customer base, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $171.80 in the past year but closed most recently at $116.15. That is down almost 10% year to date.

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating but trimmed the $100 target price to $90. The consensus target is $111.25. The stock was last seen on Wednesday at $62.52, up close to 7% after stellar results with excellent metrics.

Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $56 price target. The consensus target is $51.11. The shares closed on Wednesday at $22.46.

MaxLinear Inc. (NYSE: MXL): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $66 price objective. The consensus target is $74.10. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $43.99. The stock was up almost 12% in premarket action, after handily beating expectations for earnings and revenue in the first quarter.

Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the premier legacy tech giant and has a $365 target price. The consensus target is $366.45. The final trade on Wednesday came in at $283.22, up close to 5% for the day.

Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MPWR): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating in front of next week’s earnings report. Its $500 target price is lower than the $561.11 consensus figure. The shares closed on Wednesday at $392.28.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the legacy food and beverage giant and has a $187 price target. The consensus target is $183.15. The stock closed on Wednesday at $174.85.
QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS): Baird kept a Neutral rating on the electric vehicle battery company and lowered its $20 target price to $17. The consensus target is $22. The shares closed on Wednesday at $14.79, which was up close to 3% for the day.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and lifted the $45 target price to $49. The consensus target is $37.64, and the stock closed almost 5% higher on Wednesday at $30.83.

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ: RPRX): Goldman Sachs began coverage with a Buy rating and a $56 target price. The consensus target is $51.14. The shares closed almost 3% higher on Wednesday at $42.99.

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: SEAS): Zacks has named this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst makes a case that it proved its operational superiority in the amusement park space this past year, demonstrating an unparalleled return to profitability. Shares last closed at $69.64 apiece and have a consensus price target of $82.33, which would be a multiyear high.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Pivotal Research Group lowered its Buy rating to Hold and slashed the $235 price objective to $110. For now, the consensus target is up at $206.75, and Wednesday’s closing print was $96.67, after sliding over 12% on very weak paid subscriber growth, despite topping forecasts for overall monthly users.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the legacy technology giant and has a $220 target price objective. The consensus target is just $195.25. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $169.39.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $262 price target, after the credit card and payments heavyweight posted stellar results. The consensus target is up at $270.87. Wednesday close at $214.11 was up over 6% on the day.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM): Oppenheimer kept an Outperform rating on the garbage collection heavyweight and boosted the $174 target price to $177. The consensus target is $171.86. The last trade on Wednesday was at $167.45, a 2% gain on the day.

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Any company that has paid rising dividends for 50 years or more is the epitome of safe and dependable. Seven outstanding Dividend Kings stocks also have support from top Wall Street analysts, making them promising ideas for nervous investors in these turbulent times.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Alcoa, Amgen, Bank of New York Mellon, Boston Beer, Charles Schwab, Freeport-McMoRan, Kroger, Live Nation Entertainment, Mattel, Southern Company and Valero Energy.

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