The futures were lower on Friday, after a rollercoaster week and month that began with some heavy selling. It looks poised to end the way it started, with more selling. All the major indexes finally found a way to close higher Thursday, with a massive across-the-board rally despite a gloomy negative first-quarter gross domestic product report and interest rates once again moving higher.

Some very solid technology earnings numbers and guidance were helped along with very oversold conditions, which were cited as the main reasons for the huge bounce, but lousy earnings reports from Amazon and Apple added to the pressure Friday.

The aforementioned interest rate moves were seen across the Treasury curve, with the 30-year government bond closing in on a 3% handle once again. The good news for Wall Street is the Treasury yield curve moved somewhat higher and is avoiding the inversion status we saw earlier this month.

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 Friday, April 29, 2022.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock but slashed the $625 target price to $510. The consensus target is (for now) at $606.92. The shares were last seen Thursday at $304.66, which was down almost 16% after the company posted disappointing earnings.

Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $200 price objective. The consensus target is $186.93. The stock was last seen on Thursday trading at $131.89.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the biotech giant after earnings, and it has a $291 target price. The consensus target is $248.64. The stock closed on Thursday at $238.13, down over 4% on the day.

Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and has an $85 price target. The consensus target is $86.69. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $73.55, which was up almost 5% on the day.
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN): Baird maintained an  Outperform rating on the shares after solid earnings, and the firm has a $112 price objective. The consensus target is up at $117.89. The final trade Thursday hit the tape at $82.64, up almost 3% for the day.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the legendary motorcycle company and lowered the price target to $55 from $60. The posted consensus target is $52.13. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $37.06.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $31 target price, citing a very strong earnings report and the quickly improving business and leisure travel outlook. The consensus target is $29.43, and the stock closed on Thursday at $21.92, down a surprising 6% for the day.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Stifel lowered its $56 price target on the Buy-rated casino stock to $46. That compares with the $51.19 consensus target and a closing share price of $35.68 on Thursday.

Manitowoc Co. Inc. (NYSE: MTW): Orders for heavy cranes are booming as construction looks strong despite rising costs, says Zacks, which named this stock as its Bull of the Day. Its shares closed most recently at $13.68 and have a consensus target price of $19.78.

Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the shares and noted it remains “long-term buyers” of the stock. The firm raised the $68 price target to $72, which compares with the $69.20 target price and Thursday’s closing print of $55.06.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and a $300 price target. The consensus target is up at $314.61. The shares closed almost 18% higher on Thursday at $205.73, after the social media giant posted solid results and offered up inline guidance. The shares closed on Thursday at $205.73.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and a $210 target price in front of next week’s scheduled earnings release. The consensus target is up at $229.69. The final trade on Thursday was reported at $177.25, which was up close to 4% for the day.

Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK): Stifel cut the price target on the Buy-rated stock to $115 from $130. The consensus target is $120.59, and the closing share price on Thursday was $94.09.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and has a $126 target price on the payments giant after it posted very solid results for the latest quarter. The consensus target is higher at $166.07. The shares closed almost 12% higher on Thursday at $92.09.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Stifel kept a Hold rating on the stock following a mixed earnings report, and the firm has a $31 price target. The consensus target is higher at $37.97. The shares closed Thursday at $21.20, up almost 14% on the day.

Revolve Group Inc. (NYSE: RVLV): Stifel maintained a Buy rating and has a $51 target price. The consensus target is higher at $68.76. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $45.44 a share.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Goldman Sachs continued to pound the table with a Buy rating on the Conviction List stock, and it has a huge $752 target price. The consensus target is $666.74. The shares closed over 8% higher on Thursday at $504.02.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on this Conviction List member, and it raised the $153 target price to $180. The consensus target is $164.59, and the final trade for Thursday was reported at $132.29 a share.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $275 price target on the credit card and payments heavyweight after the company posted stellar results. The consensus target is $269.89. The last trade Thursday was reported at $220.66, which was up over 3% for the day.

See the seven Goldman Sachs high-conviction stock picks that make sense now for worried investors as they pay solid dividends and can weather the potential storms much better than most.

J.P. Morgan has initiated coverage on three electric aircraft companies it sees as ready for takeoff.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Allstate, Antero Midstream, Archer Daniels Midland, Capital One Financial, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Corning, Microsoft, PepsiCo, QuantumScape, Range Resources, Spotify Technology, Texas Instruments, Visa and Waste Management. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Coca-Cola, Fifth Third Bancorp, Kinder Morgan, Teladoc Health, 3M and Vroom.

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