24/7 Wall St.

Despite the conventional “sell in May and go away” sentiment, lately investors have proven that they are looking for opportunities and will buy the big market dips. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning with the goal of finding new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and other reports feature stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday morning:

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $48 (versus a $40.44 prior close) at BMO Capital Markets. ADM has a consensus analyst price target of $39.00 and a 52-week trading range of $29.86 to $53.31.

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral with a $58 price target (versus a $62.70 close) at Goldman Sachs. It has a consensus price target of $60.19 and a 52-week range of $47.50 to $65.49.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was started with a Buy rating and was given a $158 price target (versus a $131.42 close) at Topeka Capital. The consensus price target is $147.32, and the 52-week range is $92.17 to $137.82.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen. Shares closed at $50.03, and the stock has a consensus analyst target of $57.72 and a 52-week range of $39.72 to $56.85.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was started as Outperform and was assigned a price target of $29 (versus a $20.46 close) at FBR Capital Markets. The consensus price target is $24.46. The 52-week range is $14.48 to $39.45.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) was started as Market Perform with a $14.50 price target (versus a $12.31 close) at FBR Capital Markets. It has a consensus price target of $14.10 and a 52-week range of $6.00 to $22.62.

VMware Inc. (NYSE: VWM) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $61 price target (versus a $59.46 close) at Cowen. The consensus price target is $61.85, and the 52-week range is $43.25 to $93.43.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) was maintained as Buy at Jefferies, but the price target was cut to $50 from $56 (versus a $40.46 close). Cowen raised its rating to Outperform from Market Perform with a $50 price target. The consensus analyst target is $59.27, and the 52-week range is $34.99 to $99.76.

You can follow @JonOgg if you wish to get analyst upgrades and downgrades directly on your Twitter feed.

Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades from this Tuesday were seen in the following companies:
Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) was started as Hold with a $42 price target (versus a $41.99 close) at Topeka Capital Markets.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was started with a Sell rating and was assigned a price target of $37 (versus a $42.52  close) at Topeka Capital Markets. It has a consensus price target of $47.95 and a 52-week range of $41.26 to $72.94.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a $41 price target (versus a $34.00 close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Callon Petroleum Co. (NYSE: CPE) was started with an Outperform rating and was assigned a price target of $14 (versus a $11.15 close) at Credit Suisse.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $74.50 price target (versus a $67.54 close) at BB&T Capital Markets.

Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight and the price target was cut to $61 from $70 (versus a $60.05 close) at Piper Jaffray.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the target price was raised to $50 from $45 (versus a $42.74 close) at Credit Suisse.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) was started with a Hold rating and $74 target price (versus a $78.87 close) at Topeka Capital Markets.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a whopping $11 price target (versus a $4.65 close) at Rodman & Renshaw.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) was started with a Buy rating and a $12 price target (versus a $5.48 close) at Topeka Capital Markets.

Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: RRR) saw its quiet period end on Monday with mostly positive coverage. Citigroup has initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating.

Sotherly Hotels Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHO) was started as Buy at Janney with a $6.50 fair value estimate.

United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) was started with a Buy rating and was assigned a price target of $62 (versus a $50.13 close) at Topeka Capital Markets.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alcoa, Boston Scientific, Schlumberger, Sony, Staples and many more.