The futures traded lower on Friday after a mixed day on Wall Street Thursday in which the Dow Jones industrials printed an intraday all-time high and closed lower, and the Nasdaq sprinted into the close. With traders and investors ready for the long Presidents Day weekend with the markets will be closed on Monday, volume could dry up some as the day rolls on. Investors are continuing to cheer the possibility of a big stimulus package becoming a reality and fourth-quarter earnings that have continued to come in very strong. Top analysts on Wall Street are pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money, and many are urging caution.
With the pace of fourth-quarter earnings results slowing, most across Wall Street are still not only be examining the last results but looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 pushing back to all-time highs last week, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while repositioning portfolios for the rest of 2021.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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, February 12, 2021.
Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald, which lowered the price target to $17. That consensus target is higher at $24.19. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $18.73, after retreating 4% for the day. The stock was down a whopping 24% in the premarket after the company released clinical results after the close.
Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AMKR) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which points out that semiconductor stocks are hot as ever. Shares most recently closed at $22.95 but have a consensus price target of just $18.67.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) was started with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $12.66 to $38.50 and have a consensus price target of $31.50. The last trade for Thursday came in at $23.94 a share.
Catchmark Timber Trust Inc. (NYSE: CTT) was downgraded from Outperform to Sector Perform with an $11 price objective at RBC Capital Markets. That target is close to the $11.17 consensus target and Thursday’s $11.39 close.
Copart Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRT) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens, which also raised the price target to $140. The consensus target is $127.44, and Thursday’s closing share price was $115.97.
Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR) was started with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley with a $27 price objective. The consensus target for the electric vehicle company is set at $21.20. The stock closed Thursday at $15.44, and the shares are up almost 15% in the premarket.
Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GF) was started with a Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $3.79 to $14.90, and it has a consensus price target of $13.06. Thursday’s final trade was reported at $9.39 a share.
HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho, which raised the target price to $525. The consensus target is much lower at $427.56. The stock closed on Thursday at $431.76 and was up a stunning 21% in Friday’s premarket after it posted blowout quarterly profits.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) was started at Oppenheimer with an Outperform rating and a $35 price target. The consensus target is $15.13. The stock closed Thursday at $13 but was up a huge 20% in premarket trading.
Lordstown Motors Corp. (NASDAQ: RIDE) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Underweight rating and an $18 target. That compares with the higher $32.20 consensus and Thursday’s $30.75 close. The stock was down over 5% in premarket trading.
News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley, which raised the price target to $30. The consensus target is lower at $24.45. The shares closed Thursday at $23.04.
QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating and a $70 price target. The much lower consensus target is $46.67m and Thursday’s final print came in at $44.97. The electric vehicle battery company that is backed by Bill Gates and Volkswagen traded almost 8% higher in the premarket.
Romeo Power Inc. (NYSE: RMO) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Underweight rating and a $12 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $35. The last trade for Thursday came in at $17.71, after a retreat of almost 3% for the day, and the shares were down 8% in premarket trading.
Shutterstock Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) was reiterated with a Buy rating and a $95 price target at Needham. The consensus target is $91.20. The stock closed Thursday at $85.35, up almost 24% after it posted very solid earnings.
Sonos Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs, which also raised the price target to $37. That compares with a $39.25 consensus target and Thursday’s final print of $36.44, which was up over 15% on very solid earnings.
TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. The firm also raised the price target to $52, which is less than the $53.44 consensus target. The last trade on Thursday came in at $49.28, down almost 3% on the day. The stock was down an additional 5% in premarket action, despite it posting mostly inline earnings results.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer, which raised the price target on the high-end retailer to $136. The consensus target is $112.53. The closing share price on Thursday was $127.64.
YETI Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which has a $91 price target. The consensus target is down at $78.14. The final trade for Thursday was at $71.78, down almost 7% despite the company posting very solid earnings.
Zillow Group Inc. (NYSE: ZG) was reiterated with a Buy rating and a $230 price target at Needham. The much lower consensus target is $190.45, and Thursday’s close was at $200.60 a share, which was up almost 17% after it posted huge earnings.
BofA Securities says that, given current market conditions, it makes sense for investors to move to safer stocks that pay dividends. The firm has that five look like great places to park some portfolio money now in the event of a sell-off or correction.
Check out the marijuana stock that Reddit-based investors have their eye on now.
Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Allstate, Bed Bath & Beyond, Simon Property, Spirit Airlines, Twitter and Under Armour. Analyst calls seen later in the day featured Cisco, Lyft, Uber, VMware and more.
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