The futures were mixed Monday morning, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq looking to open much lower. This comes after last week’s wild roller-coaster ride that saw the Nasdaq actually briefly drift into correction territory Friday, before the market turned and exploded higher on the back of the February jobs data that came in way above Wall Street estimates. The major indexes and the Russell 2000 closed up on Friday, and traders got the expected final Senate agreement on the stimulus bill this past weekend. Top analysts on Wall Street continue pointing to “bubble” metrics, like the massive “meme” retail stock and option trading, huge hedge fund leverage and IPOs that don’t make money as examples, so last week’s volatility may stick around.
With fourth-quarter earnings reporting all but complete, most across Wall Street have not only been examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the balance of the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction, 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 Monday, March 8, 2021.
Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN | ACN Price Prediction) was upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna, which also raised the price target to $290. The posted consensus target is $281.36, and the final trade on Friday was reported at $249.51 per share.
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Apria Inc. (NYSE: APR) was started at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a $30 target price. There is no consensus target posted as the company had a recent initial public offering. The shares closed Friday at $21.59 apiece.
BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Hovde, which also raised its price target on the shares to $51 from $42. The consensus target is $41.97. The stock closed trading Friday at $43.91, which was up almost 3% on the day.
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Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE) was raised at Credit Suisse from Neutral to Outperform with a $35 target price. The consensus target is $32.06, and the shares closed at $25.61 after slipping almost 4% on Friday.
Cable One Inc. (NASDAQ: CABO) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $2,100 target at Truist Securities, while the analysts at Raymond James upgraded it from Market Perform to Outperform with a $2,025 price objective. The consensus target is $2,007.67, and the stock ended Friday’s trading at $1,800 a share.
Carter’s Inc. (NYSE: CRI) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that this niche retailer is stuck and it ponders whether investors should wait for a catalyst. Shares last closed at $85.20, and the consensus price target is $96.75.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets, which raised the price target on the venerable soft drink company to $60. The consensus target is $57.37, and Friday’s final trade came in at $50.79 a share.
DTE Energy Co. (NYSE: DTE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities, and the firm lowered the price target to $119. The consensus target for the utility is $137.25, and the stock closed on Friday at $123.16.
Eaton Corp. PLC (NYSE: ETN) was raised from Hold to Buy with a $160 price target at Berenberg. That compares with a lower consensus target of $139.67 and Friday’s closing share price of $137.39.
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Fastly Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLY) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Sandler, where the analysts have a $65 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $85.81. The stock closed on Friday at $64.84 a share.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was raised at Credit Suisse from Underperform to Neutral with a $70 price target. The consensus target is up at $88.36, and the stock was last seen on Friday trading at $73.70.
Icon PLC (NASDAQ: ICLR) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, where the analysts have a $215 price target. The consensus target is $224.15, and the shares ended Friday at $179.83 a share.
Lemonade Inc. (NYSE: LMND) was raised at Oppenheimer from Perform to Outperform with a $110 price target. That compares with the $107.20 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $92.90, which was down over 3% for the day.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets, which also raised the price target to $50. The consensus target is slightly higher at $53.79, and the stock saw an almost 4% gain on Friday and closed at $41.51.
Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $130 price target at MKM Partners. The much higher consensus target is $166.35, and Friday’s last trade came in at $105.13 a share.
Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT) was named as the Zacks Bull of the Day stock. The firm wonders whether the bulls can send this stock to the moon again. Shares last closed at $25.10, but the consensus price target is just $24.86.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, though the analyst raised the price target on the aquatic amusement parks to $52. The consensus target is $48.20, and Friday’s last trade was reported at $49.10, which was up over 4% on the day.
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $200 price target at Guggenheim. The consensus target for the big-box retailer is $201.69. The stock closed at $172.61 on Friday.
Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) saw its target price raised to $375 from $315 at Telsey Advisory, which maintained its Outperform rating on the retail cosmetics leader. The posted consensus target is $308.25. The stock closed Friday at $333.77, up almost 3% for the day.
V.F. Corp. (NYSE: VFC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Pivotal Research, which also raised the price target to $94. The consensus target is $93.55, and Friday’s closing price was $78.77 per share.
Waitr Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: WTRH) was raised at Deutsche Bank from Hold to Buy with a $4 price target. The consensus target for the food delivery company is up at $5.70, but the shares ended trading Friday trading at $3.20 apiece.
Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) was raised at BofA Securities from Neutral to Buy with a $180 price target. The consensus target is $188.14, and the stock closed trading on Friday at $145.68.
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One surprising recent change is many hedge funds and mutual fund portfolio managers are buying old-school legacy tech stocks. Five of them make sense for investors looking to move out of the momentum plays. Furthermore, top analysts were bullish on eight top tech stocks last week.
Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Autodesk, Costco, Gap, SBA Communications, Smith & Wesson, Western Digital and Zscaler. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Boeing, Cisco, Oracle and more.
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