The futures were trading mixed on Monday, at the start of a new trading week after a wild quadruple witching Friday. That is, stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures all expired simultaneously and certainly stirred the volatility pot. The transports posted another strong day, and that usually bodes very well for the economy, especially with stimulus money pouring in and the country reopening.
Despite the strong gains, top strategists 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 the current volatility may be here for some time.
With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength, while repositioning portfolios for the start of the second quarter and 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 22, 2021.
Acceleron Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: XLRN) was resumed in coverage at Goldman Sachs with a Neutral rating and a $132 price target. The consensus target is $149.62, and the stock closed trading on Friday at $138.01 a share.
Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC) was raised from Neutral to Buy with a $78 price target at BTIG Research. The consensus target is $76.18. The shares ended Friday trading at $68.15.
ASML Holdings N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $222.67 to $608.71 and have a consensus price target of $578.20. The stock closed Friday at $547.42.
B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS) was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral with a $31 price target at Piper Sandler. The consensus target is $27.90, and the stock closed on Friday at $33.06, after a gain of over 4% on the day. Trading it is at a 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.
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