The futures were lower on Friday, as we hit the final trading day for April. Investors cheered some huge big technology earnings, and after a third of the S&P 500 having reported this week, we will start to see a slowdown in the earnings onslaught as we begin May. All the indexes except the Russell 2000 printed gains Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both once again setting all-time highs.

Despite inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates contained, which could be one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets, even after sell-offs. It also should be noted that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

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 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 Friday, April 30, 2021.

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ: AMTB): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and raised the price target to $24 from $21. The consensus target is $19.50, and the stock closed Thursday at $18.17.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): Piper Sandler upgraded it to Neutral from Underweight. The firm also raised the price target on the apartment real estate investment trust (REIT) giant to $205 from $147. The posted consensus target is $187.35. The shares closed Thursday at $191.51.

Axos Financial Inc. (NYSE: AX): Janney upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $54 price target. The consensus price objective is $52.29, and the stock was last seen Thursday at $46.31.