The futures were higher across the board on Wednesday, as investors surveyed the wreckage of a brutal Tuesday in which all the major indexes, except the Dow Jones industrial average, closed lower after big technology stocks were hammered, leading the tech-heavy Nasdaq to almost a 2% drop. The biggest data point this week continues to be Friday’s release of the April payroll numbers, and estimates across Wall Street range from the 965,000 consensus estimate to some as high as 2.1 million. While many across Wall Street remain very positive, some think we could be looking at a “sell in May and go away” scenario.

Despite clear inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve is vowing 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 balance 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 Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN): Oppenheimer raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $205 price target. The consensus target is lower at $175.23. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $168.49.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX): Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock and pointed out that rising costs are a problem for this former pandemic winner. Shares last closed at $182.60, and the consensus price target is $192.46.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP): BofA Securities raised the integrated energy giant to Buy from Neutral and has a $67 price target. The consensus target is $65.07, and Tuesday’s final trade came in at $52.57. Shares were up over 2% in Wednesday’s premarket.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR): Stifel downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered the price target to $20. The consensus target is $65.55. The stock closed Tuesday at $25.59, down 4% on the day. The shares were destroyed in the premarket, down an additional 30%, after the company reported a first-quarter loss and badly missed revenue estimates.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): DZ Bank raised the energy behemoth from Hold to Buy with a $67 price target. The consensus price objective is $62.92, and the shares were last seen on Tuesday at $59.19.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE): Societe Generale’s downgrade of the legendary luxury and racecar company to Hold from Buy included the price target lowered to $231. The consensus target is $238.72, and the stock closed Tuesday trading at $202.98.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NYSE: KHC): DZ Bank lowered its Buy rating on the condiment and food giant to Hold and has a $44 price target. The consensus target is $42.01, and Tuesday’s last trade was at $42.36. As it is trading at a 52-week high after a solid run, this is likely a valuation call.

Mercury Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY): Canaccord Genuity not only downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy but also lowered the price target to $74. The consensus target is much higher at $98, and the stock closed Tuesday at $79.21, which was down over 7% on the day. The stock was pummeled in premarket action, down an additional 18%, despite an earnings beat.

Meritor Inc. (NYSE: MTOR): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform and has a $31 price target. The consensus target is $33, and Tuesday’s last trade came in at $26.01.

Mid Penn Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: MPB): Piper Sandler raised its rating on the bank to Overweight from Neutral and also boosted the price target to $30. That compares with a lower $27.67 consensus pierce objective and Tuesday’s final print of $27.03.

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI): Stifel upgraded it to Buy from Hold and also lifted the price target to $103. The posted consensus price target is $99.17, and the stock closed trading on Tuesday at $89.62, which was down almost 4% for the day.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Baird started the semiconductor leader with an Outperform rating and a massive $800 price target. That compares with the much lower $666.10 consensus figure and Tuesday’s close of $574.00 per share.

Oceaneering International Inc. (NYSE: OII): BofA Securities upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and has a $15 price target. The consensus target is $13.77, and the shares closed Tuesday at $11.77.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL): Zacks named this as the Bull of the Day. The firm said that the focus on the home isn’t going away in 2021, as this pool maker saw a record first quarter. Shares most recently closed at $431.15 and have a consensus price target of $441.71.
Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE): JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, and the firm also raised its price target to $63. The consensus target is just $52.25, and the last Tuesday trade came in at $54.92. Shares were up almost 10% for the day after the company posted stellar first-quarter earnings.

Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI): While CIBC lowered its Sector Outperform rating to Neutral, it also raised the price target to $102. The consensus target is much lower at $46.09, and the shares rose almost 4% on Tuesday to close at $96.72.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA): UBS upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised the sports appeal leader’s price target to $36. Barclays also upgraded the shares, to Overweight from Equal Weight, and raised its price target to $34. The much lower consensus price target is $23.80. The stock closed Tuesday at $23.88, but shares were up over 4% in premarket trading after the company posted earnings that crushed Wall Street estimates.

VSE Corp. (NYSE: VSE): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $61 price target. The consensus target is lower at $57.50, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $43.67 after retreating almost 5% for the day.

WideOpenWest Inc. (NYSE: WOW): Truist Securities raised the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $25 price target. The posted consensus target is just $13.50. Tuesday’s final trade came in at $14.79, up over 2% on the day, and the stock followed through in the premarket by adding an additional 3% after posting very impressive earnings.

XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO): Vertical Research upgraded the stock Buy from Hold and has a $160 price target. The consensus target is lower at $ 149.33, and Tuesday’s closing share price was $141.52.

A top analyst who predicted last year’s massive relief rally now sees the potential for the market to drift up to 10% lower for the next six months. Though he is not calling for a major market crash, it may be time to sell in May and go away, as the adage says.

Check out the top holdings at ARK Invest and at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. And see why Credit Suisse believes the steel stocks still have room to run.

Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Bank of America, Boeing, Coinbase, Dollar General, Kroger and McDonald’s. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Domino’s Pizza, Editas Medicine, Roblox, Teva Pharmaceutical, U.S. Steel and more.

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