Investing
Wednesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: American Airlines, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Rite Aid, Wells Fargo and More

Published:
Last Updated:
The futures have turned mixed on Wednesday after investors took profits on a wild Tuesday that saw the S&P 500 post an intra-day all-time high before closing lower, the Nasdaq closing at an all-time high and the Dow Jones industrials closing down over 200 points, after being down more than 400. Two of the biggest stories the week were OPEC failing to reach a consensus on production levels and Chinese technology scrutiny after the DiDi app was ordered to be taken down from mobile app stores in China. The company just went public last week, and the shares were hammered Tuesday, closing down almost 20%.
Despite the concerns across Wall Street about tapering of the quantitative easing program and a clear building of inflationary pressures, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. That could be among the reasons 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 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, July 7, 2021.
Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (NYSE: AMG): Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised the price target on the shares to $246 from $213. That compares with a much lower Wall Street consensus price target of $169.75. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $166.80, which was up almost 7% on the day.
Allegheny Technology Inc. (NYSE: ATI): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and also raised the price target to $22 from $15. The posted consensus target is $24.50. The shares retreated almost 3% on Tuesday to close at $20.37.
Bandwidth Inc. (NASDAQ: BAND): Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $155 price target. That compares with the higher $177.22 consensus and Tuesday’s closing print of $140.50.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): Keefe Bruyette resumed coverage of the money center giant with a Market Perform rating and a $40 price target. The consensus target is $43.87. The stock was closed on Tuesday at $40.07.
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Credit Suisse raised its Neutral rating on shares of the popular brewer to Outperform, and the price target was hiked to $1,490 from $1,304. The consensus target is $1,359.47. The stock closed Tuesday at $927.92, down almost 3% on the day. The stock was trending higher in the premarket, up over 3%.
ChemoCentryx Inc. (NASDAQ: CCXI): Stifel upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and also raised the price objective to $31 from $26. The consensus target is even higher at $37.29. The stock saw a gain of almost 7% on Tuesday and closed at $14.05 a share. The company recently filed an amendment with the FDA to its marketing application seeking approval for avacopan to treat anti-neutrophil aytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis, addressing concerns raised during the FDA Advisory Committee meeting in May. The shares were up an additional 3% in premarket action.
Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: AQUA): The Raymond James downgrade from Strong Buy to Outperform came with a $35 price target. The consensus target is $33.90. The stock ended trading on Tuesday at $33.19. As it closed just below a 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.
Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS): Cowen raised the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $48 price target. The consensus target is $43.27, and the shares closed on Tuesday at $39.42.
Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS): JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and has a $61 price target. The consensus target is higher at $70.73. The shares were last seen on Tuesday at $57.95.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS): Keefe Bruyette Resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $115 price target. The consensus target for the investment giant is just $97.28. The stock was last seen at $90.21 on Tuesday.
NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE): When RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Outperform from Sector Perform, it also boosted the price target to $300 from $266. The consensus target is $298.44 and Tuesday’s final print was at $254.67.
Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Sector Perform from Underperform and also raised the price target to $115 from $109. The consensus target is $117.29. The stock closed Tuesday at $100.60, which was down over 4% for the day.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD): This retailer was named as the Bear of the Day at Zacks, which pointed out that competition is fierce and earnings are moving in the wrong direction. Shares most recently closed at $15.37, but the consensus price target is just $13.50.
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC): Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and has a $43 price target. The posted consensus target is $38.67. The final trade for Tuesday hit the tape at $40.08.
TopBuild Corp. (NYSE: BLD): JPMorgan upgraded it to Neutral from Underweight and has a $223 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $248.29. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $189.39, down almost 4% for the day.
Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST): Wolfe Research raised the stock from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $25 price target. The consensus target is $22.40, and the stock closed Tuesday at $18.34, after pulling back almost 4%.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Keefe Bruyette resumed coverage of the bank with an Outperform rating and a $57 price target. That compares with the consensus target of $48.77 and Tuesday’s final trade of $43.49.
Also see the six biggest losers in Warren Buffett’s portfolio in the second quarter, as well as 10 short squeeze candidates for July. Plus, CNBC’s Jim Cramer recommends three kinds of stocks to buy in a market pullback.
Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Express, DTE Energy, DuPont, Hologic, Ingersoll Rand, Nvidia and 3M. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alibaba, Apple, Squarespace, Virgin Galactic and more.
The Average American Is Losing Momentum on Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4%* today. Checking accounts are even worse.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying nearly 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.