The futures were lower across the board on Monday as we open the new trading week after a wild ride last week. We saw the “buy the dip” retail army come in big after a massive sell-off last Monday, and by Friday all the major indexes ended up closing at all-time highs. What also helped propel the market as the week wore on was the commentary coming from companies posting solid results showing solid demand and enough pricing power to cushion margins from higher input costs.
Yields also moved higher on Friday as there was selling across the curve to end the week. This week is a monster for earnings, with Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook reporting, plus a Federal Reserve meeting joining the festivities.
Many across Wall Street remain leery of the beginning of the tapering of the quantitative easing program after the clear building of inflationary pressures, despite the fact the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. That could be one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets even after sell-offs. Also note 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 Monday, July 26, 2021.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI): Wells Fargo started coverage of the chipmaker with an Equal Weight rating and a $170 price target. The consensus target is up at $185.52. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $163.55.
Asbury Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: ABG): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $210 price target. The consensus price objective is $227.14. The stock closed on Friday at $196.51.
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