The futures were mixed on Friday, as we prepared to end a week that saw the Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit new all-time highs. The sellers had the upper hand early Thursday, as all the major indexes and the transports were lower, but a midday turnaround helped all four close modestly higher. With most of the second-quarter earnings reports now in, and vacation time in August over in many places and running out in others, investors can expect some choppy trading the rest of the month as volumes drop. U.S. wholesale prices were reported Thursday and rose sharply in July for the sixth month in a row, offering little evidence that the big wave of inflation is on the verge of slowing as many pundits have predicted.

Despite worries and the potential for a “taper tantrum” like we saw in 2013, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. This comes as some of the Fed governors and media pundits are hinting that a tapering of the $120 billion per month purchase of government and mortgage debt known as quantitative easing could be in the works sooner rather than later.

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 Friday, August 13, 2021.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Citigroup raised the video game giant’s stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $105 price target. The consensus target is higher at $116.66. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $85.17.

ACV Auctions Inc. (NASDAQ: ACVA): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the price target to $35 from $33. The posted consensus target is $36.67. The stock closed on Thursday at $21.85, after tumbling over 11% on the day. Shares were fighting back in the premarket, up almost 3%.