The futures were down across the board on Monday as we began another trading week that could be dominated by low volume as school in many parts of the country is back in session and vacations are coming to a close. Many are pointing to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover as a negative this morning. Last week’s action was dominated by all of the major indexes and the transports hitting all-time highs. The big data item Friday was the report that the University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment plunged to a preliminary August reading of 70.2 from a final July reading of 81.2. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected an August reading of 81.3. It is the lowest reading since December of 2011, and there have only been six bigger drops in the index in survey history.
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 Monday, August 16, 2021.
Angi Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI): Zacks has named this stock as its Bear of the Day. The analyst wonders whether this home-improvement website can overcome a difficult and expensive rebrand. Shares last closed at $42.08, and the consensus price target is $56.22.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and has a $215 price target. The consensus price target is $211.25. With the stock closing Friday at $215.17 and trading just shy of a 52-week high, this probably is a valuation call.
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