The futures were lower overall Thursday, after a very positive Wednesday in which investors and traders clawed some gains back after the big losses earlier this week. The very narrow breadth in the market is starting to weigh on strategists, and the continuing concerns hanging over the market remain the same: growth headwinds from the spread of the Delta variant hurting reopenings, supply chain and input price pressures that may hurt upcoming earnings, concerns over the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling, strong and (in some cases) bipartisan pushback on additional fiscal stimulus, higher taxes in a reconciliation bill and a host of other additional items.

While traders initially welcomed the news that consumer prices cooled off in August, those prices still rose a staggering 5.3% from a year before as supplies and labor continued to drive them up. Those who have been touting the fact that the higher inflation trends are “transitory” will point to this print as some proof. The fact of the matter is that, across the board, prices have trended higher. Whether it is in the grocery store, at the gas pump or a host of other items, Americans are paying far more this year than last year.

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 Thursday, September 16, 2021.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP): BofA Securities raised shares of the credit card and financial services giant to Neutral from Underperform and has a $169 price target. The consensus target is $183.52. The stock closed on Wednesday at $161.34 per share.

Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD): Deutsche Bank upgraded the “King of Beers” to Buy from Hold. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $51.45 to $79.67 and has a consensus price target of $75. The stock was last seen on Wednesday at $57.17 a share.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating on the rental car giant to Buy and boosted the price target to $125 from $90. The consensus target is $93.17. The final trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $90.00 per share.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL): Raymond James upgraded the shares of the South American airline from Market Perform to Outperform with a $25 price target. The consensus target is $24.19. The shares closed at $19.99 on Wednesday.