Friday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Applied Materials, Autodesk, Bank of America, BP, Broadcom, Micron Technology, Morgan Stanley and More

Investing

Published: October 15, 2021 8:47 am

Last Updated: October 15, 2021 12:15 pm

The futures were all higher on Friday, as investors enjoyed the biggest risk-off rally since March on Thursday. This was spurred in part by outstanding earnings from the mega-cap financials and the best numbers on new filings for unemployment since the beginning of the pandemic. While this week’s Consumer Price Index reading indicated the supply chain issues are continuing to force prices higher, top pundits say stagflation will not happen and the inflation will taper. That may be a reasonably tough sell to consumers paying the highest gasoline prices in seven years.

Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on rising interest rates, Federal Reserve tapering due to begin soon, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries, and many analysts are not nearly as positive on the upcoming earnings season as they were for the second quarter. Toss in the debt ceiling and China worries, and the cauldron continues to simmer.

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, October 15, 2021.

Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI): While JPMorgan raised the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also trimmed the target price to $23 from $25. The Wall Street consensus target is $25.43. The final trade Thursday was posted at $17.10. Shares were up almost 4% in premarket trading.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT): Piper Sandler started coverage on the venerable semiconductor capital equipment giant with a Neutral rating and a $130 price target. The higher consensus target is $162.70, and Thursday’s closing share price was $132.07.

AngioDynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO): Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and lifted the $28 target price to $37. The consensus target is $30. Thursday’s close was at $25.76 a share.