Monday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, AT&T, Chevron, Dollar General, Ford, Kroger, Marvell, Peloton, Salesforce, Twitter and More

Investing

Published: December 6, 2021 8:53 am

Last Updated: December 6, 2021 11:00 am

The futures were mixed on Monday, after last week’s extremely volatile trading sessions. Once again, the nonfarm payroll data came in with very disappointing results. Only 210,000 jobs were added, versus expectations of 500,000, while the prior month numbers were revised up to 546,000 from 531,000. The analysts at BTIG Research made the case on Friday that some of the jobs data seemed very out of place. In fact, the firm noted that there seemed to be what it termed as “seasonal nonsense” in the leisure and hospitality space, which came in at only 23,000 jobs and had been closer to 271,000 over the past nine months, so the firm concluded that this report really didn’t add up.

Nonfarm payroll numbers often vary from month to month compared with expectations, but it seems as if the November report may have been an anomaly. The good news in the report was that the jobless rate dropped and the labor participation rate rose.

Top strategists across Wall Street are focused on the potential for a faster taper to the quantitative easing program and the potential for an earlier rate increase liftoff. In addition, big increases in energy costs and other inflation issues, the ongoing supply chain concerns and stagflation worries are still front and center. Once again Congress kicked the debt ceiling can down the road, as the president signed a short-term government funding bill into law last week, preventing a shutdown. The measure will keep the government running through February 18.

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, December 6, 2021.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Goldman Sachs began coverage on the biotechnology leader with a Buy rating and a $258 price target. The consensus target is $240.48. The final trade on Friday came in at $202.44.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage on the technology giant with an Overweight rating and a $191 price target. The consensus price objective is $161.84. The stock closed trading on Friday at $161.84.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T): Truist Securities maintained a Hold rating on the telecommunications giant and has a $26 price target. The consensus target is $30.95. Friday’s closing trade was reported at $23.46.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): Raymond James reiterated an Outperform rating on the stock and has a $64 price target. The consensus target is $66.13. The last trade on Friday came in at $61.09.