Monday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Exxon, Hilton, McDonald's, Nike, PayPal, Peloton and More

The first trading day of the new year has arrived, and the futures were higher across the board. With the holidays out of the way, traders and investment professionals will be back in full force and we are likely to see a big pick up in trading volume. While the focus remains on the spike in Omicron variant cases, South Africa where the first cases were diagnosed, has said its wave of Omicron cases appears to have peaked, according to published reports. It is thought we could see a peak in cases here at home by the end of the month.

With much of the Federal Reserve’s forward-looking initiatives now baked in, including the rate lift-off and faster quantitative easing tapering in 2022, Wall Street is continuing to focus on the big increases in energy and food costs and other spiraling inflation issues. While top strategists and economists are somewhat divided on when the current inflation increase will ease, the ongoing supply chain concerns and stagflation worries remain front and center.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh 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, January 3, 2022.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Baird maintained a Neutral rating on the biotech giant with a $258 target price after rumors of a Samsung buyout emerged last week. Samsung has denied those rumors, according to reports. The consensus target price is much higher $325.63. The final trade of 2021 was posted at $239.92 a share.

Cemex SAB de C.V. (NYSE: CX): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating on the stock and has a $9.20 price target, after the company announced last week that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its operations in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The consensus target is up at $10.64. The final trade for Friday was reported at $6.78.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ): Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating on the spirits heavyweight and moved the target price from $268 to $271. That compares with a $263.32 consensus price objective and Friday’s closing print of $250.97.

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