Thursday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMD, Amgen, Chipotle, DuPont, Lyft, MGM, Newmont, Progressive and More

Investing

Published: February 10, 2022 8:54 am

Last Updated: February 10, 2022 9:09 am

The futures were lower on Thursday, after another stellar day across Wall Street when all the major indexes closed higher and buyers finally returned to the Treasury market, as yields fell some across the curve. The consumer price index numbers came in worse than expected, and that could put a halt to this week’s sizzling rally. Inflation rates remain at 40-year highs, and investors may become concerned that the first rate hike in March could be 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points.

After a few days of selling, the oil markets also bounced back nicely, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude closing higher after the Energy Information Administration reported a much higher crude oil inventory draw than what was expected. That, combined with TotalEnergies chief executive saying that high oil prices could be here for a while, was the impetus behind the strength.

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 Thursday, February 10, 2022.

Absolute Software Corp. (NASDAQ: ABST): TD Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and lifted the target price to $13 from $11. The consensus target is much higher at $17.67. The stock closed Wednesday at $9.61, up almost 20% after the company posted stellar results.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock, citing a 22% earnings beat and first-quarter guidance boosted 31% above consensus. Shares last closed at $132.85 and have a consensus price target of $153.81.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN): Estimates came down after mixed guidance, but it looks like the pessimism was discounted already, says Zacks, which selected this maker of orthodontic products as the Bear of the Day. The stock has traded as high as $737.45 in the past year but closed most recently at $545.94, which is down nearly 17% year to date.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): Baird upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral and has a $200 price target. The consensus target is $219.65. The final trade on Wednesday was at $151.72, which was up nearly 5% for the day.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the biotechnology giant and lifted the target price to $280 from $266. Barclays kept an Equal Weight rating and raised the target price to $233 from $228, while Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and boosted its $272 target price to $285. The $240.17 consensus target isn’t far off Wednesday’s closing price of $237.19 a share.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the popular restaurant chain and slashed the $1,845 target price to $1,635. Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and sliced its target to $1,903 from $1,920. The consensus target is $1,966.35. The final trade for Wednesday was posted at $1,608.74, which was up over 10% for the day.