The futures were hammered on Monday as Wall Street weighs the new sanctions on Russia after one of the wildest and craziest weeks on Wall Street in the past 20 years. The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked the biggest roller-coaster ride in recent memory. The major equity indexes were shredded for much of the day Thursday after the invasion, and then they roared back into positive territory, with the Nasdaq, which was down 3.5% at one point, closing up well over 2% and the S&P 500 up close to 1.5%. Then came a massive follow-through rally on Friday, after news sources reported that Russian President Putin has been quoted as saying he is ready to negotiate with Ukraine President Zelensky.
All the major indexes closed up big on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrials leading the way with a 2.51% gain, the S&P 500 up 2.24% and the Nasdaq adding on an additional 1.64%. The only selling was seen in the Treasury market, as yields were up across the curve as the flight to safety bid evaporated. Oil rolled over, as both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower.
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, February 28, 2022.
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV): UBS downgraded the pharmaceutical heavyweight to Neutral from Buy but raised the price objective to $147 from $129. The consensus target is $149.75. The stock closed trading on Friday at $149.54. As it is trading near a 52-week high, this likely is a valuation call.
Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs raised the $78 target price on the aluminum giant to $88 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $71.36. The final trade on Friday was for $77.85 a share, which was up over 6% on the day as aluminum prices continue to soar.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating on the Chinese internet giant but trimmed the $216 target price to $200. UBS stuck with a Buy rating and dropped its target to $150 from $165. Stifel maintained a Buy rating but lowered its $150 target to $135. Those targets compare to the $197.18 consensus figure and Friday’s close at $107.94.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and lowered the price target to $285 from $310. Citigroup stayed with a Buy rating and dropped its $305 target to $286, while Truist Securities maintained a Buy rating and trimmed the target to $200 from $210. The consensus target is $312.52. The final trade for Friday was at $219.62 a share.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Buy rating on the electronics retailing giant but lowered the $150 target price to $125. The consensus target is $124.10. The shares ended Friday’s session almost 5% higher to $95.83.
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