Tuesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Accenture, Bumble, Chevron, Hormel, Lululemon, Nike, Target, Trip.com, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Zoom Video and More

Investing

Published: March 15, 2022 8:54 am

Last Updated: March 15, 2022 9:03 am

The futures were up on Tuesday, after a big risk-on rally to start the trading week turned into another Nasdaq and S&P 500 beatdown. The two major indexes posted losses once again, and the Dow Jones industrials barely saw a tiny gain. The Nasdaq dropped another 2%, pushing the bear market loss to 22.4% for the year, after closing at the lowest level since 2020.

Financial media pundits initially cited progress in the talks between Russia and Ukraine, in addition to chatter that Russia is actually showing signs of positive negotiations, for a somewhat more positive early tone Monday. Yet, that was all gone by the noon hour. Technology shares slumped as China’s COVID-19 lockdown in Shenzhen could crimp the supply chains for leading companies like Apple and other big players.

Beleaguered drivers across America got some good news as oil prices took another huge leg lower, with Brent crude down 6.1% and West Texas Intermediate a stunning 6.7% lower. Gold prices also were lower Monday, while Treasury yields were up across the board, as the five-year and 10-year notes both hit 52-weeks high yields, as investors anticipate the lift-off of the federal funds rate this week.

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 Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target to $386 from $446 while keeping a Neutral rating on the shares. The shares have traded as high as $417.37 in the past year but closed on Monday at $307.68, down about 26% year to date.

Alignment Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ: ALHC): Goldman Sachs trimmed the $18 target price to $16 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $16.22. The stock’s $8.18 close on Monday was down over 12% for the day.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the dating site operator but lowered the $54 price objective to $42. The consensus target is $35.66. The shares closed Monday’s session at $21.03.

Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL): Zacks named this its Bear of the Day stock and suggested that investors should hold off until the earnings story improves. Shares have traded as high as $357.34 in the past year but closed most recently at $194.97, which is down about 33% year to date.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): Goldman Sachs raised the $154 price on the integrated energy giant to $176 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $157.36. Monday’s final trade was reported at $166.72.