Tuesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Altria, American Air, Bumble, Chevron, Datadog, GM, Mastercard, Pinduoduo, Regeneron, Tesla, TotalEnergies and More

Investing

Published: March 22, 2022 8:49 am

Last Updated: March 22, 2022 10:11 am

The futures were higher on Tuesday after the sellers returned Monday, not the least of which were those in the Treasury market that once again pushed yields on the five-year and 10-year notes to the highest levels in a year and had the 30-year bond trading a 2.53% level. Market pundits cited a host of reasons for last week’s strength and cautioned that the end-of-month index rebalancing will not provide the massive buying ammunition it once held, after last week’s high risk-off moves. All the major indexes closed lower after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell citing the potential for more aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation.

The other big story Monday was oil storming higher, after a 6% decline last week. Brent crude closed up over 8%, while West Texas Intermediate posted a 7% gain. The most obvious talking point was the European Union mulling a Russian oil embargo, in addition to the sanctions already in place. With gasoline prices average well over $4 a gallon in the United States, you can bet consumers are getting hit hard in the wallet.

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 22, 2022.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Baird designated the stock as a “Fresh Pick,” which is a short-term trading call at the firm. The analysts kept a Neutral rating while raising the target price to $360 from $350. The last trade Monday was reported at $324.50.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): Goldman Sachs raised its Neutral rating on the tobacco giant to Buy and boosted the $48 target price to $57. The consensus target is $54.08. The stock closed Monday at $52.25.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): Goldman Sachs kept a Sell rating on the carrier and trimmed the $14 target price to $12. The consensus target is $16.99. The shares closed Monday at $16.09, which was down close to 4% for the day.

APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): Goldman Sachs kept its Neutral rating on the energy leader while raising the $36 target price to $46.50. The consensus target is $41.98. The shares closed almost 5% higher on Monday at $40.88.

Armstrong World Industries Inc. (NYSE: AWI): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $111 target price. The consensus target is $109.56. The last trade Monday hit the tape at $95.12.