Tuesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Cloudflare, Con Edison, Ford, IBM, Incyte, Simon Properties, Skechers and More

The futures were up across the board Tuesday, after a dreadful Monday that saw all the major indexes get hit hard right out of the gate. Worries over the reopening of the economy losing steam due to new COVID-19 Delta variant infections was the main impetus behind the selling. Plus, as we noted last week, after the long market run many investors appear to be selling the news when companies report second-quarter earnings. While stocks were crushed, buying in the 10-year U.S. Treasury debt was robust, as the yield on the benchmark bond dropped to 1.18%, the lowest in over five months.

Despite the remerging COVID-19 concerns, many across Wall Street are also leery of the beginning of the tapering of the quantitative easing program after the clear building of inflationary pressures, despite the fact the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. That could be one reason for the continued moves higher in the equity markets even after sell-offs. Also note that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.

With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into the market strength while repositioning portfolios for the rest of 2021.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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, July 20, 2021.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): Argus raised the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $55 price target. The consensus target is right in line at $54.75. Monday’s closing share price was $47.58.

Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: CQP): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $45 price target. The consensus target is $43.71. Monday’s closing trade was reported at $41.82.

Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET): BTIG Research downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. Shares of the cybersecurity software company have traded in a 52-week range of $32.69 to $111.97, and they have a $100.73 consensus price objective. After a stellar run, and trading close to the 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.

ALSO READ: 5 Energy Stocks to Buy Ahead of Earnings as Crude Prices Back Up

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