The futures were mixed on Monday as we start the final trading week for April. Stocks rebounded on Friday, with all the major indexes and the transport index closing higher after a dreadful Thursday, which many attributed to the Biden tax plan for wealthy individuals and corporations. Many across Wall Street feel the punitive increase to fund many of the progressive initiatives will have a negative effect on stocks down the road.<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained could be among the reasons for the continued moves higher in the equity markets. It also should be noted that money markets continue to see massive inflows, which is another big plus.<\/p>\n
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 second quarter and the rest of 2021.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, April 26, 2021.<\/p>\n
Atlantic Capital Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: ACBI): Gabelli raised the shares to Buy from Hold. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $9.18 to $27.22 and has a $26.25 consensus price objective. The last trade for Friday was reported at $26.22.<\/p>\n
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Wedbush downgraded the retail giant to Neutral from Outperform and lowered the price target to $125 from $135. That compares with a $116.90 consensus and a Friday closing print of $117.74.<\/p>\n
Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE: BXMT): JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and has a $31 price target. The consensus price objective is $30.57, and the stock ended trading on Friday at $32.87. As it is just shy of the 52-week high, this could be a valuation call.<\/p>\n
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): While Citigroup downgraded the brewer to Neutral from Buy, it also raised the price target on the shares to $1,395. The consensus target is $1,389.64. The stock closed Friday at $1,283.90 per share.<\/p>\n