The futures traded lower on this Monday, as Wall Street gears up for the onslaught of third-quarter earnings reports, which will begin with the big money center banks and brokerage firms reporting first. Friday\u2019s weak close came after the kick-the-can down the road debt ceiling agreement forged in Congress last week gave a little support to what appears to be a very nervous market. Investors can count on seeing the sequel in December when the whole political drama will start over. The September nonfarm payrolls on Friday came in way below consensus estimates but likely will not change the Federal Reserve\u2019s plan to start the quantitative easing tapering in November.<\/p>\n
Top strategists across Wall Street remain focused on rising interest rates, Federal Reserve tapering due to begin soon, big increases in energy costs, ongoing supply chain issues and stagflation worries, and analysts are not nearly as positive on the upcoming earnings seasons as they were for the second quarter. Toss in the debt ceiling and China worries, and the cauldron continues to simmer.<\/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, October 11, 2021.<\/p>\n
AG Mortgage Investment Trust Inc. (NASDAQ: MITT): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and also lifted the target price to $13.75 from $12.50. The Wall Street consensus target is $12.90. The stock closed on Friday at $11.45 per share.<\/p>\n
Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ACI): Oppenheimer downgraded shares of the supermarket giant to Perform from Outperform. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $13.90 and $34.09 a share, and it has a $28.78 consensus price target.\n\t\t<\/p>\n