The futures traded higher Friday after the Consumer Price Index numbers came in pretty much where Wall Street had anticipated. All the major indexes closed lower Thursday, following the 3.6% move higher the first three trading days this week. There is more positive news on the Omicron variant, as data has revealed the likelihood of less-severe cases and some degree of protection from the currently existing vaccines. While investors and traders are optimistic over the potential for a \u201cSanta Claus rally,\u201d the reality is the market is very pricey and somewhat overbought, and we could see a sideways move through the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Top strategists across Wall Street are focused on the potential for a faster taper to the quantitative easing program and the distinct possibility for an earlier rate increase liftoff. All that is driven by big increases in energy costs and other inflation issues, and, while perhaps easing some, the ongoing supply chain concerns and stagflation worries remain front and center.<\/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 Friday, December 10, 2021.<\/p>\n
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD): Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Peer Perform from Outperform and nudged the $332 target price down to $331. The analysts\u2019 consensus target is $323.22.<\/p>\n
Altice USA Inc. (NYSE: ATUS): JPMorgan downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight and has a $20 price target. The consensus target is up at $27.64. The closing share price on Thursday was $15.02, after a retreat of close to 6% for the day.<\/p>\n
AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ: APP): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $112 price target. That compares a $111.60 consensus and Thursday\u2019s final print of $90.78, which was down close to 6% on the day.\n\t\t<\/p>\n