The futures were down across the board Friday, after a risk-off Thursday that saw the Nasdaq get crushed. With the Federal Reserve laying out its plans for interest rate increases, including three now expected for both 2022 and 2023, and a doubling of the tapering of the quantitative easing program to $30 billion per month, many feel Wall Street now knows what to expect going forward. Top strategists noted on Thursday that the meeting removed a key overhang on a market that had been positioned defensively, perhaps expecting an even more hawkish tone. While this could be just the ticket to pave the way for support from a seasonal tailwind or \u201cSanta Claus Rally,\u201d that doesn\u2019t look to be starting right away.<\/p>\n
With much of the Fed initiatives now baked in, Wall Street strategists are continuing to focus on big increases in energy and food costs and other spiraling inflation issues. 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 17, 2021.<\/p>\n
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): JPMorgan upgraded the banking giant to Overweight from Neutral and lifted the target price to $67.50 from $62.50. The consensus target is $63.41. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $58.42, after close to a 3% gain on the day.<\/p>\n
Canoo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOEV): Roth Capital raised its Neutral rating to Buy and lifted the $9 target price to $14. The consensus target is $12. The last trade on Thursday came in was at $8.42 per share.<\/p>\n
Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI): Morgan Stanley downgraded the healthcare leader to Equal Weight from Overweight and dropped the price target to $238 from $255. The consensus target is $260.72. The final trade Thursday was filled at $218.67.<\/p>\n