Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Baxter, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, NRG Energy, Ralph Lauren, Skyworks, Stitch Fix, Western Digital and More

The futures traded lower on Friday as a wild roller-coaster trading week and month on Wall Street come to an end. All three major indexes ended higher, while many of the highly shorted “casino stocks” saw some dreadful selling. Top analysts on Wall Street already were starting to point to “bubble” type metrics, and the stunning gains and now losses in the short interest plays are an example. With fourth-quarter earnings reports continuing to stream in, most across Wall Street will not only be examining the results but also looking to see what guidance for the first quarter and the rest of 2021 looks like. With the major indexes and the Russell 2000 still very close to all-time highs, it makes sense for investors to start building some cash reserves while positioning 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 Friday, January 29, 2021.

ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, though it raised the price target on the home security giant to $10.75. The consensus target is $11.38. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $9.63.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Neutral at Wells Fargo, which also raised the price target to $75. That compares with the consensus target of $86.44 and Thursday’s close of $70.79.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, while the price target was raised to $190. The consensus target is $177.59, and the stock closed Thursday at $166.75.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, which lowered the price target to $80. The consensus target is $93.71 and Thursday’s close was at $77.15.

Calix Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CALX) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform with a $30 target at Northland Capital. The posted consensus target is $34. The last trade for Thursday came in at $32.54, which was down almost 6% on so-so earnings.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. The firm said that the stock was trading above the most optimistic price targets and investors should liquidate any positions and thank the heavens that they were able to get such a good price for them. Shares last closed at $2.25 but have a consensus price target of $1.38.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) was raised at Morgan Stanley from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $95 price target. The consensus target is $82.85. The last trade on Thursday came in at $78.90, after a one-day gain of almost 4%.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Overweight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley with a $230 price objective. The consensus price objective across Wall Street for the aerospace giant is set at $229.17. The shares were last seen Thursday at $197.23.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that this company is adaptable and resourceful, and no matter what the economy throws at it, Goldman Sachs will come out on top. Shares most recently closed at $275.02 and have a consensus price target of $334.10.

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