Top Analyst Downgrades and Upgrades: Baker Hughes, Cabot Oil, Corning, Sketchers, Vista Outdoor, Valvoline, Vizio, Zynga and More

The futures were pulling back early on Monday, after seeing record levels for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average last week. Bitcoin saw its price rebound about 3% to start out the week, after a massive loss over the weekend. Despite the recent slowdown, earnings season is ramping up as the second week is now underway. Look for companies like Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Snap and Verizon to report later this week.

Top strategists across Wall Street continue to point to the broad reopening of the economy, the tailwind from the stimulus package and the continued Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates contained as 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.

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 start of the second quarter and 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 Monday, April 19, 2021.

Baker Hughes Co. (NYSE: BKR): BMO Capital Markets upgraded it to Outperform from Market Perform but cut its price target to $26 from $27. The consensus target price is $27.20, and the final Friday trade came in at $20.10.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG): The BMO Capital Markets downgrade to Market Perform from Outperform included its price target lowered to $19 from $20. The consensus target is $21.42, and Friday’s final print was at $16.56 a share.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform. Shares last closed at $17.99, but the consensus price target is $20.35.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW): JPMorgan upgraded it to Overweight from Neutral with a $55 price target. The consensus target is a little higher at $46.04. The last trade to hit the tape on Friday was recorded at $45.80.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Citigroup upgraded it to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $100 from $88. The solar giant has traded in a 52-week range of $37.92 to $112.50 and has a consensus price target of $83.95. Friday’s final trade was reported at $80.14.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU): Raymond James lowered its Strong Buy rating to Outperform but hiked its price target to $286 from $255. That consensus target is slightly higher at $265.07, and the shares ended trading Friday at $257.51.

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