Friday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AbbVie, Chipotle, Costco, Ford, Riot Blockchain, Southwest Air, United Airlines, Walmart and More

The futures were down big on Friday, as we get ready to finish the second full trading week of 2022. All the major indexes closed lower on a wretched risk-off day, while the Treasury market saw buying across the curve as yields went lower. One bright spot was the producer price index numbers for December came in lower than expected. However, wholesale prices for 2021 jumped a stunning 10%.

Big banks kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings seasons with some mixed results, and next week we will see a tsunami of earnings from the other sectors. Overall, analysts and market strategists are positive on the expected results for the quarter.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh 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 14, 2022.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV): Redburn started coverage of the pharmaceutical giant’s stock with a Buy rating. Over the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $101.81 and $138.15, and they have a consensus target of $138.36. The stock closed on Thursday at $133.52.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): Truist Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $273 target price. The consensus target is $258.63. The stock closed at $241.31 on Thursday.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH): This chemicals company was selected as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst ponders whether investors should cash out of this winner near all-time highs. Shares last closed at $105.48, but the consensus price target is $124.00.

Bandwidth Inc. (NASDAQ: BAND): Piper Sandler raised the stock from Neutral to Overweight with a $102 price objective. The consensus price target is higher at $127.17. The stock ended Thursday trading at $66.98.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of the popular restaurant chain to Overweight from Equal Weight but slightly lowered the target price to $1,920 from $1,929. The consensus target is up at $2,004.14. The stock closed most recently at $1,507.43.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Truist Securities began coverage of the popular retail powerhouse with a Buy rating and a big $606 target price. The lower $556.15 consensus also compares with Thursday’s closing print of $516.88.

ALSO READ: 4 Goldman Sachs Conviction List Dividend Stocks Are Perfect Ideas for 2022

Source: Read Full Article