Investing
The futures were positive on Tuesday, after investors were treated to a strong Monday rally as we saw some follow-through from Friday, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq once again hitting new all-time highs. Across Wall Street, the focus this week will be the commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who will be speaking via videoconference at the Fed’s annual Economic Policy Symposium on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Also, the flash manufacturing data from Japan and Europe revealed continued expansion but came in lower than expected.
Despite worries and the potential for a “taper tantrum” like we saw in 2013, the Federal Reserve is vowing to keep interest rates contained. Given the recent FOMC commentary, it is looking like the tapering of the $120 billion per month purchase of government and mortgage debt could indeed be in the works by the end of the year and purchases could be completed by the end of 2022. That could become clearer this week.
With major Wall Street firms still warning of the potential for impending 5% to 10% correction across the board, which may have seen beginning last week, it makes sense for investors to continue building some cash reserves into any market strength while repositioning portfolios for the balance 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 Tuesday, August 24, 2021.
Avalara Inc. (NYSE: AVLR): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price target. The consensus target is $206.36. The shares closed trading on Monday at $171.64.