Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Amazon, Citigroup, Facebook, GameStop, Intel And More

• Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week.
• The past week's bullish calls included e-commerce, social media and banking leaders.
• A struggling retailer and semiconductor giant were among the bearish calls that were seen.

Federal Reserve commentary on share buybacks helped boost the market on Friday, and the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 ended the week more than 1% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lagged, though, down fractionally for the week.

Last week was the anniversary of the pandemic-selling low. It was a week marked by quarter-end rebalancing, rising Treasury yields and a rotation to value and reopening stocks, as well as supply-chain headaches and increasing global virus worries. Meanwhile, Wall Street looks forward to a waning pandemic and a new earnings reporting season.

Also last week, a pharmaceutical giant not only was testing its COVID-19 vaccine on children, but working on an oral version and also getting ready for the next vaccines.

Signs of a recovering U.S. economy included expansion plans at airlines and for theme parks, as well as encouraging auto sales forecasts.

And there were a couple of regulatory issues of note and a mishap in global shipping.

Through it all, Benzinga continued to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

Bulls

Analysts are highly bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and four other stocks despite inflation fears. So says Rachit Vats' "5 Stocks Top Analysts Are Heavily Bullish On Heading Into April."

In Madhukumar Warrier's "Tech Stocks Aren't A Buy Right Now But One Giant Is An Exception, Says Analyst," see why Facebook Inc. FB stands out from its tech sector peers.

In "BofA Raises Bank Stock Price Targets, Sees Potential For 'Significant EPS Upside'," Wayne Duggan focuses on why Citigroup Inc C is a top pick as momentum among big bank stocks is likely to continue.

Jayson Derrick's "Why Tigress Financial Is Bullish On Verizon, AT&T" discusses why one key analyst has turned positive on Verizon Communications Inc. VZ and remains bullish on AT&T Inc. T.

"Inovio Has 'Bigger Value Drivers' Outside Of COVID-19 Vaccine Program: BofA Analyst" by Shanthi Rexaline examines the other value drivers at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, have a look at the following:

• Small-Cap Stocks Have Been On The Rise In Recent Months, Here's What Traders Can Expect In 2021
• 5 REIT Stocks You May Want To Consider
• Cramer Sees These Stocks As Likely Beneficiaries Of 'Easter Rally'

Bears

In Chris Katje's "GameStop Analysts React To Q4 Earnings: Company Needs 'Some Magic Beans And Pixie Dust'" find out why the GameStop Corp GME earnings report was anything but a fairy tale.

Ark Innovation ETF ARKK has lost a third of its value since last month's all-time high, according to "Options Traders May Be Fearing More Downside For Cathie Wood's ARKK" by Melanie Schaffer. How much further will it drop?

In "4 Intel Analysts On 'Unleashed' Event, The Risks Of Chipmaker's Foundry Plans," Shanthi Rexaline looks at reasons to remain skeptical about the prospects for Intel Corporation INTC stock.

"Wells Fargo Downgrades AMC Networks, Discovery, ViacomCBS: What Investors Need To Know" by Phil Hall points out why ViacomCBS Inc. VIAC and its peers already may have peaked.

Priya Nigam's "Why Did BofA Downgrade Bausch Health?" shows why one analyst believes a proposed restructuring of Bausch Health Companies Inc BHC may not create the desired value for investors.

For additional bearish takes, be sure to check out these posts:

• Are Cracks Forming In The '4 Pillars' Supporting The Stock Market?
• Bitcoin Has Dropped To Below $51,000 And Analyst Says Further Downside On The Horizon
• Why Cathie Wood's Ark Is Unimpressed With Volkswagen's EV Battery Plans

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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