Stocks kept the momentum going in April, and are now up almost 12%, including dividends, in the year-to-date. Our analysts have been progressing through earnings season, and have come across many stocks in coverage that have approached target prices. We set target prices through our valuation framework, which includes analysis of historical multiples, peer multiples, future dividends, and cash flows. After adjusting the models for the latest earnings and dividend information -- most of which has been good -- here are some of the stocks on which we have raised target prices over the past month. All stocks are rated BUY at Argus.

The stock market was flat to down last week. Tech stocks and blue chips performed similarly, with tech narrowly outperforming. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 186 points, or 0.54%. The S&P 500 was down 0.72%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.85%. For the week, the DJIA was down 169 points, or 0.50%, the S&P 500 was up 0.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.39%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 10.68%, the S&P 500 is up 11.32%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 8.34%.

Stocks fell on Friday morning following a new round of first-quarter earnings reports from major companies along with March consumer spending data. The Commerce Department said that U.S. consumer spending rose a strong 4.2% last month after a decline of 1.0% in February. The reading came in slightly ahead of the Reuters consensus forecast of 4.1%. The Dow fell 0.6%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 0.2%. Crude oil traded near $64 per barrel, while gold fell slightly to $1769 per ounce.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction with the global investment community. In January 2020, BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. But the performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as the climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

Stocks rose on Friday morning amid strong manufacturing and housing market data. The rally followed a Thursday afternoon selloff prompted by the Biden administration's plan for increased capital gains taxes on high earners with incomes above $1 million. IHS Markit said that its manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 60.6 in the first half of April, up from a final reading of 59.1 in March and slightly above the consensus forecast. On the housing front, the Commerce Department said that U.S. new home sales rose 20.7% to an annualized 1.021 million units in March, above the consensus of 886,000. The Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P 0.9%, and the Nasdaq 1.3%. Crude oil traded near $62 per barrel, while gold fell $6 to $1776 per ounce.