The futures traded higher across the board early Friday, as we open the second quarter after a wild and volatile first three months of 2022. All three major indexes were hammered Thursday, despite the massive plunge in oil prices after the U.S. president announced a plan to make the biggest withdrawal from the strategic petroleum reserve ever, a stunning 185 million barrels. Given the fact that the United States uses almost 20 million barrels per day, that is the equivalent of about eight and a half days of supply. It was reported that a million barrels per day would be the release target.

The nonfarm payrolls data for March came in slightly lower than expected, and yields across the Treasury curve were lower for the second day in a row, as institutional accounts appeared to be adding positions to rebalance for the second quarter. Investors cheered the start of April, as historically it is one of the best months for the stock market.

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 across Wall Street on Friday, April 1, 2022.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the biotech giant and has a $285 price target. The consensus target is $248.49. The stock closed on Thursday at $241.82.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): Wolfe Research downgraded the shares from Outperform to Peer Perform with a $55 price target. The consensus target is $66.31. Thursday’s closing trade was recorded at $49.63, which was down over 4% for the day.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ) CLSA started coverage with a Buy rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $182.76. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $135.60, down over 3% for the day.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): J.P. Morgan upgraded the bank to Overweight from Neutral and moved the $108 price target to $115. The consensus target is $106.35. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $90.43.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED): Goldman Sachs raised its target price for the utility to $83 from $65 while maintaining a Sell rating on the shares. The consensus target is $81. The stock closed well above both levels Thursday at $94.68.

Core & Main Inc. (NYSE: CNM): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the stock, despite the company posting some stellar results. The $31 price target compares with the $31.50 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $24.19.
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered the price target to $61 from $68. The consensus target is $64.64. The stock was last seen Thursday at $50.19, down almost 8% on the Goldman Sachs downgrade. The shares also were removed from the firm’s Conviction List of top stock picks.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the integrated energy giant and kept a $102 price target. The consensus target is lower at $87.40. The stock was last seen on Thursday at $82.59.

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX): Stifel maintained a Buy rating and a $21 target price after a positive meeting with management. The shares closed Thursday at $18.55, up close to 7% on the day.

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME): The Zacks Bear of the Day is a trading mechanism at best (losing lottery-ticket at worst), not a buy and hold investment, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $344.66 in the past year but closed most recently at $166.58.

Globant S.A. (NYSE: GLOB): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and has a $335 price target, despite a reported cybersecurity incident at the company. The consensus target is $349.33. The shares closed on Thursday at $262.07, up almost 6% for the day.

Hub Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HUBG): Stephens downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and trimmed the $97 target price to $93. The consensus target is $95.64. The final Thursday trade came in at $77.21, down over 4% for the day.

Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $46 target price. The consensus price objective is $46.28. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $37.51.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst suggests its diverse set of future-focused manufacturing expertise is built for the new, highly adaptable and rapidly digitalizing economy. Shares last closed at $61.73, and the consensus price target of $80.43 would be an all-time high.

L3 Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LHX): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the defense giant and has a $320 target price. The shares have traded as high as $279.71 in the past year but were last seen Thursday at $248.47.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT): Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating on the aerospace and defense heavyweight and has a $505 target price. The consensus target is $458.59, and Thursday’s final trade was reported at $441.40.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut the target price to $49 from $72. The consensus target is $66.08. The shares were last seen Thursday at $41.90, down over 5% on the day.

PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH): Goldman Sachs lowered the price target on the Buy-rated shares to $121 from $140. The consensus target is $118, and Thursday’s closing print of $76.61 was down over 7% for the day.

RH Inc. (NYSE: RH): Goldman Sachs cut the $539 price target to $466 while maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock. The consensus target is $552. The stock closed on Thursday at $326.09.
Sage Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE): Berenberg started coverage with a Hold rating and a $37 target price. The consensus target is up at $63.00. Thursday’s final trade hit the tape at $33.10, down almost 4% on the day.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Atlantic Equities began coverage with a Neutral rating and a $240 target price. The consensus target is up at $326.56. The closing print on Thursday was $229.13.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the shares and has a $215 target price. The consensus target for the video game giant is $206.76. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $153.74.

Taylor Morrison Homes Corp. (NYSE: TMHC): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered the price objective to $33 from $41. The consensus target is $39.86. The final trade on Thursday was recorded at $27.22, down over 6% for the day.

Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY): Stifel initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $36 target price. The consensus target is $38.13. The stock closed Thursday at $33.81, which was over 6% lower for the day.

Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU): UBS started coverage of the shares with a Hold rating and a $19 target price. The consensus target is $20.23. The shares were last seen Thursday at $18.74.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Oppenheimer reiterated a Perform rating on the high-end retail stock and has a $136 target price. The consensus target is $182.24. The stock closed on Thursday at $145.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN): Citigroup raised the upscale casino to Buy from Neutral but trimmed the $98 target price to $96.50. The consensus target is $108.58. The shares closed Thursday at $79.74.

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The five biggest holdings at Berkshire Hathaway all make sense now for investors looking for a degree of safety and for companies that can perform in a rising interest rate and inflationary environment and that pay reliable dividends.

In addition, Wells Fargo sees big things for certain oilfield services stocks. And see the nine stocks Wall Street hated most this week.

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included APA, Baker Hughes, Block, Cenovus Energy, Compass, Costco Wholesale, HF Sinclair, Intuit, Kimco Realty, Micron Technology, PayPal, Phillips 66, Robinhood Markets and Southwestern Energy. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Advanced Micro Devices, Akebia Therapeutics, Dell Technologies, HP, Starwood Property Trust, State Street and more.

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