The futures were lower Wednesday, after the risk-off crowd returned to the markets, hammering all the major indexes Tuesday, with the Nasdaq down 2.26%. The song remains the same across Wall Street, with the Ukraine-Russia conflict leading the way, and there is chatter that new sanctions against Russia are forthcoming after allegations of war crimes.

The big story Tuesday was the continued climb in Treasury yields. The five-year and 10-year notes closed at 52-week high yields, with both soaring 14 basis points higher. Financial pundits cited Federal Reserve Governor Brainard’s concern and comments over inflation and her discussion of the Fed’s balance sheet reduction. The recently much-discussed harbinger of inflation, the two- and 10-year inversion, was not present in Tuesday’s trading. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crudes closed down 2%, and gold closed modestly lower on the day.

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 Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares and has a $205 target price. The consensus target is $203.50. The shares closed trading on Tuesday at $159.51.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Stephens started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $170 target price. The consensus target is higher at $182.88. The stock closed Tuesday at $135.92, which was down almost 7% on the day.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $306 price target after the analyst noted that orders surged at the end of March. Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a lower $270 target price. Shares of the aerospace and defense giant have traded as high as $258.40 in the past 52 weeks. The final trade for Tuesday hit the tape at $182.65, down almost 5% for the day.

Brighthouse Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: BHF): Goldman Sachs raised its $55 price objective on the Neutral-rated shares to $63. The consensus target is $59.60. The stock closed on Tuesday at $51.81.

Cemex SAB de C.V. (NYSE: CX): Goldman Sachs slashed the $9.20 target price on the Neutral-rated Mexican cement and building materials giant to $6. The consensus target is $10.64. The stock closed Tuesday at $5.07, down almost 4%, but shares rebounded after the close by almost 4%.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $66 price target. The consensus target is much higher at $80.75. The stock closed over 3% lower on Tuesday to $59.85.
Cohu Inc. (NASDAQ: COHU): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $45 price objective. That compares with the $41.67 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $27.79, which was down over 4% on the day.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the spirits heavyweight and has a $310 target price. Goldman Sachs also reiterated a Buy rating, with a $275 target. The lower $272 consensus target also compares to Tuesday’s closing print of $230.34.

Curtiss-Wright Corp. (NYSE: CW): Stifel lifted the price target on the Buy-rated stock to $168 from $157. The consensus target is $170.17. The stock closed on Tuesday at $150.86.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL): Stifel lowered its price target on the fragrance leader to $335 from $355 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is $358.42. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $272.66.

EZCORP Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW): Jefferies raised its Hold rating on the pawnshop giant to Buy and has an $8.50 target price. The consensus target is up at $9.83. The shares closed trading Tuesday at $6.36, up almost 7% for the day.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating but oddly has a $45 target price, in line with the $45.07 consensus target but less than the $46.64 close on Tuesday.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the gold and copper mining giant from Buy to Neutral with a $50 target price. The consensus target is $47.60. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $49.09, which was down close to 4% for the day.

Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day. The analyst questions whether this pet food maker can bounce back after a tough period last year. Shares have traded as high as $186.98 in the past year but closed most recently at $107.59.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and has a $410 price target. The consensus target is up at $459.78, and shares closed on Tuesday at $316.01.

GoodRx Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the stock and has a $23 target price. The consensus target is $26.06. The last trade Tuesday came in at $19.28, after retreating almost 4% on the day.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS): Jefferies kept a Buy rating on the toy giant and has a $115 target price. The consensus target is $112.17. Tuesday’s closing share price was $85.05.

Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE: JXN): Goldman Sachs raised the $41 price target on the Neutral-rated stock to $47. The consensus target is $44.40. The final trade Tuesday was reported at $42.23.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE: KOS): Goldman Sachs raised its $8 price target on the Buy-rated deepwater driller to $9.50. The consensus target is just $4.78. The last trade for Tuesday came in at $7.56, down close to 6%.
PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR): Jefferies downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with an $85 target price. The consensus target is up at $99.71. The stock closed on Tuesday at $82.84.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Stephens began coverage of the payment heavyweight with an Equal Weight rating and a $135 target price. The consensus target is up at $178.28. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $117.65.

Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $34 target price. The consensus target is $30.60. The shares closed at $27.33 on Tuesday.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL): Stifel started coverage with a Buy rating and a $485 price objective. The consensus target is up at $539.14. The last trade on Tuesday came in at $433.54.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and an $834 target price. The consensus target is a stunning $1,529.95. The shares closed on Tuesday at $702.92.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the ubiquitous coffee shop retailer and has a $130 price target. Like many Wall Street firms, the analyst applauds the return of longtime CEO Howard Schultz as the company has hit some headwinds, not the least of which is union organization. The consensus target is $113.55. The stock closed down close to 5% on Tuesday at $84.12.

Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $29 target price. The consensus target is $33.60. The shares closed on Tuesday at $21.19, after plunging 12% on no news we could find.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst points out that this mid-luxury home-focused retailer just wrapped up a stellar 2021. Shares last closed at $148.78, and the consensus price target is $180.29.

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Given the state of the markets and economy, stocks that pay big dividends may be just the answer for the rest of 2022, and perhaps beyond. Five are solid ideas now for nervous investors who want to stay in the game.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Analog Devices, Baxter, BorgWarner, Caesars Entertainment, CarMax, Chevron, Hertz Global, Li Auto, Starbucks, Tesla and Twitter. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Carvana, First Solar, Freeport-McMoRan and more.

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