Investing

The Fed’s Next Move and Afternoon Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Blackstone, Ford, Rite Aid and More

Chris Lange

Published: April 7, 2022 3:16 pm

Last Updated: April 7, 2022 3:17 pm

Markets bounced on Thursday afternoon, with all of the major averages reversing course for the day in the last hour of trading. This came after the Federal Reserve released its minutes from its Wednesday meeting in regards to policy.

The main takeaway from the meeting is that the Fed appears to be more hawkish in its stance in curbing inflation. However, the main tool that it will use is raising interest rates. In fact, within the minutes from the meeting several participants in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) noted that they would have preferred a 50 basis point increase as opposed to the 25 basis point increase we most recently saw.

While an increase in the range of 50 basis points has not been seen in a long time, economists at Bank of America suggest that it could be in the immediate future—as soon as June. With that in mind, rising interest rates do make a stock-picker’s market and analysts will have a big say in that.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Thursday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Eli Lilly, Lululemon, Merck, Rivian, and many more.

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN): JPMorgan upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and cut the price target to $130 from $140. The 52-week trading range is $88.32 to $133.48, and shares were trading near $100 apiece on Thursday.

Berry Corp. (NASDAQ: BRY): Piper Sandler upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and raised the price target to $14 from $11. The stock traded near $11 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $4.72 to $11.86.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded to a Neutral rating from Outperform with a $135 price target. Shares were trading near $116 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $75.60 to $149.78.

CMC Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCMP): CL King downgraded to a Neutral rating from Buy. The stock traded near $178 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $119.19 to $198.42.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): Evercore ISI upgraded to an Outperform rating from In Line and raised the price target to $140 from $75. The stock traded near $105 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $64.79 to $283.38.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Barclays downgraded to an Equal Weight rating from Overweight and cut the price target to $17 from $23. Shares were trading near $15. The 52-week range is $11.14 to $25.87.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB): Wolfe Research downgraded to a Peer Perform rating from Outperform and cut the price target to $47 from $59. Shares were trading near $40 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $34.35 to $50.64.

Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR): Piper Sandler upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and raised the price target to $54 from $38. The 52-week trading range is $14.91 to $43.20, and shares were trading near $41 apiece on Thursday.

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD): Deutsche Bank downgraded to a Sell rating from Hold and cut the price target to $1 from $16. The stock traded near $7 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $6.11 to $23.02.