The futures were mixed, as we get ready to complete what has been an action-packed and very volatile week across Wall Street. All the major indexes closed lower Thursday, and once again some strong earnings reports, including a blockbuster quarter from Tesla, were cited as reasons for the initial risk-on move. But that faded big-time by the closing bell, with the Nasdaq leading the avalanche with over a 2% decline. Top analysts noted that the strong earnings reports continue pouring in despite supply chain issues and input cost pressures, and that overall all demand remains strong.

The sellers returned to the Treasury market Thursday, as yields were higher across the curve, with both the five-year and 10-year notes hitting 52-week highs. The trend looks to be returning, as traders prepare for next month’s 50-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate. That very well may be followed up by 75-basis-point hikes in both June and July, according to Nomura. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude and natural gas closed higher on the day, while gold traded lower.

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 Friday, April 22, 2022.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Baird maintained a Neutral rating on the stock and has a $378 target price. The shares closed trading on Thursday at $322.31 a share.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating with a $110 target price. The stock is on the firm’s Conviction List of top stock picks. The consensus target for the aluminum giant is $93.58. The stock closed Thursday at $72.20, down almost 17% after posting strong numbers, but the analysts noted that the free-cash-flow results were disappointing.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): J.P. Morgan raised its Underweight rating to Neutral, and its $18 price objective increased to $26. The consensus target is $17.74. The final trade for Thursday was reported at $20.22, which was up close to 4% for the day. Shares were almost 2% higher in the premarket.

Bally’s Corp. (NYSE: BALY): This casino operator is the Zacks the Bear of the Day. The analyst makes a case that investors are not betting on this stock right now. Shares traded as high as $62.76 in the past year but closed most recently at $29.64 a share. That is down about 22% year to date.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating but cut the price target to $140 from $170. That compares with a higher $210.35 consensus target and Thursday’s final print of $83.14, which was down over 10% on the day.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Baird reiterated its Neutral rating after earnings and has an $85 target. The consensus target is up at $104.16. The last trade Thursday was reported at $82.73, down over 5% for the day.

CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the railroad giant and lifted the $41 target price to $43. The consensus target is $39.67. The final trade Thursday came in at $36.30, a gain of close to 3% for the day.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW): Citigroup upgraded the chemical heavyweight to Buy from Neutral and lifted the $70 price target to $82. The consensus target is $70.10. The last trade for Thursday hit the tape at $69.51, up close to 3% on the day.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares and has a $281 target price. The analysts suggested investors buy any weakness in the stock. The consensus target is $273.47. The shares closed Thursday over 8% lower to $202.95.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU): Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and lowered the price target to $16 from $21. The consensus target is $15.70. The stock closed Thursday at $13.53, up close to 4% on the day.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the semiconductor capital equipment giant and has a massive $837 target. The consensus target is $701.62. The last trade for Thursday hit the tape at $469.51, down close to 3% on the day.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, which is on the firm’s Conviction List of top picks, and it has a $493 target price. The consensus target is $432.29. The stock closed at $377.25 on Thursday.

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB): Baird maintained a Neutral rating and a $165 target price, which compares with the much higher $196.19 consensus and Thursday’s closing price of $177.78.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): DZ Bank checked into the downgrade party late and lowered its rating from Buy to Hold with a $280 target price. The consensus target for now is $361.78. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $218.22, down close to 4% on the day as the carnage continues for the streaming giant.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised the $20 price target to $30. The consensus target is $23.85. The final trade on Thursday was posted at $27.41, down close to 6% for the day.

PennyMac Inc. (NYSE: PFSI): BTIG Research started coverage on the shares with the Buy rating and a $60 target price. That compares with the much higher $79.29 consensus target and the final print on Thursday at $50.14.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and boosted the $23 target price on the stock to $49. The consensus target is $33.21. The stock retreated nearly 4% on Thursday to close at $31.66.

Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. (NYSE: REXR): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its target price to $103 from $86. The consensus target is $88.38. The stock closed at $82.65 on Thursday.
Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO): Berenberg downgraded the mining giant to Hold from Buy. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $59.58 and $95.97. The consensus target is $84.33, and Thursday’s close at $74.81 was down almost 5% on the day.

Silvergate Capital Corp. (NYSE: SI): This digital currency focused bank is thriving in crypto bear market, says Zacks, which named it the Bull of the Day stock. Its shares last closed at $130.55 apiece, and the $205.00 consensus price target represents about a 57% gain in the next 12 months.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating after the company posted strong results, and it has a $100 target price objective. The consensus target is $87.65. The shares closed on Thursday at $93.24.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed its price target to $231 from $232. The consensus target is $203.84. The last trade on Thursday was down over 4% for the day to $131.53.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and has a $125 target price. The consensus target is $103.21. The last trade for Thursday was posted at $86.67.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the electric vehicle leader and has a $1,200 target price, after the company posted strong results for the quarter. The consensus target is $953.51. Shares closed on Thursday at $1008.78.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) J.P. Morgan gave the shares a rare double upgrade, from Underweight to Overweight, and raised the price target to $76 from $60. The consensus target is $55.71. Thursday’s final trade was reported at $50.85, up almost 10% on the day, and the shares tacked on another 3% in premarket action.

Investors can expect more inflation and rising interest rates, and it makes sense now to stay clear from the momentum and meme stocks. Five Dow Jones industrial average stocks are solid ideas in what could continue to be a very challenging year for stock investors.

Semiconductor stocks has fallen sharply since a December peak. Analysts at Jefferies believe the bottom is near and that AMD, Marvell Technology, Nvidia and these other semiconductor stocks will be big winners.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Bed Bath & Beyond, Block, Citizens Financial, DoorDash, Exelon, Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, Kinross Gold, Lockheed Martin, Matador Resources, Mosaic, PagSeguro Digital, Peloton Interactive, Pinterest, Southwestern Energy, Toast and Twitter. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alcoa, Carvana, Chevron, Comerica, M&T Bank, NRG Energy, State Street and more.

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