Investing

April's Historic Headwinds Persist; Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Amazon.com, Comcast, Verizon and More

Chris Lange

Published: April 29, 2022 12:07 pm

Markets turned lower to close out the week, with each of the major averages down well over 1%. The Nasdaq was leading the charge lower, down close to 2%. April, which historically has been a strong month for the market, is having one of its worst showings in the past few decades.

Earnings season has been fairly positive, but overwhelming market headwinds have proven to be too much. Unfortunately, Amazon and Apple reported underwhelming results after the markets closed on Thursday. Amazon shares slid by more than 11% after reporting an unexpected quarterly loss and weaker-than-expected guidance. Apple, despite beating on the top and bottom lines, saw shares dip by over 1%.

Each of these companies cited broad market concerns for their respective performances. Supply chain issues are among the biggest of these headwinds. With even the big names like Apple and Amazon suffering, it is definitely shaping up to be a stock-picker’s market.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Friday. 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 Las Vegas Sands, Meta Platforms, PayPal, Pinterest, T-Mobile, Visa and many more.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a Buy rating but cut the $4,500 price target to $3,700. The 52-week trading range is $2,521.00 to $3,773.08, and shares traded near $2,553 apiece on Friday.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut the $67 price target to $50. The 52-week trading range is $39.97 to $61.80, and shares were trading near $40 on Friday.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): BTIG Research downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy. The stock traded near $344 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $335.63 to $567.57.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Underweight from Neutral included a price target cut to $357 from $360. Shares were trading near $368. The 52-week range is $305.61 to $399.92.

Old Republic International Corp. (NYSE: ORI): Raymond James lowered its Strong Buy rating to Outperform and cut the $30 price target to $28. The stock traded near $22 on Friday. The 52-week trading range is $22.06 to $27.19.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS): Wolfe Research upgraded it from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $226 price target. The 52-week trading range is $135.46 to $207.46, and shares traded near $200 apiece on Friday.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU): MoffetttNathanson’s upgrade was from Sell to Neutral with a $100 price target. The stock traded near $98 on Friday. The 52-week trading range is $83.72 to $490.76.

Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. (NASDAQ: SFM): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Underperform and raised the $21 price target to $40. The 52-week trading range is $21.18 to $35.34, and shares were trading near $30 on Friday.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK): Mizuho downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and cut the $222 price target to $145. Shares traded near $126 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $125.20 to $225.00.

3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD): Zacks named this 3D printer maker as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst points out that, despite technological advances, with new health care and industrial applications, the company still struggles for growth. Shares have traded as high as $41.48 in the past year but were near $11.70 on Friday.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ): DZ Bank downgraded it to Sell from Hold and has a $44 price target. Shares were trading near $47. The 52-week range is $47.17 to $59.85.

See the seven Goldman Sachs high-conviction stock picks that make sense now for worried investors as they pay solid dividends and can weather the potential storms much better than most.

Note that J.P. Morgan has initiated coverage on three electric aircraft companies it sees as ready for takeoff.