The futures traded modestly lower on Monday, after investors saw all the huge gains from last Thursday evaporate on Friday. It was a very grim way to end April, which traditionally is one of the best months of the year for the stock market. Wall Street talking heads cited Amazon posting disappointing numbers, and while Apple’s quarter was stellar, its forward guidance was quite weak, citing Chinese lockdowns and the resulting supply-chain headwinds. This week, the Federal Reserve likely will deploy the first half-percentage point rate hike since 2000, and it also could begin to reverse the large-scale asset purchases used to help stabilize markets during the COVID-19 crisis.

The major indexes were down big on Friday, and the S&P 500 ended the month down 8.8%, the worst month for the venerable index since March of 2020. Both the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 posted 52-week lows, and both are officially in bear market territory, meaning a 20% or more drop from highs.

The oil market was mixed with Brent crude up but West Texas Intermediate closing lower. Natural gas continued its moonshot higher, closing at $7.28, up a stunning 5.7%. Yields were marginally higher across the Treasury curve, while gold closed slightly higher.

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 Monday, May 2, 2022.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the technology favorite despite the so-so numbers and guidance. The analyst has a $3,700 price target, while the consensus target is up at $4,032.39. The shares were last seen on Friday at $2,485.63, which was down a stunning 14% for the day.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Goldman Sachs stuck with a Neutral rating on the technology giant, citing the weak forward guidance as a chief reason for the caution. The firm’s $157 price target is lower than the $192.70 consensus figure. Friday’s closing print of $157.65 was down almost 4% on the day.

AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ: APP): Stifel lowered its price target to $80 from $105 while keeping a Buy rating on the shares. The posted consensus target is $88.86. The stock closed on Friday at $38.15 a share.
Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $315 price objective. The consensus target is just $291.57. The last trade for Friday was reported at $259.36, which was up close to 4% on a brutal day.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on the construction equipment heavyweight and has a $252 price objective. The consensus target is $235.32. The final on Friday trade was at $210.54 a share.

Columbia Sportswear Co. (NASDAQ: COLM): Stifel cut its target price to $100 from $110 while maintaining a Hold rating on the shares. The consensus target is $112.83. The stock was last seen on Friday at $82.16, down close to 7% for the day.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and a $60 price target after the company posted strong first-quarter results. The consensus target for the media giant is $59.12. The stock was last seen on Friday at $39.76, down close to 5% on the day.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Piper Sandler raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and nudged the $90 target price up to $94. The consensus target for the bank is $101.10. The final trade on Friday was reported at $81.90, which was down over 3% for the day.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the legacy pizza restaurant giant while lowering the $510 target price to $435. The consensus target is $429.04. The last trade on Friday was delivered at $338, down close to 5% for the day.

EPAM Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: EPAM): Though Piper Sandler upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral, it trimmed the target price to $348 from $359. The consensus target is up at $423. The stock closed almost 6% lower on Friday at $264.99. Shares were trading up over 2% in premarket action.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the biotech heavyweight and has a $90 target. The consensus target is lower at $70.27. The last trade for Friday hit the tape at $59.34. That was down close to 4% for the day.

ICON PLC (NASDAQ: ICON): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the stock and has a $267 price target. The posted consensus target is $278.91. The stock closed on Friday at $226.21 a share.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Sell rating on the legacy semiconductor giant, despite the company posting solid first-quarter earnings results, and the firm has a $40 target price. The consensus target is higher at $53.24. The stock was last seen down almost 7% on Friday to $43.59 per share.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and kept the stock as a top pick at the firm. Its $440 target price compares with a consensus target of $433.79. The shares were last seen trading at $354.63 apiece.

MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSI): Jefferies upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy with a $64 target price. The consensus target is higher at $73.92. The stock closed on Friday at $50.95.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the fast-food giant and has a $280 target price. The inline $280.79 consensus price target also compares with Friday’s closing print of $249.16.

ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD): Oppenheimer kept an Outperform rating on the shares while lowering the price objective to $275 from $312. The consensus target is $259. The last trade for Friday was reported at $199.97, which was down over 6% for the day.

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG): Stifel raised its price target on the Buy-rated stock to $30 from $26. The $24.65 consensus target is less than Friday’s closing print of $24.73.

Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $79 target price. The consensus target is $72.75. The shares closed on Friday at $55.48.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating with a $432 target price after the company posted solid first-quarter numbers with very solid metrics. The consensus target was last seen at $404.60. The stock ended last week at $316.52 per share.

Top oil exploration and development companies are among those expected to lift the dividends they pay to shareholders this week, making their stocks good total return candidates.

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Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Amphenol, Harley-Davidson, Hertz Global, Las Vegas Sands, Masco, Meta Platforms, NXP Semiconductors, Oshkosh, PayPal, Pinterest, ServiceNow, T-Mobile and Visa. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Amazon.com, Comcast, Mastercard, Old Republic, Roku, Stanley Black & Decker, Verizon Communications and more.

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