The futures were lower on Friday, after all the gains from Thursday, the best day for stocks since 2020, evaporated in a massive across the board risk-off trading session. One big reason was Treasury yields spiking higher in a big way, with the five-year and 10-year notes and the 30-year long bond all up 13 basis point and higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was absolutely demolished, closing down a stunning 5%, while the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 both closed down well over 3%.
Friday’s nonfarm payroll numbers came in well above expectations, with the economy adding 428,000 jobs rather than the expected 395,000. That was a pleasant surprise after Wednesday’s private payroll numbers clocked in well below expectations. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed slightly higher, after OPEC agreed to another modest increase in production, raising output 432,000 barrels per day in June. Natural gas continued its huge move higher, up another 4% on the day, while gold was another casualty of the Thursday rout, closing down 5%.
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, May 6, 2022.
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AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV | ABBV Price Prediction): Daiwa Securities downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform. The consensus target for the pharmaceutical heavyweight is $164.86. The stock closed on Thursday at $152.18.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): This is the latest Bear of the Day stock at Zacks. The analyst suggests that recent earnings misses and an unpredictable equity market do not favor bullish Amazon investors. Shares have traded as high as $3,773.08 in the past year but hit a 52-week low of $2,301.45 on Thursday. The stock is down more than 30% year to date.
APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): Stifel raised its $51 price target on the Buy-rated energy giant to $59. The consensus target is $52.54. The stock closed almost 9% lower on Thursday at $41.30.
Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating with a $2,460 price target. The consensus target is $2,651.28. The stock ended Thursday at $2171.91, up over 3% on a dreadful day.
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CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF): Zacks has named this fertilizer maker as its Bull of the Day stock, citing a strong technical trend and relative undervaluation. Shares last closed at $100.29 and have a consensus price target of $109.82.
Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the shares, which are on the firm’s Select List of top stock picks. Its $130 target price compares with a $123.75 consensus target. Thursday’s final trade hit the tape at $96.08.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the retail giant and has a $600 target price. The consensus target is $593.36. The stock closed 5% lower on Thursday at $517.32.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating after the company posted solid first-quarter results. The analyst has a $52 target price, while the consensus target is $66.42. The stock tumbled 11% on Thursday to close at $48.04.
EPAM Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: EPAM): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $400 from $312. The consensus target is up at $460.31, and Thursday’s close at $346.00 was up almost 11%, after the company topped first-quarter earnings estimates.
Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Stifel kept a Buy rating but slashed the $70 target price to $30. The consensus target is $191.63 and is for sure headed lower. The shares closed 17% lower on Thursday to $90.93.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $395 price target. The consensus target is $362.45. The stock closed at $284.52 on Thursday.
Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating after the company posted solid first-quarter results. The firm’s $140 price objective is well above the $126.69 consensus figure. The stock closed 14% lower on Thursday at $68.92.
GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $110 target price after the company posted strong first-quarter results. The consensus target is $100.50. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Thursday at $78.30.
Horizon Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: HZNP): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating after the company posted solid first-quarter numbers. The analyst has a $140 target price, which compares with the $141.65 consensus target and Thursday’s final trade at $92.39.
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Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE): Oppenheimer maintained a Perform rating but without a price target after the company’s deal to acquire Black Knight for $13 billion. The consensus target is $152.69. The stock closed down almost 8% on Thursday at $101.63.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the popular yoga and athletic apparel retailer and has a $440 target price. The consensus target is lower at $430.46. The shares closed down almost 6% on Thursday at $343.60.
Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH): Goldman Sachs remains positive on the Buy-rated shares after solid first-quarter results, and it has a $138 price objective. The higher $140.52 consensus target is also well above Thursday’s closing trade of $76.88, which was down over 8% for the day.
MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating with an $83 price objective on the insurance and financial services giant after stellar first-quarter results. The consensus target is $77.62. Thursday’s closing share price was $67.50.
Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE: PING): Stifel maintained a Buy rating and a $30 price target. The consensus target is $31.57. The shares closed almost 10% lower on Thursday at $24.55.
Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating after the company posted solid quarterly results. The firm’s $130 target price is lower than the $147.25 consensus target. Thursday’s close at $80.22 was down over 15% on the day.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating after first-quarter results and has a $262 price target. The consensus target is up at $278.45. The stock closed at $116.73 on Thursday.
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating and has a $55 target price. The consensus target is $56.52. The shares closed almost 5% lower on Thursday at $26.83.
Virgin Galactic Inc. (NYSE: SPCE): Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and slashed the $36 price target to $8. The consensus target is $15.58. The stock closed Thursday at $7.50, which was down almost 10% on the day.
Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W): Piper Sandler’s downgraded to Neutral from Overweight included a price target cut to $65 from $200. The consensus target is $124.75. The stock ended Thursday at $67.45, down a stunning 25% after posting a larger than expected loss.
Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING): Baird maintained an Outperform rating but lowered the $145 target price to $120. The consensus target is $134.26. The $87.95 close on Thursday was down close to 10% on the day.
WM Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MAPS): Stifel maintained a Buy rating after the company posted solid first-quarter results. Its $10 price objective tops the $8.61 consensus estimate. The stock closed 8% lower on Thursday at $5.76.
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One top analyst has resumed coverage on some of the top energy master limited partnerships. Shares of five with the highest dividend yields still look very attractive for growth and income investors, despite the big run higher over the past year.
Commodity prices have moderated somewhat from last year’s high, but some iron ore, copper and gold miners are still paying huge dividends.
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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, Block, Caesars Entertainment, CarMax, Lyft, Nike, Paramount Global, S&P Global and Starbucks.
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