The futures traded lower after a wild and wooly Wednesday that started with inflation numbers that came in slightly higher than expected, with the current year-over-year number still at a 40-year high of 8.3%. Despite the increases, there is starting to be a sense across Wall Street that the tide is turning some, and that helped all the major indexes to rally initially, before all ultimately closing down big, and each ended at 52-week lows.

After initially selling off after the inflation numbers were posted, the yields across the Treasury curve ended lower, as worried investors clearly seem to be looking for safe havens. The benchmark 30-year long bond closed at a 3.04% yield, which was down nine basis points.

One big negative for investors was oil prices shooting higher again, a tough break for consumers with gasoline at all-time highs across the nation in front of the busy summer driving season. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed big, with WTI up a stunning 6%, while Brent clocked in at 5% higher. Natural gas continued its relentless climb higher, adding almost 3.5%. Gold ended the day up almost 1%, while Bitcoin was hammered to the tune of a 5% loss.

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 Thursday, May 12, 2022.

Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC): Stephens raised its Equal Weight rating to Overweight and lifted the $86 price target to $92. The consensus target is $85.43. The stock closed Wednesday at $69.83, which was up almost 7% on the day after the company posted solid earnings results.

Array Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): Oppenheimer kept a Perform rating on the battered solar equipment and parts stock but had no target price. The consensus target is $18.50, for the time being. The stock closed over 7% lower on Wednesday at $6.42.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR): Baird upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral but lowered the $71 price target to $60. The consensus target is higher at $85.00. The stock closed almost 16% lower on Wednesday at $28.95.

AZEK Co. Inc. (NYSE: AZEK): Baird kept an Outperform rating but trimmed the $32 target price to $30. The consensus target is $38.50. The shares closed almost 5% lower on Wednesday at $16.51.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the aerospace and defense giant, which resides on the firm’s Conviction List of top stock picks. The analyst has a $288 price target, which would be a 52-week high. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $129.47.

Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $78 price target. The consensus target is $79.80. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $53.33.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF): Wolfe Research downgraded the shares from Peer Perform to Underperform with an $86 target price. The consensus target is up at $169.47, and Wednesday’s closing print was $119.59.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $197 target price. The consensus target is $263.82, for now. The shares ended Wednesday at $53.72, down almost 27% for the day after posting awful first-quarter results as trading volume plunged.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW): Barclays downgraded it to Equal Weight from Overweight and slashed the $53 target price to $38. The consensus target is $46.09. The stock closed at $34.88 on Wednesday.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating but slashed the $87 target price to $52. The consensus target is $132.18, for now. Wednesday’s $43.67 closing share price was down almost 8%, after first-quarter earnings and sales missed analysts’ estimates.

8×8 Inc. (NYSE: EGHT): Baird kept a Neutral rating on the shares while slicing the target price to $10 from $13. The consensus target is up at $21.46. The stock closed on Wednesday at $7.82.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the video gaming giant and has a $125 target price. The consensus target is higher at $161.23. The shares closed Wednesday at $120.49, up close to 8% after beating first-quarter earnings expectations.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Daiwa Securities upgraded the stock from Outperform to Buy with a $307 target price. The consensus target for the cybersecurity leader is $365.93. The stock closed on Wednesday at $260.96.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the legacy old-school motorcycle giant after meeting with the company’s executives recently. The $55 price target compares with a slightly lower $51.13 consensus and Wednesday’s closing print of $35.81.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating after solid results, and the firm has a $122 target price. The consensus target is $101.24. The stock closed on Wednesday at $83.30.

Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ: ITCI): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $90 price objective after the company posted better than expected first-quarter results. The consensus target is just $70.90. The final trade for Wednesday was at $53.38 a share.
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: JKHY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $220 target price. That compares with the lower $191.67 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $178.18.

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a target price hike to $65 from $58. The consensus target is $72.48. The shares closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $51.77. The stock was up almost 2% in the premarket trading.

Peloton Interactive Inc. (NASDAQ: PTON): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the troubled stock but lowered the $46 target price to $25. The consensus target is $42.79 for now. The stock closed over 4% lower on Wednesday at $12.34.

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PLTK): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating after the company posted less than stellar earnings. The analyst has a $17 price target, but the consensus target is $26.50. Wednesday’s closing share price was $12.48.

TransDigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $720 target price. The consensus target is up at $743.89. The stock closed on Wednesday at $570.77.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): Stifel lowered the $150 price target to $100 but stuck with a Buy rating. The consensus price objective is $157.98 for now, and Wednesday’s close at $30.30 was down 37% in the wake of awful first-quarter results, with Apple advertising changes as a big component.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Jefferies kept a Buy rating on the retail heavyweight and has a $175 target price. The consensus target is $166.47. The stock closed on Wednesday at $147.62.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Stifel maintained a Buy rating on the luxury casino heavyweight but cut the $139 target price to $112. The consensus target is $103.13. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Wednesday at $58.85.

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Seven Warren Buffett stocks are quality defensive names that make sense now for growth and income investors worried about the potential for a continued steep market decline.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Affirm, Bausch + Lomb, Electronic Arts, EOG Resources, Foot Locker, Ford, GoodRx, Goodyear Tire, Healthcare Trust of America, Simon Property, Tesla and Unity Software. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Carvana, Coinbase, Planet Fitness, Peloton and more.

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