The futures were mixed Friday, as we get ready to wrap up one of the most positive weeks for investors in almost two months. All the major indexes closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials poised to end an eight-week losing streak, and the S&P 500 breaking back through the 4,000 level, closing up over 2%. While some on Wall Street have said there is a possibility for the venerable index to rally to 4,200, many will be watching closely to see if the aggressive sellers return to hit the solid bids we are currently seeing. With the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend upon us, it is very possible we could see volume dry up as the day wears on, as traders look for an early exit.

Yields across the Treasury curve were flat across the board, as the flight to safety crowd took a breather. One additional negative for Americans heading to the highway this weekend for the holiday with gasoline prices at record levels is that both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed higher, each posting at least a 3% gain. Natural gas finally took a breather, after trading well over $9 mbtu early in the session for the first time since 2008. Gold and Bitcoin both closed modestly higher on Thursday.

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 27, 2022.

Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI): BofA Securities upgraded shares of the health care giant to Neutral from Underperform and raised the $265 target price to $300. The consensus target is $287.13. The stock closed on Thursday at $268.88.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C): Credit Suisse downgraded the money center bank and investment giant to Neutral from Outperform and has a $58 price target. The consensus target is $66.45, and Thursday’s closing print was $54.09.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR): Stephens started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $170 price target. The consensus target is $165.57. The shares closed on Thursday at $137.55.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS): Gordon Haskett upgraded the stock from Reduce to Hold with a $78 target price. The consensus target is up at $124.65. The $84.58 close on Thursday was up over 8% for the day after the company posted very solid earnings.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW): Evercore ISI lowered its Outperform rating on the chemical giant to In Line with a $68 target price. The consensus target is $73.40. The stock closed on Thursday at $67.84.
e.l.f Beauty Inc. (NYSE: ELF): D.A. Davidson reiterated a Buy rating and bumped the $41 price target to $42. The consensus target is $35.33. The shares closed over 11% higher on Thursday at $24.63 after fourth-quarter results crushed earnings and revenue estimates.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN): Wolfe Research’s downgrade to Underperform from Peer Perform included a price target cut to $11 from $15. The consensus target is $16.91. Thursday’s closing share price was $13.81.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC): UBS downgraded the Warren Buffett favorite to Neutral from Sell and cut the $40 target price to $34. The consensus target is $43.17. The shares ended the session Thursday over 6% lower to $37.07 after 3G Capital said it would distribute stock to investors.

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS): Truist Financial upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $20 price target. The $21.60 consensus target is higher, and Thursday’s close was at $14.28 a share.

ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE: MAN): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and hacked the $120 price target to $84. The stock has traded as high as $124.57 in the past year but closed on Thursday at $87.92.

Nutanix Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX): BofA Securities lowered its Buy rating to Neutral and slashed its $54 target price to $22. The consensus target is $41.12 for now. The shares were hammered Thursday, closing down almost 23% at $16.50 after the company reported a third-quarter loss that was much worse than expected.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Benchmark resumed coverage of the chip heavyweight with a Buy rating, but it slashed the $365 price target to $228. The consensus price objective is $315.02. The stock ended Thursday at $178.51, which was up over 5% on the day.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN): J.P. Morgan raised its Underweight rating to Neutral with a $20 target price. The consensus target is $19.60. The shares ended Thursday 6.5% higher to $19.49.

POINT Biopharma Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PNT): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and blasted the $7 price target up to $20. The consensus target is $14.67. The shares closed 10% higher on Thursday at $7.91, on zero news we could source except the upgrade.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU): Pivotal Research Group raised its Sell rating to Hold with an $80 target price. The consensus target is much higher $172.46. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $88.54.

SilverBow Resources Inc. (NYSE: SBOW): Oil prices are high and look to stay that way, which will help the Zacks Bull of the Day stock, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $37.78, and the $73.50 consensus price target would be an all-time high.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and has a $192 price objective. The consensus target is $281.38 for now. Thursday’s close at $126.80 was down almost 5% for the day after the company posted disappointing earnings guidance.
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating after the big-data company posted strong earnings results. The firm’s $200 target price compares with the lower $154.94 consensus target. The stock closed trading almost 10% higher on Thursday at $102.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral and has a $98 target price. The consensus target is $95.27. The shares closed almost 5% higher on Thursday at $82.79.

Tyler Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TYL): D.A. Davidson upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $440 price target. The consensus figure is up at $499.26. The shares closed up nearly 3% on Thursday to $351.57.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the $400 price objective to $475. The consensus target is $444.14. The stock closed Thursday at $377.96, up over 7% after the company posted blowout earnings results. The shares were up an additional 7.5% in early premarket trading.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP): Evercore ISI downgraded the railroad heavyweight to In Line from Outperform and has a $245 price objective. The $271.48 consensus target is higher, and Thursday’s closing print was $221.29.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Baird kept a Neutral rating and cut the $175 price target on the upscale retailer to $150, despite the company posting outstanding earnings for the quarter. The consensus target is $162.76. The shares closed Thursday at $130, up 13% on the stellar results.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Stephens initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $200 price target. The consensus price objective is up at $297.35. The stock closed over 7% higher on Thursday at $142.13 after earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations.

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Investors looking to take advantage of the strong energy pricing should look at the top natural gas stocks that pay a dividend. Seven of them make sense now, with their reasonable entry points and outstanding growth potential.

Goldman Sachs favors five outstanding energy stocks that can deliver more than just dividends. Also, see which five gig economy stocks could thrive in a recession.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Agilent Technologies, Apple, Best Buy, Coinbase Global, CrowdStrike, Equitable, Intuit, Lululemon Athletica, Okta, Petco Health and Wellness, Porch, Sabra Health Care REIT, Teladoc Health, Toast and VNET.

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