The futures were lower on Tuesday, as traders and investors returned from the holiday weekend. Friday finished off the best week in over two months, as all the major indexes, including the Russell 2000, closed up big. The Dow Jones industrials snapped an eight-week losing streak, the longest since 1932, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended skids that had lasted seven weeks.

The big question on many minds across Wall Street is where we go from here, after such a strong week. Last week’s rally was ignited in part when one of the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation indicators, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, rose only 4.9%. That was in line with estimates and was a drop from the March print. The sense that inflation could be slowing could help keep the wind behind the market’s back, but the risk-off crowd looks to be back.

Surprisingly on such a risk-off day and week, yields across the Treasury curve were either flat or modestly lower on Friday. Unfortunately for consumers and motorists getting ready for summer vacation driving trips, both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed higher Friday. Gold was slightly higher, while Bitcoin closed down almost 3%.

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 Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF): Zacks selected this apparel retailer as its Bear of the Day, citing the price downtrend ever since the climax top in June of last year. The stock has traded as high as $48.97 a share in the past year but closed most recently at $22.55, which is down more than 35% year to date.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO): J.P. Morgan downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight and lowered the $20 price target to $15. The consensus target is $24.91 for now. The stock closed down over 6% on Friday at $13.10.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Sell rating and lowered the $210 target price to $185 after earnings and better than expected guidance. The consensus target is up at $264.78. The stock closed over 10% higher on Friday at $210.38.

Bausch + Lomb Corp. (NYSE: BLCO): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $23 target price, while Guggenheim initiated coverage at Buy with a $24 price objective. The consensus target is $35.00. The stock had a recent initial public offering and closed Friday at $17.69 a share.
Boot Barn Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BOOT): Baird raised its Neutral rating to Outperform and has a $115 target price. The consensus target is $132.67. Friday’s closing share price of $81.80 was up almost 5% on the day.

Boston Scientific Inc. (NYSE: BSX): Needham raised shares of the medical devices leader from Hold to Buy with a $48 price target. The consensus target is $50.38. The last trade on Friday hit the tape at $41.23.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and has a $526 target price. The consensus target is $578.13. The last trade Friday was filled at $470.76.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS): Bernstein downgraded the pharmacy giant to Market Perform from Outperform and dropped the $122 target price to $112. The consensus target is $117.63. Friday’s close was at $98.07.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Goldman Sachs lowered its $61 price target on the Neutral-rated legacy tech giant to $53. The consensus target is $60.78. The stock closed on Friday at $49.62, up almost 13% after the company posted a record quarter.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH): Truist Financial raised its Hold rating to Buy from and lifted the $25 target price to $60. The consensus target is $39.60. The stock closed on Friday at $22.30. The shares were trading almost 5% higher in Tuesday’s premarket.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and sliced the $11 target price to $9. The consensus target is $15.09 for now. The final trade on Friday came in at $11.60, up over 4% for the day.

Graphic Packaging Holding Co. (NYSE: GPK): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and hiked the $20 price target to $25. The consensus target is $24.52. The $22.46 close on Friday was up almost 5% for the day.

HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA): Bernstein’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform came with a target price trim to $271 from $273. The $257.21 consensus also compares with Friday’s closing print of $215.53.

iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ): Citigroup upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy and lifted the $4.50 price target to $6.50. The consensus target is up at $7.13. The stock closed at $3.98 on Friday.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: LYV): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $130 target after a positive investor meeting with the company. The consensus target is $127.62. Friday’s final trade was reported at $95.46.

Lufax Ltd. (NYSE: LU): CLSA downgraded the shares to Outperform from Buy and dropped the $8 target price to $6.80. The consensus target is $8.68. The last trade on Friday was reported at $6.26.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): Morgan Stanley raised shares of the venerable retail company to Equal Weight from Underweight and bumped the price target to $22 from $20. The consensus target is $28.00. The shares closed at $23.40 on Friday.
Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT): Needham’s downgrade was to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $96.86 and $135.89, and they have a $121.05 consensus target. The close on Friday was at $99.23.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY): The Zacks Bull of the Day stock has been a substantial beneficiary from the energy surge over the past year, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $70.86, and the consensus target price of $73.04 would be a multiyear high.

O-I Glass Inc. (NYSE: OI): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised the $15 price objective to $19. The consensus target is $15.58. The stock closed almost 9% higher on Friday at $16.98.

PubMatic Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM): Jefferies downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and lowered the $28 price target to $23. The consensus target is $29.94. The stock ended Friday trading at $20.88, up almost 4% for the day. The shares were lower in Tuesday’s premarket.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH): Bernstein downgraded the health care giant to Market Perform from Outperform and has a $561 target. The consensus target is $566.95. The shares ended Friday at $507.02 apiece.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): Morgan Stanley downgraded the popular retailer to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered the $34 target price to $25. The consensus target is $27.69. The shares closed 4% higher on Friday at $21.68.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): Goldman Sachs cut the price target on the Buy-rated company to $260 from $300. The $285.25 consensus target also compares with Friday’s close of $158.79, which was down almost 6% on the day.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating but slashed the $281 target price to $170. The consensus target is $290.08 The last trade for Friday came in at $160.00, up over 12% after posting earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.

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Seven Goldman Sachs Conviction List dividend stock picks make sense now for worried investors because they provide solid total return and should be able to hold their own in a recession.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Citigroup, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dow, Huntington Bancshares, Kraft Heinz, Nutanix, Nvidia, Patterson-UTI Energy, Roku, Snowflake, Splunk, Sysco, Union Pacific and Zscaler.

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