The futures traded higher Thursday, after a promising start to Wednesday, credited in some part to comments from the Atlanta Fed President that there could be a pause in the interest rate hikes in September, turned into selling across the board by the close. All the major indexes, including the transports and utilities, closed lower. Some solid earnings from Salesforce got the party rolling but the enthusiasm quickly waned, as it appears that big rally from last week is pulling the risk-off crowd back to the table.
Yields were higher across the Treasury curve, as the Federal Reserve began its balance sheet runoff. Maturing bonds will not be replaced during this program, while the quantitative easing program of buying treasury and mortgage-backed debt ended back in March.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were mixed on Wednesday, and both are closing in on $120 a barrel. Natural gas closed modestly higher, while gold closed flat and Bitcoin was down close to 6% on the day, back below the $30,000 level.
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.
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These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI | ADI Price Prediction): Zacks has named this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst cites strong earnings and upbeat guidance in the face of ongoing supply chain bottlenecks and a slowing economy. Shares last closed at $164.77, and the consensus price target of $202.04 would be an all-time high.
Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV): Goldman Sachs lowered its $150 price target on the Buy-rated company to $135. The consensus target is $145.83. The stock closed on Wednesday at $107.52.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and a $112 target price. The consensus target is $116.72. The final trade Wednesday came in at $74.37.
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CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF): Barclays initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $103 target price. The consensus target is $112.88. The stock closed over 3% lower on Wednesday at $95.51.
Finvolutions Group (NYSE: FINV): Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised the $3.27 price target to $5.33. The consensus target is $6.21. The stock closed over 7% higher on Wednesday at $4.52.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Goldman Sachs lowered its $18 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $14. The consensus target is $17.66. The stock closed at $13.55 on Wednesday.
Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but cut the $78 target price to $69. The consensus target is $80.67. The stock closed on Wednesday at $60.63.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Barclays initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $59 price objective. The consensus target is $76.05. The shares ended Wednesday over 6% lower to $58.69.
O-I Glass Inc. (NYSE: OI): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $24 target. The consensus target is $15.92. The final trade Wednesday was for $16.90 a share.
Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: PK): Truist Financial lifted its Hold rating to Buy, and its $19 price target went to $22. The consensus target is $22.50. The stock closed 3% higher on Wednesday at $18.60.
Magna International Inc. (NYSE: MGA): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but lowered the $85 target price to $72. The consensus target is up at $107.20. The shares closed on Wednesday at $64.35.
Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE): BTIG Research upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $60 target. The consensus target is lower at $43.25. Wednesday’s $37.27 close was up almost 3% on the day.
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a price target boost to $22.75 from $21. The consensus target is $20.25. The shares ended Wednesday trading at $18.89.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, and its $35 target price dropped to $23. The consensus target is $30.07. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $18.93.
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Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG): KeyBanc Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $40 target. The consensus target is $36.64. The stock closed Wednesday at $17.92, down over 3% for the day.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Baird reiterated a Buy rating after the company reported outstanding results, but the firm lowered the $300 target price to $260. The consensus target is $264.99. The stock closed Wednesday at $176.07, which was up almost 10% on the back of the strong earnings print.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight came with a price target cut to $18 from $30. The consensus target is $34.30 for now. The shares closed at $13.93 on Wednesday.
Temper Sealy International Inc. (NYSE: TPX): Piper Sandler downgraded the popular mattress company to Neutral from Overweight and reduced the $36 price objective to $28. The consensus target is $37.56. The $24.64 close on Wednesday was down almost 5% on the day.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Goldman Sachs lowered the $1,200 price target on the electric vehicle heavyweight to $1,000, while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $928.40. The stock closed almost 7% lower on Wednesday at $24.64.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Barclays downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight and slashed the $175 price target to $110. The consensus target is $211.62. The shares closed on Wednesday at $104.27.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): Zacks selected this retailer as its Bear of the Day stock, calling it one of the many victims of soaring prices and supply chain setbacks. The stock has traded as high as $42.10 a share in the past year but closed most recently at $21.96, which is down more than 25% year to date.
Veeva Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VEEV): Baird maintained an Outperform rating with a $228 target price after the company’s positive earnings report. The consensus target is $241.78. The shares closed Wednesday at $167.84 and were up over 5% in Thursday’s premarket.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX): Maxim upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy with a $335 target. The consensus target is $291.93. The stock closed on Wednesday at $269.41.
Visteon Corp. (NASDAQ: VC): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and boosted the $72 price target to $93. The consensus target is $126. The shares closed at $113.00 on Wednesday.
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With interest rates and inflation rising, what are balanced growth and income investors to do? Jefferies favors on six top BDC stocks that offer outsized dividends and growth potential.
Also, see why one key analyst turned cautious on four REIT stocks.
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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Allbirds, Amazon.com, American Eagle Outfitters, Canopy Growth, Citizens Financial, Cleveland-Cliffs, Etsy, Deere, LyondellBasell Industries, Medtronic, PayPal, Steel Dynamics and Truist Financial. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Danaher, eBay, GoodRx, Infosys, Valero Energy, Xylem and more.
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