Friday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Costco, Freeport-McMoRan, GE, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Schlumberger, Warner Bros Discovery and More

Investing

Published: June 3, 2022 8:58 am

Last Updated: June 3, 2022 9:07 am

The futures traded higher after the nonfarm payrolls data for May came in higher than Wall Street expected. The 390,000 jobs added topped the anticipated 325,00. The major indexes closed higher Thursday, after a rough start when Microsoft cut earnings and revenue guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter, citing unfavorable current foreign exchange movement. That was countered by some very positive reports from other technology leaders and a slew of additional readings on the economy that, while still less than stellar, were not as weak as many had expected.

The biggest positive for beleaguered U.S. consumers was a Financial Times report that Saudi Arabia was ready to ramp up production that would replace any loss from Russia due to European Union sanctions. That positive was short-lived as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a massive 5.1 million barrel inventory draw, which once again had the price of Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude moving toward the $120 a barrel mark. Natural gas closed modestly lower, while gold and Bitcoin both traded higher.

Yields were flat to down across the Treasury curve, as most market participants held their cards in front of the aforementioned nonfarm payrolls report.

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, June 3, 2022.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): UBS downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered the $300 target price to $260. The consensus target is $285.37. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $251.29.

Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: COLD): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and bumped the $28 price target up to $30. The consensus target is $31.20. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $28.82.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): B. Riley Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and the $65 target price rose to $67. The consensus target is $76.42. The stock closed on Thursday at $50.68.

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Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised the $560 price target to $580. The consensus target is $556.36. The $487.61 closed on Thursday was just shy of a 7% gain for the day.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI): Wells Fargo downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and has a $180 price objective. The consensus target is $202.11. The stock closed at $187.21 on Thursday.
Dentsply Sirona Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY): Though UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it lowered the $58 price target to $47, closer to the $46.10 consensus target. The shares closed over 7% higher on Thursday at $41.80.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL): UBS raised its Neutral rating to Buy and hiked the $186 target price to $205. The consensus target is $193.13. The stock closed over 6% higher on Thursday at $173.13.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FLT): Evercore ISI resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $300 price target. The consensus target is $296.07. The stock closed at $245.26 on Thursday.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the mining giant and has a $65 target price. The consensus target is just $49.42. The stock closed over 5% higher on Thursday at $41.72.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE): Citing slowing sales, Zacks has selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $116.17 in the past year but last closed at $78.00, which is down more than 17% year to date.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the legendary blue jeans maker and has a $25 target price. The consensus target is up at $30.15. The $19.09 close on Thursday was almost 4% higher on the day.

Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE: MLM): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral but trimmed the $420 price target to $410. The consensus target is $451.21. Thursday’s closing share price of $347.33 was up over 3% for the day.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB): Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating with a $305 target price after the firm’s long-standing chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, announced she will be stepping down but will remain on the board. The consensus target is $294.87. The stock closed 6% higher on Thursday at $198.86.

ALSO READ: These 6 ‘Strong Buy’ Business Development Companies Pay Massive Dividends

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Piper Sandler downgraded the chip giant to Underweight from Neutral and cut the $90 price target to $70. The consensus target is higher at $109.95. The shares closed almost 3% higher on Thursday at $75.37 and were down close to 4% more in the premarket action.

MongoDB Inc. (NYSE: MDB): Goldman Sachs lowered its $495 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $435. The consensus target is $431.94. The stock closed Thursday at $286.70, which was up almost 19% after the company crushed earnings expectations.

Paramount Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PARA): Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Underperform from Peer Perform and slashed the $49 price target to $24. The consensus target is $36.93. Thursday’s close at $31.43 was down almost 3% for the day.

Paycom Software Inc. (NYSE: PAYC): This stock is the Zacks Bull of the Day. The analyst points out that Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran loves the HR app that empowers and engages employees. Shares most recently closed at $303.10 and have a consensus price target of $381.01.
Reinsurance Group of America Inc. (NYSE: RGA): Credit Suisse raised its Underperform rating to Neutral and hiked the $80 target price to $122. The consensus target is $126.09. The last trade on Thursday was at $125.50 a share.

Sema4 Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SMFR): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $3.50 target price. The consensus target is higher at $4.67. Shares closed on Thursday at $1.91.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the oilfield services giant, which also resides on the firm’s Conviction List of top picks. The firm’s target price is $54. The shares closed Thursday at $46.30, in a 52-week range of $25.90 to $48.69.

Starry Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: STRY): Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares from Buy to Neutral with a $9 target price. Shares ended Thursday at $10.26, after a gain of over 3% for the day.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD): Wolfe Research resumed coverage with a Peer Perform rating and a $20 target price. The consensus target is higher at $34.35. The stock closed on Thursday at $18.

Wolfspeed Inc. (NYSE: WOLF): Oppenheimer raised its Perform rating to Outperform with a $105 target price. The stock closed up over 6% on Thursday at $78.62.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE): Wolfe Research resumed coverage with a Peer Perform rating and a $68 target price. The consensus target is lower at $63.00. Thursday’s closing share price was $67.30.

Raymond James thinks the tide has turned for six top real estate investment trusts. They are offering the best entry points in some time and look like solid ideas for growth and income investors searching for reasonably safe total return.

In addition, Credit Suisse picks winners from among defensive specialty chemicals stocks, and see which gold and silver miners may be the next takeover candidates. Another key analyst has cautious optimism on three top tech stocks.

ALSO READ: The 7 Highest-Yielding Dividend Kings Likely Can Fight Inflation and a Recession

Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Analog Devices, Aptiv, CF Industries, Ford, Mosaic, Park Hotels & Resorts, Patterson-UTI Energy, Pinterest, Plug Power, Salesforce, Snap, Temper Sealy, Tesla, Twilio and Urban Outfitters. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Bloom Energy, Comcast, Fox, FuelCell Energy, Rivian Automotive, Roku, T-Mobile and more.

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