The futures traded higher Monday, as we start the new week after a shortened holiday week to start June. Last week was once again the song that remains the same scenario: huge up and down days, culminating with a big risk-off Friday when all the major indexes closed lower. This despite the government reporting that the economy added 390,000 jobs, versus the consensus estimate of 325,000.
While it appears like economic strength on the surface, the reality is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country lost a stunning 22 million jobs, and all we are basically doing is filling in the huge hole that was dug those two years. As we do wage inflation is adding to the overall inflation picture, which as consumers know well is punctuated at the gasoline pump and grocery store, where prices are surging.
Treasury yields were somewhat higher across the curve, but again the canary in the coal mine from an inflation standpoint is crude oil, as both Brent and West Texas Intermediate closed higher Friday, near the $120 a barrel mark. Natural gas also was up modestly. Given the massive run in oil, beleaguered consumers looking toward summer vacations can count on record-high gasoline prices across the nation. Both gold and Bitcoin closed lower Friday.
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 Monday, June 6, 2022.
American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT | AMT Price Prediction): BofA Securities resumed coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $315 target price. The consensus target is lower at $285.56. The last trade on Friday was reported at $266.73.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY): Raymond James downgraded the pharmaceutical giant to Market Perform from Outperform. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $53.22 to $75.30 and has an $80.23 consensus target. The last trade on Friday was reported at $75.17.
Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE: LNG): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock, pointing out that this company is raking in the profits as natural gas prices surge. Shares last closed at $141.96, and the consensus price target of $160.65 would be a 52-week high.
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Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY): Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on the Neutral-rated stock to $38 from $59. The consensus target is $48.54. Friday’s close was at $28.80.
Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating but lowered the $79 target to $71. The consensus target is $76.42. The stock closed Friday at $48.74 down almost 4%.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $560 price objective. The consensus target is $557.03. The last trade on Friday was reported at $476.25.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the cybersecurity giant and has a $275 price objective. The consensus target is $250.68. Friday’s closed at $162.10 was down almost 7% on the day despite it posting incredible earnings.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL): Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral and raised its $180 target price to $195. The consensus target is $194.31. Friday close was at $170.46.
Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $50 target price. The consensus for the home colorectal test company is much higher at $99.44. The shares closed Friday at $47.55, which was down over 7% on no reported negative news.
Fate Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE): Baird started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $28 target price. The consensus target is way up at $84.32. Friday’s closing trade hit the tape at $23.65.
GXO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: GXO): Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $64 target price. That compares with the higher consensus target of $89.92 and Friday’s close at $54.43.
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Joann Inc. (NASDAQ: JOAN): BofA Securities cut its Buy rating to Neutral and slashed the $20 target price to $8. The consensus target is $13. The stock was demolished Friday, closing at $6.36, down almost 20%, after posting very poor earnings.
Lion Electric Co. (NYSE: LEV): CIBC downgraded the stock from Sector Outperform to Neutral with a $9 target price. The shares closed down just shy of 5% on Friday at $5.36.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Baird reiterated an Outperform rating after the company once again posted outstanding quarterly results. The firm has a $450 target price, which compares with a lower $424.15 consensus and Friday’s close at $300.80.
New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB): Keefe Bruyette downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and has a $9 target price. The consensus target is $13.13. The shares closed Friday at $9.65, down almost 5%.
Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Baird maintained a Neutral rating and lowered the $195 target price to $125. The consensus target is up at $193.72. The stock was closed on Friday at $98.38, up 5% after the company posted stellar results and boosted revenue guidance.
Physicians Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DOC): CapitalOne initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $20 target price. The consensus target is $19.46. The stock closed at $18.04 on Friday.
Portland General Electric Co. (NYSE: POR): Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and lifted the price target to $53 from $49. The consensus target is $53.50. The stock closed on Friday at $49.73.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Jefferies started coverage with an Underperform rating and a $536 target price objective. The consensus target is much higher at $703.14. The stock closed on Friday at $630.35.
Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Raymond James raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform with a $150 target price. The consensus target is $149.18. The shares closed Friday at $112.23, which was down almost 4% for the day.
Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): CapitalOne started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $95 target price. The consensus target is $98.94. Friday’s closing share price was $88.00.
Westlake Corp. (NYSE: WLK): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight but nudged the target price to $135 from $134. The consensus target is up at $146.69. The stock closed down 2% on Friday at $130.73.
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This week, four top companies are expected to hike the dividends they pay to shareholders, making their stocks good total return candidates.
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Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Costco Wholesale, Dentsply Sirona, Freeport-McMoRan, General Electric, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Paramount Global, Schlumberger and Warner Bros. Discovery. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on BankUnited, Canadian National Railway, Fate Therapeutics, Moody’s, Regions Financial, Snowflake, Travelers, Voya Financial and more.
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