The futures were higher on Thursday, after a surprising follow-on rally for most of the day Wednesday ended with all the major indexes closing lower. The sellers rushed in during the last half hour of trading. One reason cited for the early gains was the commodity complex, especially oil trading lower across the board, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate closing over 4% lower.

Some across Wall Street cited President Biden’s decision to eliminate the federal gas tax for three months as a reason for the stock gains early Wednesday, but the reality is that likely will save consumers only about $4 when they fill up their gas tanks, and many in Congress are opposed to it.

The other big story on Wednesday was the Treasury curve. Yields plummeted as buyers swamped sellers in a bid to increase safe-haven exposure before the end of the quarter. The yield on the five-year note dropped a stunning 15 basis points, while the benchmark 30-year bond dropped almost 15 basis points to close at 3.24%. Natural gas closed slightly higher, as demand from the heat wave has increased.

Gold dodged the commodity sell-off finishing modestly higher on the day, while Bitcoin closed down over 4%, to fall below the psychologically important $20,000 level.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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 Thursday, June 23, 2022.

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK): Raymond James downgraded the carrier to Outperform from Strong Buy and cut the $75 target price to $58. The consensus target is $74.50. The stock closed on Wednesday at $40.37.

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the chip giant, stating it is a long-term buyer of the shares. The firm’s $210 price target is in line the $210.52 consensus target. The shares closed on Wednesday at $147.65.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO): MKM Partners initiated coverage of the auto parts and accessories retailing giant with a Buy rating and a $2,350 price objective. The consensus target is $2,189.12. Wednesday’s close was at $2,071.62.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Citing the quickly changing consumer spending environment and rising inflation, Zacks selected this stock as the Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $141.97 in the past year but closed most recently at $69.88, which is down more than 31% year to date.
Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE: BRX): J.P. Morgan raised its Neutral rating to Overweight but trimmed the $27 price target to $25. The consensus target is $27.88. The stock closed at $19.95 on Wednesday.

Calix Inc. (NYSE: CALX): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and has a $61 price objective. The consensus target is $59.38. The closed almost 4% higher on Wednesday at $35.45.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the discount retail leader and has a $285 price target. That $248.46 consensus target is nearer to Wednesday’s close at $240.56.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR): Zacks has named this as the Bull of the Day stock, and the analyst makes a case that this discount retail standout is poised to thrive as more Americans tighten their purse strings. Shares last closed at $155.03, so the $173.87 consensus price target represents a gain of more than 12%.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $31 target price. The consensus target for shares of the popular gambling site is $28.02. The stock closed Wednesday at $12.52, up almost 3% on the day, and tacked on an additional 3.5% in Thursday’s premarket.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR): Though RBC Capital Markets raised its Sector Perform rating to Outperform, it lowered the $95target price to $79. The consensus target is $89.36. The shares closed on Wednesday at $71.36.

Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE: EXR): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade was to Overweight from Neutral, though it cut the $224 price objective to $193. The consensus target is $210.08. The close on Wednesday was at $164.66.

Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (NYSE: HPP): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. It also lowered the $25 price target to $20. The consensus target is $27.36. The stock closed over 3% lower on Wednesday at $15.34.

iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT): Goldman Sachs slashed the price target in half on the Buy-rated media company, from $32 to $15. The consensus target is $25.71 for now. The stock closed over 4% lower on Wednesday at $7.99.

JELD-WEN Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: JELD): The RBC Capital Markets downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform included a price target cut to $12 from $20. The consensus target is $24.23. The stock ended Wednesday trading at $13.34.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the big-box do-it-yourself giant and has a $300 target price. The consensus target is just $248.62. The shares ended Wednesday trading at $173.60.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the venerable retail giant and has a $36 price target. The consensus target is $26.84. Wednesday’s close was at $19.54.
Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and lowered the $24 price target to $18. The consensus target is $22.50. The shares closed on Wednesday at $14.65.

Palomar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR): Piper Sandler’s upgrade was from Neutral to Overweight with a $70 price target. The consensus target is up at $81.14. Wednesday’s closing print of $60.87 was up over 7% for the day.

PNM Resources Inc. (NYSE: PNM): Mizuho raised its Neutral rating to Buy but trimmed the $53 target price to $52. The consensus target is $50.66, and the stock was last seen at $45.81 on Wednesday.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN): Goldman Sachs lowered its $12 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $10.50. The consensus target is $14.81. The stock closed almost 5% higher on Wednesday at $8.30.

Sensata Technologies Holding PLC (NYSE: ST): Wolfe Research upgraded the stock from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $55 target. The consensus target is $58.72. The stock closed at $42.38 on Wednesday.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC): The RBC Capital Markets upgrade to Outperform from Sector Perform included a target price cut to $28 from $32. The consensus target is $35.13. The shares closed Wednesday at $21.26, which was up over 2% on the day.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $190 price objective. The consensus target is up at $228.88, and Wednesday’s final trade was for $136.59.

Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG): Goldman Sachs lowered its $38 price target to $33 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $48.30. The shares closed up almost 5% on Wednesday at $31.67.

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In what could be a long and brutal bear market in the United States, it may make sense for investors to look to Europe for some ideas now. Five top European stocks have liquidity and all pay very dependable dividends, in some cases large ones.

Citigroup now has three outstanding picks with huge upside potential. Also, see why bitcoin miners have joined the selling spree.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Chevron, Compass, ConocoPhillips, Kraft Heinz, Micron Technology, Netflix, Nike, Seagate Technology, Shoals Technologies and WestRock. Analyst calls seen later were on Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, Anthem, Burlington Stores, Cigna, Darden Restaurants, Dow, PulteGroup and Welltower and more.

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