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GDP Is Gross Domestic Punishment? Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Altria, Royal Caribbean and More
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Markets turned lower on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq again leading the charge lower, down around 70 basis points. The S&P 500 saw a marginal loss, while the Dow Jones industrials were just breaking even. This all came after another revision to first-quarter gross domestic product was released, and things are not looking that great on the economic front.
Real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2022, according to the third estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Wednesday morning. Ultimately, this estimate is based on more complete source data than was the prior estimate from last month that forecast a decline of 1.5%.
The update primarily reflects a downward revision to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) that was partly offset by an upward revision to private inventory investment. According to this most recent revision in GDP, the PCE price index increased 7.1%, compared with an increase of 6.4%. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 5.2%.
Also note that the PCE price index data is due out Thursday morning, and this index is what the Fed likes to use to gauge inflation. So, depending how these numbers line up, they easily could influence Fed policy.
24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Wednesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Airbnb, CSX, McDonald’s, Nike, Oracle and more.
Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and has a $320 price target. The 52-week trading range is $268.17 to $417.37, and shares traded above $277 apiece on Wednesday.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): The Barclays downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a price target cut to $36 from $53. The 52-week trading range is $41.00 to $57.05, and shares traded above $42 apiece on Wednesday.
Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE: BBWI): J.P. Morgan lowered its Overweight rating to Neutral and cut the $63 price target to $30. The stock traded near $28 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $27.89 to $82.00.
Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Neutral, and the $125 price target fell to $95. The 52-week trading range is $91.91 to $201.46. The stock traded near $95 on Wednesday.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL): Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $56 price target. The stock traded near $38 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $34.10 to $98.27.
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): BofA Securities downgraded it to Underperform from Neutral and cut the price target from $130 to $105. The 52-week trading range is $88.76 to $197.62, and shares were trading near $92 on Wednesday.
Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and raised the $325 price target to $360. The shares traded near $304 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $255.02 to $377.60.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN): The BofA Securities downgrade was from Buy to Neutral with a $175 price target. The 52-week range is $149.10 to $202.26. Shares traded near $152 apiece on Wednesday.
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Wells Fargo warns investors on Carnival and other stocks.
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