The futures traded lower on Thursday, as the final trading day for the second quarter began. The major indexes closed mixed Wednesday, as typical quarter-end window dressing by portfolio managers moved shares back and forth throughout the session, with only the Dow Jones industrials closing higher.

The third and final gross domestic product reading for the first quarter came in down 1.6%. Not surprisingly, many across Wall Street have stated that the second quarter numbers also may be negative. If that is the case, then we are already in a recession, which many have said would not happen until next year.

One positive on Thursday was that yields across the Treasury curve were lower after consistent selling this week. Again, this could be additions to portfolios to close out the quarter. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell back to 3.21%

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower, with Brent well below the psychologically important $120 level. Natural gas also traded lower, after getting hit hard earlier this week. Gold closed down on the day, while Bitcoin ended modestly higher.

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 Thursday, June 30, 2022.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Redburn started coverage of the technology behemoth with a Buy rating and a $270 target price. The consensus target is lower at $176.35. The shares closed Wednesday at $108.92.

Azek Co. Inc. (NYSE: AZEK): This building products stock was named as the Zacks Bear of the Day. The analyst points out that falling estimates continue to drag the shares lower. They have traded as high as $46.56 apiece in the past year but closed most recently at $17.05. That is down about 63% since the beginning of the year.

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and lifted the $160 price target to $175. The $193.15 consensus target is higher, and Wednesday’s closing print was $150.92.

Chefs’ Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ: CHEF): Despite the weak market, bulls are feasting on this sizzling stock, says Zacks, which selected it as the Bull of the Day. The shares last closed at $38.98, and the $44.71 consensus target would be a 52-week high.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI): Deutsche Bank lowered its Buy rating to Hold and cut the $204 price target to $183. The consensus target is $200.11. The final trade on Wednesday was recorded at $167.31.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Barclays initiated coverage on shares of the popular fantasy sports and gaming site with an Equal Weight rating and a $14 target price. The consensus target is higher at $28.02. The closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $12.41.

Federated Hermes Inc. (NYSE: FHI): Keefe Bruyette’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform included a price target hike to $40 from $32. The consensus target is $34.00. Wednesday’s closed was at $31.83.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $285 target price. That compares with the much higher $386.65 consensus target and the $214.61 closing share price on Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS): BofA Securities upgraded the white glove investment bank to Buy from Neutral. It also raised the $360 target price to $380, but the consensus target is still higher at $417.58. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $303.28.

Icosavax Inc. (NASDAQ: ICVX): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line and has an $18 target price. The consensus target is up at $25.50. The shares closed Wednesday at $7.01, which was down almost 17% on the day despite announcing positive clinical results.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Barclays started coverage of the gaming giant with an Overweight rating and a $39 target. The consensus is $48.31. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $33.61.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): Wedbush resumed coverage of the ride-sharing stock with an Outperform rating and a $32 price target. The consensus target is up at $41.79. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $14.03.

MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Redburn started coverage with a Sell rating and a $190 target. The consensus target is higher at $384.44. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $276.77 a share.

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY): D.A. Davidson raised its Neutral rating to Buy and lifted the $700 price target to $740. The consensus target is $734.50. Wednesday’s close was at $637.13.

Rent-A-Center Inc. (NASDAQ: RCII): Stephens downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight. Its $42 price target is less than the $46.75 consensus target. The last trade on Wednesday hit the tape at $19.62.
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Underweight rating and a $17 target price. The consensus target is $19.83. The shares closed Wednesday at $15.14, down close to 11% on the day as U.S. solar policies and a slowing housing market are turning into headwinds.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR): Wedbush resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $54 target. The consensus target for the possible Elon Musk acquisition is $49.66. The stock closed on Wednesday almost 3% lower at $37.80.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA): Raymond James raised its rating on the popular cosmetics and accessories retailer to Strong Buy from Outperform and bumped the $475 target price to $485. The consensus target is $457.70. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $391.64 a share.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): BTIG Research lowered its price target to $72 from $110 while staying with a Buy rating. The consensus target is $74.94, and Wednesday’s closing trade was for $39.52 per share.

Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ: OLED): The BofA Securities downgrade was to Neutral from Buy, and it slashed the $170 price target to $135. The consensus target is $187.36. The shares ended trading Wednesday at $103.78, down close to 6% for the day.

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY): Truist Financial started coverage with a Hold rating and a $37 price target. The consensus target is higher at $43.11. The shares ended Wednesday trading at $33.04.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN): Barclays started coverage of the luxury gaming property with an Equal Weight rating and a $62 target price. The higher $91.27 consensus target also compares with Wednesday’s close at $58.00 a share.

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In the semiconductor space, BofA favors two chip design stocks. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has low expectations for Carnival and other stocks.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Cogent Biosciences, CSX, Fortinet, McDonald’s, Merck, Microsoft, MGM Resorts International, Nike, Oracle, Ovintiv, Penn National Gaming, State Street and Union Pacific . Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Accenture, Altria, Bath & Body Works, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Skyworks Solutions, Texas Instruments and more.

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