The futures were trading lower Wednesday, after the consumer price index report for June came in even higher than expected at 9.1%. The major indexes and most sectors finished the trading session on Tuesday down big, as investors prepared for the inflation report. With second-quarter earnings starting to ramp up and with the big banks due to report before the week is out, there is a degree of anxiety across Wall Street, as any earnings miss or lowering of guidance could trigger a wave of selling of the offending company.

Once again, buyers returned to the safe-haven Treasury market. Yields were down across the board, with the 10-year and two-year note inversion remaining in place, as well as ringing the recession alarm bells in a big way. The 10-year note closed at a 2.96% yield, while the two-year note closed at 3.05%. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond closed at a 3.14% yield.

The good news for consumers Tuesday came in the form of plunging oil prices, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude down 7.4% and 8.2%, respectively, the lowest level in three months. Natural gas also took a breather, closing down almost 3%. Gold closed flat on Tuesday, while Bitcoin dropped another 2.5% to close under $20,000.

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 Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

Aarons Co. Inc. (NYSE: AAN): Truist Financial resumed coverage with a Hold rating and a $16 target. The consensus target is higher at $26.33. The stock closed Tuesday at $14.88.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the shares and has a $50 price target. The consensus target is $54.26. Tuesday’s last trade was reported at $34.06.

Cardlytics Inc. (NASDAQ: CDLX) Craig Hallum downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and chopped the $50 price target to $20. The consensus target is $59.50. The stock was last seen Tuesday at $15.63.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO): Rosenblatt started coverage of the technology giant with a Neutral rating and a $48 target. It was selected as the Bear of the Day stock at Zacks as well. The consensus price target is $54.30, and the stock was last seen Tuesday trading at $42.86.
DCP Midstream L.P. (NYSE: DCP): The RBC Capital Markets upgrade was to Outperform from Sector Perform, but it trimmed the $47 price target to $40. That compares with a $43.00 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $28.92.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX): Goldman Sachs lowered the $875 price target to $765 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $823.70. The final trade for Tuesday was reported at $628.25.

Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS): Stifel upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and increased the target price to $60 from $40. The consensus target is $58. Tuesday’s close was at $48.42 a share.

HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA): Goldman Sachs dropped the target price on the Buy-rated shares to $233 from $270. The consensus target is $240.15. The shares ended trading Tuesday at $170.11.

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF): Jefferies raised its Hold rating to Buy and has a $26 price objective. The shares ended Tuesday’s trading session at $22.70, which was up over 15% for the day on the upgrade.

IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: IDXX): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $440 target price. The consensus target is higher at $534.71. The stock closed Tuesday at $362.46.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU): Susquehanna downgraded the airline to Neutral from Positive, and it slashed the $14 target price to $9. The consensus target is $13.50. The stock was last seen Tuesday at $8.28.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and cut the $34 price target to $27. The consensus target is $36.19. The shares closed on Tuesday at $28.37. The stock was down almost 3% in the premarket.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the insurance giant with a Buy rating and a $182 target price. The consensus target is $182.50. The shares were last seen at $153.14 on Tuesday.

National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE: NNN): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $45 target price. The consensus target is $48.31. The stock closed on Tuesday at $44.13.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC): J.P. Morgan downgraded the railroad leader to Neutral from Overweight and lowered the $306 price target to $258. The consensus target is $279.50. The stock ended Tuesday trading at $222.36.
Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RYAN): Goldman Sachs began coverage with a Buy rating and a $47 target price. The consensus target is $40.63. Tuesday’s close was at $39.42.

SEI Investments Co. (NASDAQ: SEIC): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Underweight to Equal Weight with a $55 target. The consensus target is $60.20. The final trade for Tuesday was reported at $53.23.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $200 target price. The consensus target is $199.71. Tuesday’s close at $145.43, was down almost 7% for the day. The shares were up close to 2% in premarket action.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV): Susquehanna upgraded the popular low-fare airline from Neutral to Positive with a $45 target price. The consensus target is higher at $55.82. The shares closed Tuesday at $38.54, up almost 5% on the day as oil prices tumbled.

STORE Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: STOR): Morgan Stanley lowered its Equal Weight rating to Underweight with a $25 target price. The consensus target is $31.86. The stock closed on Tuesday at $26.52.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and has a $231 target price. The consensus target is just $172.15. The stock closed on Tuesday at $121.99.

Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ: WTW): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $227 price target. The stock ended trading on Tuesday at $196.84.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $205 target price. That is less than the $234.00 consensus target, and Tuesday’s closing print was $173.81.

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One renowned equity strategist sees the recent pullback in oil prices as an opportunity for investors who are more conservative to add or initiate positions before oil heads for at least $190 a barrel, maybe much more.

One key analyst sees six beaten-down tech stocks that may be ready to soar.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, American Express, Fastly, JPMorgan Chase, Mattel, Nike, Realty Income, Redfin, Southwestern Energy and Zillow. Analyst calls seen later in the day included Capital One Financial, Gap, Knight-Swift Transportation, Lennar, Regions Financial, Union Pacific, United Parcel Service and more.

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