The futures traded higher on Monday, after a big risk-on rally that saw all the major indexes close higher on Friday. That was sparked by some better than expected retail sales numbers and by one of the big banks coming through with second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates.

While the scorching inflation reports for June last week contributed to yet another down week for the markets, the talk of a 1% increase in the federal funds rate at the end of this month was tamped down by two Fed governors, saying they were fine with the projected 75-basis-point increase.

Buyers returned to the Treasury market Friday, as yields were modestly down across the curve. The two-year and 10-year note inversion remains in place, with the former closing at a 3.11% yield and the latter at a 2.93% yield. Again, bond market participants view the inversion of those securities as a recession harbinger.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed over 2% higher Friday after a week of losses had oil at its lowest level in months. Natural gas also closed almost 2% higher. Gold closed lower, while Bitcoin traded higher, closing near $21,000.

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 Monday, July 18, 2022.

ACI Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIW): Stephens initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $31 target price. The consensus target is $39.40. The stock was last seen Friday at $26.82, a 3% gain on the day.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Like other growth stocks, this Bear of the Day has tumbled, says Zacks, and it faces the prospect of slowing consumer spending. Shares have traded as high as $289.23 in the past year but closed most recently at $65.98. That is down about 59% year to date.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating on the aerospace and defense giant while raising its $150 price objective to $170. The shares have traded as high as $241.15 in the past 52 weeks but closed most recently at $147.74.
Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $20 target price. The consensus target is $29.04. Friday’s closing print of $19.42 was up almost 6%.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: CHK): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $106 target price. That compares with the higher $127.30 consensus target and Friday’s close at $83.18, which was up over 5% for the day. The shares followed through Monday morning, up an additional 2% in the premarket.

DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM): Bernstein started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $105 target price. The consensus target is $122.31. The stock ended Friday at $79.14, up over 3% on the day.

Double Verify Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DV): Goldman Sachs started coverage on the digital media company with a Buy rating and a $30 target price. The consensus target is $32.40. The final trade for Friday was filled at $24.23, up almost up 8% on the upgrade.

Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE): Baird downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform and lowered the $78 target price to $74. The final trade for Friday was reported at $57.03.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Sell rating, and it trimmed the $12.10 target price to $11. The consensus target is $16.77. The stock ended trading on Friday at $9.64, up close to 9% on no reported news we could source.

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: IQV): SVB Leerink started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $256 target price. The consensus target is $261.53. The stock closed up over 3% on Friday at $219.08.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): Berenberg upgraded the stock from Sell to Hold with a $120 target price. The consensus for the money center and investment giant is $142.67. The stock closed on Friday at $112.95, up almost 5% for the day.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $48 target price. The consensus target is $42.97. The stock closed Friday at $38.01.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK): The Zacks Bull of the Day stock continues to make acquisitions and its fundamentals make it an attractive play for the second half of 2022, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $94.96, and the $98.43 consensus price target would be a 52-week high.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): UBS reiterated a Hold rating on the entertainment streaming giant while slashing its $355 target price to $198. The consensus target is $289.87 for now. The stock closed up over 8% Friday at $189.11. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the close on Tuesday.

Omnicell Inc. (NASDAQ: OMCL): SVB Leering initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $124 target. That compares with the $160.25 consensus target and Friday’s close at $109.69.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed the $22 price target to $13.50. The consensus target is $21.02. The stock closed on Friday at $12.72.

ProFrac Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PFHC): BofA Securities downgraded the stock after its recent initial public offering to Neutral from Buy. It also sliced the target price to $18 from $26. The consensus target is up at $29. The stock was last seen Friday at $14.72, up over 3% for the day.

Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR): Argus started coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price objective. The consensus target is much lower at $145.81. The shares ended Friday’s session trading at $128.01.

Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI): Truist Financial lowered its Hold rating to Sell with a $66 price objective. The consensus target is $96.89. Friday’s close was at $76.66.

TechnipFMC PLC (NYSE: FTI): Though BofA Securities upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy, it trimmed the $9.50 target price to $8. The consensus target is $9.24, and shares closed on Friday at $5.94.

Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAT): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and an $8 target price. The consensus target is up at $13.88. Friday’s close was at $8.08, up almost 9% for the day.

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Seven top companies have some of the highest payouts in the Dividend Aristocrat universe. They supply products or services unlikely to go out of style or demand, and their stocks are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon.com, Amphenol, Centene, CF Industries, Fiserv, Juniper Networks, Medical Properties Trust, Mosaic, Payoneer Global and Tesla. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Allogene Therapeutics, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Qualcomm, Toyota, Yelp and more.

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