The futures were higher Tuesday, after a follow-through rally attempt on Monday could not hold up to the afternoon selling pressure and all the major indexes closed lower. This week, investors will see an onslaught of second-quarter earnings from many leading S&P 500 companies, and we highlight some of the top companies daily during earnings season in our earnings previews. Solid earnings from financial giant Goldman Sachs helped to reinforce the early positive mood for investors, but that faded fast in the afternoon, and especially into the close.

The sellers returned to the Treasury market, as the two-year and 10-year note inversion widened on Monday as yields were up across the curve. The 10-year note closed at the 2.96% level, while the two-year note traded at a 3.17% yield. That was even higher than the benchmark 30-year bond, which closed at 3.13%. The ongoing inversion suggests recession may be imminent, as we here at 24/7 Wall St. have maintained for some time.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed solidly higher to start the week, up 4.4% and 5.1% respectively, as the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia provided no relief to the current supply issues. Natural gas also closed higher, up almost 7%. Gold closed higher, while Bitcoin jumped almost 4% to close at $21,593.40.

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 Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): MKM Partners reiterated a Buy rating on the tech giant after its massive 20-for-1 stock split, but it lowered the $165 target price to $140. The consensus target is $157.60. The stock closed on Monday at $109.03.

Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET): Needham raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $128 target price. That compares to the higher $147.53 consensus target and Monday’s closing trade of $100.58.

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA): Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and lifted the $43 price target to $48. The consensus target for the auto parts supplier is $44.98. The shares closed on Monday at $34.16.

Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating but cut the $115 price objective to $100. The consensus target is $104.50. The last trade on Monday was for $70.99 a share.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Goldman Sachs removed the popular restaurant chain from its Conviction List but kept a Buy rating and has a $1,720 target price. The consensus target is $1,822.17. The stock closed Monday at $1,319.16.
Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, which is on the firm’s Conviction List of top stock ideas, and it has a $494 target price. The consensus target is $448.17, and Monday’s last trade was for $378.93 a share.

Derm Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: DMTK): Oppenheimer resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $48 target price. The consensus target is $29.67. Monday’s close was at $6.32.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Stifel maintained a Hold rating but cut the $400 price target on shares of the popular pizza chain to $345. The consensus target is $408.81. Monday’s closing price was $406.81.

Entegris Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Buy rating and $109 target price. The consensus target is up at $151.55. The stock closed on Monday at $95.18.

Expensify Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFY): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lifted the $20 price target to $25. The consensus target is $22.33. The stock closed on Monday at $19.66, up over 12% on the day, and the upgrade was cited as the catalyst.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Piper Sandler upgraded the integrated energy giant to Overweight from Neutral and lifted the $102 target price to $109. The consensus target is $102.90. The stock closed on Monday at $86.10.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT): Deutsche Bank downgraded the venerable tire giant to Hold from Buy and cut the $19 target price to $15. The consensus target is $18.04. The stock last traded on Monday at $10.91.

Ibex Ltd. (NASDAQ: IBEX): Zacks named this tech stock as its Bull of the Day, citing its “scorching hot” performance year to date. Shares last closed at $18.87, which is more than 46% higher since the beginning of the year. The Nasdaq is down over 27% in that time.

IDEX Corp. (NYSE: IEX): Stifel cut its Buy rating to Hold and slashed the $229 price target to $188. The consensus target is $221.14. The stock closed at $182.76 on Monday.

Janus Henderson Group PLC (NYSE: JHG): J.P. Morgan downgraded the mutual fund and asset management giant to Underweight from Neutral, and it lowered the $27 target price to $18. The consensus target is $23.84. The stock closed on Monday at $23.11.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and lowered the $40 price target to $30. The consensus target is $38.75. Monday’s final trade came in at $32.91.

Lemonade Inc. (NYSE: LMND): Piper Sandler’s downgrade was to Neutral from Overweight, and it trimmed the $24 price target to $20. The consensus target is $28.69. The $18.74 close on Monday was down almost 5% for the day.

Moelis & Co. (NYSE: MC): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a price target cut to $36 from $53. The higher $45.86 consensus target also compares with Monday’s closing print of $40.33.

New Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NU): New Street upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $7 target price. The consensus target is $7.92. The shares closed on Monday at $3.89.
Paramount Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PARA): When Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight, it cut the $32 price target to $22. The consensus target is $36.93. The stock closed almost 2% lower on Monday at $24.52.

Penumbra Inc. (NYSE: PEN): RBC Capital Markets started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $195 target price. The consensus target is up at $240.17. The last trade for Monday was at $121.05.

Sony Group Corp. (NYSE: SONY): Falling expectations over the past 60 days prompted Zacks to select this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $133.75 in the past year but closed most recently at $82.21. That is about 35% lower year to date.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC): Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating on the shares and has a $38 price target. The consensus target is $57.98. Monday’s close was at $39.50.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $1000 target price for the electric vehicle giant. The consensus target is set at $872.65. The stock closed Monday at $721.64.

WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC): D.A. Davidson raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $205 target price. The consensus target is just $189.50. The stock closed over 7% higher on Monday at $180.14.

Yelp Inc. (NASDAQ: YELP): Goldman Sachs assumed coverage with a Buy rating but dropped the target price objective to $33 from $49. The consensus target is $37.00. Monday’s close at $28.47 was up almost 3% on the day.

Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the popular cooler company, and it has a $90 target price. The consensus target is $71.94. Monday’s last trade came in at $46.44, up close to 3% for the day.

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A hefty pullback in crude oil prices has brought top energy stocks back to outstanding entry points while demand remains strong. Seven large-cap exploration and production companies pay big, dependable dividends and are buying back shares.

Also, Goldman Sachs spots another winner (and a loser) in the natural gas space.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Block, Boeing, Chegg, Chesapeake Energy, DexCom, Duke Realty, JPMorgan Chase, Kraft Heinz, Merck, Netflix, Patterson-UTI Energy and TechnipFMC. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Brinker, Fox, General Motors, Lemonade, Paramount Global, Yum! Brands and more.

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