Jobless Claims Signal Labor Softening: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Coupang, Exxon, Lowe’s and More

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Jobless Claims Signal Labor Softening: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Coupang, Exxon, Lowe’s and More

© artisteer / Getty Images

Markets pushed higher on Thursday, continuing Wednesday’s optimism in regards to slowing inflation. The Dow Jones industrials led the charge higher, up about 0.7%, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were up 0.5% each.

Jobless claims rose for the second consecutive week, demonstrating that there was some softening within the labor market, despite a strong July employment report. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, initial claims rose 14,000 to 262,000, coming in just under a consensus estimate of 263,000.

It is worth pointing out that economists previously noted that, should jobless claims fall within the range of 270,000 to 300,000, there might very well be a material slowdown in the labor market.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Thursday. 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 Coinbase, Disney, Micron, Shopify, Take-Two Interactive and more.

[nativounit]

Boot Barn Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BOOT): Seaport Research Partners upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $100 price target. The stock traded near $71 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $58.51 to $134.50.

BuzzFeed Inc. (NASDAQ: BZFD): The BofA Securities downgrade to Underperform from Neutral included a price target cut to $2.00 from $4.50. The 52-week trading range is $1.50 to $14.77, and shares traded near $2 apiece on Thursday.

Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: CQP | CQP Price Prediction): Evercore ISI raised its In-Line rating to Outperform and nudged the $54 price target to $55. The 52-week trading range is $38.00 to $61.91. Shares changed hands near $48 apiece on Thursday.

Coupang Inc. (NYSE: CPNG): Deutsche Bank’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy came with a price target cut to $15.00 from $18.50. The shares traded near $21 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $8.98 to $36.49.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $125 price target. The stock traded near $92 on Thursday, in a 52-week range of $52.10 to $105.57.

[recirclink id=1160650]

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): The KeyBanc Capital Markets upgrade was from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $145 price target. The 52-week trading range is $59.60 to $123.13, and the share price was near $117 Thursday.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Citigroup downgraded it to Neutral from Buy and cut the $222 price target to $205. The 52-week trading range is $170.12 to $263.31, and shares were trading near $201 on Thursday.

Traeger Inc. (NYSE: COOK): William Blair’s Outperform rating was cut to Market Perform. Robert Baird lowered its Outperform rating to Neutral and reduced its $7 price target to $4. Shares have traded as high as $29.46 in the past year but were near $4 on Thursday, which is down 67% or so year to date.

Upstart Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST): The Atlantic Equities downgrade was to Underweight from Neutral, and the firm cut the $32 price target to $22. The stock traded at around $34 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $22.42 to $401.49 a share.

[wallst_email_signup]
For income investors: Seven quality stocks can survive in a turbulent market, and they pay big and dependable dividends. Not only do the companies provide goods and services needed regardless of prevailing economic conditions, they also are strong players in their respective sectors.

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618