The futures were trading flat Tuesday, after a positive start to the trading week Monday when all the major indexes closed higher. Most of the move higher last week (the fourth straight up week, the longest stretch since early November) was attributed to some major hedge fund short covering and a pickup in corporate buybacks as earnings season will conclude this week, plus the added presence of the retail army’s return to action. Lower dog days of summer volume also has helped to contribute to the month-long melt-up.

Treasury yields were down across the curve on Monday, as recession worries have moved investors back to the safety of U.S. government securities. The two-year and 10-year inversion remained in place, with the former closing at 3.20% and the latter at 2.79%, perhaps adding to the recession concerns.

The big news Monday was the big drop in the energy complex, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closing down, but well off the intraday lows. Saudi oil giant Aramco said it could increase production, which combined with disappointing economic data from China brought out the sellers. Gold and Bitcoin both ended the day modestly lower.

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, August 16, 2022.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and raised the $298 price target to $321. The consensus target is $287.76, and the stock ended trading on Monday at $274.11 a share.

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. (NYSE: AEL): Evercore ISI downgraded the shares to In line from Outperform and bumped up the $42 price target to $44. The consensus target is $42.56. The stock closed on Monday at $41.54.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY): B. Riley Securities downgraded the meme stock darling to Sell from Neutral but stuck with a $5 target price. The consensus target is $3.49. The shares closed almost 24% higher on Monday at $16.00 after the retail army run-up.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR): Compass Point upgraded the regional banking company to Buy from Neutral. The firm’s target price is $152 is higher than the consensus target of $141.00. The last trade for Monday was reported at $138.04 per share.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS): Investors should be cautious ahead of retail earnings, warns Zacks. Shares of its Bear of the Day stock have traded as high as $147.39 in the past year but closed most recently at $107.43. The consensus price target is lower at $106.29.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX): Though Atlantic Equities downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight, it also lifted the $210 price target to $225. The posted consensus target is $224.44. The last trade for Monday was recorded at $220.24 per share.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $100 price target. The consensus target is $117.52, and Monday’s closing print was $117.61.

Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN): Deutsche Bank started coverage with a Hold rating and a $120 target price. The consensus target is $140.25. Monday’s last trade was reported at $116.00 a share.

GasLog Partners L.P. (NYSE: GLOP): Zacks has selected this liquefied natural gas play as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst makes the case that high energy prices will fuel it higher into year’s end. Shares last closed at $5.55, which is almost 45% higher than six months ago.

Green Dot Corp. (NASDAQ: GDOT): Barclays cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight and dropped the $31 price target to $25. The consensus target was last seen at $32.89. Monday’s closing share price was $23.39.

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, but it also raised its $40 price target to $43. The consensus target is $47.83. The final trade for Monday was close to 4% lower on the day to $38.74 a share.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW): Barclays downgraded the shares to Sell from Hold and set a price target of $188. The consensus target is $200.44, and the stock was last seen on Monday trading at $213.99.

Kymera Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: KYMR): Jefferies initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is much higher at $58.86, but the shares closed on Monday at $33.74.

Plains All-American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA): Stifel raised its Hold rating to Buy and boosted the $14 target price to $16. The consensus target for the energy MLP is $14.03. The shares closed at $11.57 on Monday.

Poshmark Inc. (NASDAQ: POSH): The Barclays upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a target price hike to $17 from $13. The consensus target is $14.36. The very bullish upgrade helped the stock close almost 18% higher on Monday at $13.86 a share.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL): When BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also raised its $29 target price to $33. The posted consensus target is $30.87, and the stock closed shy of that on Monday at $30.60.
Quanterix Corp. (NASDAQ: QTRX): Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and slashed the price target from $132 to $40. The consensus target is $22. The stock closed on Monday at $10.18.

RCM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RCMT): B. Riley Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $23 target price. The consensus target is $24.50. The last trade for Monday was 27% higher on the day to $17.26. The company posted solid results last week.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS): BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $230 target price. That compares with a $220 72 consensus and Monday’s close at $196.05 per share.

Revolve Group Inc. (NYSE: RVLV): When Barclays downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight, it also lowered its $30 price target to $20. The consensus target is $31.41. The final trade on Monday came in at $27.27, which was down over 4% for the day.

Ryerson Holding Corp. (NYSE: RYI): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $35 target. The stock ended Monday trading at $31.44, almost 10% higher after posting some very solid metrics.

TaskUs Inc. (NASDAQ: TASK): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included the $28 price target chopped to $19. The consensus target is $27.50. The last trade for Monday was reported at $15.97 a share.

Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC): Compass Point downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. Its $55 target price is less than the $56.28 consensus target. The shares were last seen Monday trading at $51.42 apiece.

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Seven top companies that pay gigantic dividends are hard-asset plays and real estate investment trusts. These outstanding total-return stocks make sense for investors in a difficult inflationary and rising interest rate environment.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Archer Daniels Midland, Crowdstrike, GoodRx, Illumina, Oracle, Payoneer Global, Palo Alto Networks, Playa Hotels, Rivian Automotive, Salesforce, Teladoc, Toast and Warby Parker. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Academy Sports and Outdoors, Charter Communications, Comcast, Dollar General, Southwest Airlines, Truist Financial, Vroom and more.

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