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Retail Recession Inbound? Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade DraftKings, Teladoc Health and More

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Markets tumbled on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq leading the charge lower, down roughly 1%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were each closer to 0.6% lower. This came on the heels of a flurry of economic data.

U.S. retail sales were relatively unchanged in the month of July, as sliding gasoline prices weighed on receipts at service stations. Consumer spending held up, which suggests that we currently may not be in a recession, according to Reuters.

For the second quarter, consumer spending grew at its slowest rate in the past two years. However, this was offset by government and business spending, as well as investment. All these are components of gross domestic product (GDP), which recently saw its second straight quarter of contraction, what some would call a recession.

There has been some recent debate over what a recession is. Traditionally, a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. However, “experts” and politicians within the Biden administration are suggesting that this is not the true definition, while their opponents would suggest that this altering of the definition is a means to save face at the midterm polls in November.

Even though all this is up for debate, the base-level numbers do not lie. Investors can take a cue from the numbers as to where the markets might be headed in the near future.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Wednesday. 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 Apple, Carvana, Gilead, Home Depot and more.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Roth Capital upgraded the stock to a Buy rating from Neutral, and it raised its $18 price target to $25. The 52-week trading range is $9.77 to $64.58, and the share price was near $20 on Wednesday.

J. M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy and boosted the $145 price target to $155. The 52-week trading range is $118.55 to $1146.74. Shares changed hands near $139 apiece on Wednesday.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL): Vertical Research downgraded the shares from Hold to Sell with a $260 price target. The shares traded near $301 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $231.31 to $373.58.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK): Bernstein’s downgrade was from Outperform to Market Perform with a $290 price target. The 52-week trading range is $190.08 to $354.99, and shares were trading near $255 on Wednesday.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND): Though BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, it also lowered its $9.50 price target to $9. Shares have traded as high as $9.18 in the past year but were near $6 on Wednesday, which is down 9% year to date.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK): Deutsche Bank’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price target cut to $111 from $126. The stock traded near $102 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $91.51 to $199.20.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Deutsche Bank downgraded it to Hold from Buy and has a $160 price target. The shares traded near $133 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $101.85 to $195.83.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC): Guggenheim cut its Neutral rating to Sell with a $25 price target. Shares traded near $37 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $27.38 to $156.82.

Westlake Corp. (NYSE: WLK): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral. Its $135 price target is well above the $105 per share seen on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $79.88 to $141.19 a share.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM): The Buy rating at Argus was cut to Hold. The 52-week trading range is $108.37 to $139.85, and shares traded near $118 apiece on Wednesday.


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