The futures were modestly higher on Thursday, after a big tech-led risk-off Wednesday. All the major indexes closed lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down 1.30% and the small-cap Russell 2000 down a whopping 1.65%. Many across Wall Street continue to chalk the summer rally up to nothing more than a bear market rally. In addition, the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes Wednesday afternoon showed that a very hawkish stance remains in place and the hopes for any sort of Federal reserve pivot near term are fading.

The sellers were back in force, as yields across the Treasury curve were higher all around. The five-year and 10-year note handles were up nine and seven basis points, respectively. The two-year and 10-year note inversion held serve, with the former closing at 3.29% and the latter at 2.89%.

The energy complex traded positive Wednesday, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closing up on the day. Natural gas, which has exploded higher recently, was flat on Wednesday but still closed well over the $9 level. Gold and Bitcoin were both down sharply.

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 Thursday, August 18, 2022.

Array Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): Morgan Stanley downgraded the solar infrastructure stock to Underweight from Equal Weight and trimmed the $17 target price to $15. The consensus target is higher at $24.54. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $21.50. Shares were down almost 6% in the premarket, likely due to the downgrade.

CBOE Global Markets Inc. (CBOE): Rosenblatt started coverage with a Buy rating and a $153 target price. The consensus target is $136.10. The shares ended trading on Wednesday over 3% higher at $123.56.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRW): Vertical Research’s downgrade was from Hold to Sell with a $104 price target. The consensus target is $111.77, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $116.11.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH): HSBC Securities downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and cut the $90 target price to $79. The consensus target is $79.77. Wednesday’s close was at $68.90.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW): Credit Suisse began covering the optical giant with a Neutral rating and a $36 target. The consensus target is $40.15. The shares closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $36.38.
Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR): Bernstein resumed coverage with an Outperform rating, and it lifted the $330 target price to $340. The consensus target is $325.52. The stock closed at $297.27 on Wednesday.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Credit Suisse started covering the tech giant with an Outperform rating and a $60 target. The consensus target is $59.81. The final trade for Wednesday hit the tape at $47.83.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR): Bernstein resumed coverage with a Market Perform rating, but it cut its $105 target price to $100. That compares with a $102.43 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $88.86.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): When Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight, its target price jumped from $54 to $136. The $108.17 consensus is below Thursday’s close at $116.30.

Fresh Pet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $69 target. The consensus target is $77.33. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $47.00.

FuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO): Wedbush downgraded the new meme stock darling to Neutral from Outperform, yet it raised the $5 price target to $6. The consensus target is $8.29. The last trade Wednesday came in at $5.26, which was down 15% on the day after a huge run higher this week.

Getty Images Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GETY): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $33 target. Oddly, the consensus target is $12, while Wednesday’s close was at $31.36.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX): Citing a failed breakout late last year and a sustained downtrend, Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day. The shares have traded as high as $79.77 in the past year and closed most recently at $59.08 a share. That is down almost 25% year to date.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTX): Rosenblatt started coverage with a Sell rating and a $231 target price. The consensus target is $309.44. The stock closed at $274.25 on Wednesday.

Marten Transport Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRTN): Though Vertical Research downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it also raised its $24 target price to $25. The consensus target is $23.50 for now. The shares closed down over 5% on Wednesday at $22.17, after recently hitting a 52-week high.

PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR): Vertical Research cut its Buy rating to Hold but pushed the $100 target price up to $102. The consensus target is $93. The stock closed on Wednesday at $93.52.

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: STX): Credit Suisse started coverage with a Neutral rating and an $80 target, below a consensus target of $84 or so. The stock closed down over 3% on Wednesday at$79.24.

Synopsis Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $440 target. The consensus target is $390.90. The stock closed on Wednesday at $381.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM): Bernstein resumed coverage on the venerable industrial heavyweight with a Market Perform rating and a $155 target price. The consensus target is $147.08. The stock closed at $147.43 on Wednesday.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): Wolfe Research started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $70 target. The consensus target is $52.37. The company, which is trying to Buy AppLovin, saw its stock close almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $52.10.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM): Zacks has selected this insurer as its Bull of the Day stock, citing the shareholder value added by its dividend hikes and share buybacks. Shares hit a 52-week high of $39.70 on Wednesday and were higher than that in Thursday’s premarket. The year-to-date gain is about 60%.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): Itau BBA downgraded the mining shares to Market Perform from Outperform and has a $15 target price. The consensus target is $18.56. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $13.21, which was down almost 3% for the day.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC): Credit Suisse started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $52 target. The consensus target for the hard disk drive giant is higher at $68.88. The stock closed on Wednesday at $48.20.

Xerox Holdings Corp. (NYSE: XRX): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $14 target. The consensus target is $14.67. The $18.59 close on Wednesday was down almost 4% on the day.

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The summer surge in stocks likely has been a bear market rally, and the smart move now may be to take profits and grab large-cap dividend stocks that are on sale. Seven S&P 500 stocks fit the bill, and they offer very solid total return potential and look like outstanding ideas for concerned investors.

Credit Suisse still likes Snowflake but expects more from another tech stock.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Carvana, Elanco Animal Health, Gilead Sciences, Home Depot, Park Hotels & Resorts, Shoals Technologies, SNDL, SITE Centers and UDR. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on DraftKings, Rockwell Automation, Sandstorm Gold, Stanley Black & Decker, Take-Two Interactive Software, Teladoc Health, Yum! Brands and more.

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