The futures were lower as we arrive at the end of a back-and-forth trading week on Wall Street. The major indexes closed modestly higher Thursday, after a brutal risk-off Wednesday that was the worst day for the markets since July 26. Some across Wall Street indicated that the Federal Open Market Committee minutes that were released Wednesday were somewhat more dovish than expected, but the bottom line is the Federal Reserve wants to get rates to neutral and there is some distance to that point.

Interest rates were slightly lower across the board Thursday, as buyers returned once again. Continuing strength in the safe-haven Treasury securities generally suggests that many are fearing a recession, and the two-year and 10-year inversion backs up that concern. The two-year closed at 3.21%, while the 10-year was last seen at 2.88%.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both moved higher Thursday, each closing up close to 3%. Natural gas, which has had a strong move higher recently, was flat on the day. We commented earlier this week that big energy dividend stocks were cheap, and they still look very favorable.

Gold was slightly lower on Thursday and continued the very poor trend off the highs posted back in February. Bitcoin posted modest gains Thursday, as it tries to regain some of its former positive momentum.

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 Friday, August 19, 2022.

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on the chip giant and has a $220 target price. The consensus target is $195.00. The stock closed on Thursday at $170.13.

Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE: BBWI): Baird kept an Outperform rating and lifted its target price to $48. The stock has traded as high as $82.00 in the past year but closed most recently at $40.26.

Celestica Inc. (NYSE: CLS): Argus lifted its Hold rating to Buy with a $14 target price. The consensus target is $10.36. The stock closed almost 3% higher on Thursday at $11.63.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ CSCO): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the legacy tech giant and lifted its $52 target to $54. Citigroup reiterated a Sell rating moved its $40 target price to $44, while UBS kept a Neutral rating and the $46 target price rose to $48. The consensus target is $53.58. Stellar quarterly results boosted the share price almost 6% on Thursday to $49.37.
Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and lowered its $264 target price to $245. The consensus target for the industrial machinery heavy weight is $243.13. The stock closed on Thursday at $230.36.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the discount retail leader and has a $275 target price. The consensus target is $257.61. The last trade for Friday was at $257.66 a share.

Elanco Animal Health Inc. (NASDAQ: ELAN): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight include a target price cut to $22 from $37. The consensus target is $24.88. The stock 4% lower on Thursday at $18.09.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NASDAQ: WTRG): HSBC Securities raised its Hold rating to Buy, and its target price went to $57 from $54. The consensus target is $55.36. The stock closed at $52.28 on Thursday.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): Zacks named this big oil stock as its Bull of the Day, citing its outlook, valuation and dividend. Shares last closed at $94.38, and the $103.24 consensus target represents more than 9% upside potential. The year-to-date gain is over 50%.

Fate Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FATE): Wells Fargo resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $90 target price. The consensus is set at $76.30. The stock closed Thursday at $30.29.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: JKHY): D.A. Davidson downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and has a $210 target price. The consensus target is $193.50. The $203.47 close on Thursday was up over 3% for the day.

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $90 price objective. The consensus target is $79.07, and Thursday’s close at $54.55 was up almost 4% on the day.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG): BofA Securities upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with an $18 target price. The consensus target is $18.38. The stock closed on Thursday at $15.58.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): The recent downbeat preliminary fiscal second-quarter guidance prompted Zacks to select this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $346.47 in the past year but closed most recently at $187.73. That is about 36% lower year to date.

PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI): Stifel’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price objective cut to $170 from $190. The consensus target is $173. The stock was last seen on Thursday trading at $148.18.

Principal Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PFG): Credit Suisse downgraded the insurance and investment giant to Neutral from Outperform. Its $82 target price rose to $86, well above the $71.69 consensus figure. The last trade on Thursday was reported at $79.29.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and nudged the $22.50 price target up to $24. The consensus target is $27.56. Thursday’s close was at $23.50.
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and has a $200 target price. The consensus target is $198.64. Thursday’s close was at $161.75.

Synopsis Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and raised its $409 price target to $444. The consensus target is $390.90. The stock closed at $373.32 on Thursday.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the big-box store operator and raised its $155 target to $205. Deutsche Bank also maintained a Buy rating, and it trimmed the price target to $193 from $195, while Truist Financial reiterated a Hold rating but raised its $150 target to $165. The consensus target is $188.46. Thursday’s close was at $173.10.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX): Baird maintained an Outperform rating and lifted its target price to $77 from $74. The consensus target is $75.71. The shares ended Thursday’s session at $68.02.

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI): As Bernstein downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market Perform, it slashed its $307 target price to $269. The consensus target is $371.67. The stock closed on Thursday at $323.26.

Wolfspeed Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF): Cowen reiterated a Buy rating on the specialty semiconductor company and raised its $100 target price to $125. The consensus target is $102.17 for now. The shares closed Thursday at $112.91, which was up a stunning 32% after a big earnings beat and a massive buzz across Wall Street on the future potential.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $140 price target. The consensus target is up at $151.73, The stock closed on Thursday at $103.18.

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Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Array Technologies, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Corning, Danaher, Dell Technologies, Emerson Electric, First Solar, FuboTV, Seagate Technology, 3M, Unity Software, Vale, Western Digital and Xerox. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Analog Devices, Bed Bath & Beyond, Hasbro, Krispy Kreme, 10X Genomics, Verizon Communications and more.

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