Investing

The Winter of Europe's Discontent: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Netflix, Pinterest and More

Adam Berry / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Markets bounced higher on Wednesday. with the Nasdaq leading the charge with a gain of about 0.5%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials lagged, each up about 0.3% just after the open.

Some of the biggest news on the day was benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropping to its lowest levels since January, just before the Russia-Ukraine conflict kicked off. This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut off Europe’s energy supply if sanctions are maintained against Russia.

Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabia, and the largest natural gas exporter. Turning off the spigot to the West could further exacerbate the global energy market and going into winter this could be devastating.

Ultimately, Putin is rallying against these European price caps and previously has noted that these will lead to higher global prices and economic problems in Europe. If these price caps should be put in place, Russia would walk away from its supply contracts, according to Putin. It remains to be seen what will happen next.

Here, 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 Amazon, Boeing, Transocean and more.

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to an Equal Weight rating from Overweight. The shares traded near $58 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $53.63 to $71.70.

Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI): J.P. Morgan lifted its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $35 price target. Shares traded near $22 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $14.93 to $89.80.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): MKM Partners downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and has a $131 price target. Shares have traded as high as $147.54 in the past year but were near $124 on Wednesday, which is down about 5% year to date.

GMS Inc. (NYSE: GMS): Truist’s downgrade to Hold from Buy included a price target cut to $46 from $50. The stock was last seen trading near $44, in a 52-week range of $36.10 to $61.79.

GoodRx Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX): Truist initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $6.50 price target. On Wednesday, shares traded near the bottom of the 52-week range of $5.88 to $48.05.

NetEase Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES): J.P. Morgan’s downgraded was to Neutral from Overweight, and the analyst cut the price target to $90. The 52-week trading range is $68.62 to $118.19. Shares changed hands near $86 apiece on Wednesday.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): As Macquarie raised its Underperform rating to Neutral, the $170 price target increased to $230. The 52-week trading range is $162.71 to $700.99, and the share price was near $221 on Wednesday.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Wolfe Research upgraded it from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $28 price target. Shares traded near $23 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $16.14 to $66.00.

Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: RRR): Jefferies started coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. Shares pushed above $38 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $30.98 to $58.74.

UiPath Inc. (NYSE: PATH): KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Sector Weight from Overweight. Morgan Stanley lowered its Overweight rating to Equal Weight and cut the $32 price target to $15. Mizuho’s downgrade was to Neutral from Buy, and its $40 price target dropped to $14. The shares traded near $13 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $12.21 to $59.57.

U.S. Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $40 price target. The stock was last seen trading near $29, in a 52-week range of $27.48 to $39.73.

Veritex Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: VBTX): Stephens downgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and cut the $36 price target to $32. On Wednesday, shares traded near $27, within the 52-week range of $26.85 to $45.36.


OPEC has cut oil production, and what makes sense for investors now is to grab shares of the big-divided energy giants that are on sale. Seven of these stocks offer dependable income, a degree of safety and some of the best entry points in months.

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.