The futures were lower Wednesday, after investors returning from the long weekend hoping for a reversal from three straight down weeks had their hopes dashed early. All the major indexes again closed lower Tuesday. The song remains the same, as the bear market rally narrative has grown across Wall Street. While some feel that the Federal Reserve will increase the federal funds rate by only 50 basis points at the end of the month, the futures still indicate a 75-basis-point increase is on tap. The consumer price index data next week could be key in terms of the final decision.

Interest rates soared across the Treasury curve Tuesday, as sellers came in right from the opening bell. The benchmark 10-year note closed the day at a 3.34% yield, while the two-year climbed back up to 3.51%, the highest level since 2007. While the inversion has narrowed substantially over the past few weeks, it remains in place, and bond traders view it as a recession indicator.

Prices were mixed across the energy complex on Tuesday, as Brent crude closed down over 2% while West Texas Intermediate eked out a small gain. Natural gas prices, which have been trading higher for months, were down over 7% on soaring production. With summer all but over, many energy traders are looking toward winter demand as the next big catalyst. Gold and Bitcoin both closed lower on the day.

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 Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Baird maintained an Outperform rating on the technology behemoth and has a $150 target price. The consensus target is higher at $173.23. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $126.11.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Baird reiterated its Outperform rating and has a $245 target price. The consensus target is less than $212 and the stock closed on Tuesday at $152.39.

Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CG): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Buy and dropped the $58 price target to $33. The consensus target for the private equity and investment giant is $51.17. Tuesday’s close was at $31.66.

Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR): UBS’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a price target cut to $128 from $134. The consensus target for the utility company is $129.00. Tuesday’s close was at $115.63.
Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO): Jefferies raised its Hold rating to Buy and also hiked the $11 price target to $16. The consensus target is near $14. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $12.99, up 9% for the day, likely on the upgrade.

Greif Inc. (NYSE: GEF): As BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Market Perform from Underperform, it also and lifted the $52 target price to $70. The consensus target is $65.80. The stock closed on Tuesday at $66.60.

Janus International Group Inc. (NYSE: JBI): CJS Securities started coverage of the mutual fund and investment heavyweight with a Market Outperform rating and a $15 target price. The consensus target is $14.50, and the shares ended Tuesday trading at $10.61.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF): Keefe Bruyette raised its Market Perform rating on the brokerage firm to Outperform, and its $30 price target rose to $38. The consensus target is $35.50. The stock closed on Tuesday at $31.89.

Nexstar Media Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST): Rosenblatt’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral, and it boosted its $181 target price to $246. The consensus target is $221.89. Tuesday’s close was at $188.37.

Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Underperform rating and a $51 target price. The consensus target is up at $68.75. Tuesday’s closing share price was $52.74.

Perrigo Co. PLC (NYSE: PRGO): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted the $48 target price to $54, which is a couple of bucks higher than the consensus target. The stock closed over 3% higher on Tuesday at $37.95.

Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade was to Neutral from Overweight. The firm also cut its $11 target price to $8.50, closer to the $8.71 consensus target. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Tuesday at $7.27, likely on the downgrade.

Rollins Inc. (NYSE: ROL): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform and has a $40 target price. The consensus target is $36.25. The shares closed on Tuesday at $35.78, up over 6% for the day on no news we could source other than the upgrade.

ShockWave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAV): Oppenheimer downgraded the shares from Perform to Underperform with a $165 target. That compares with the $265.67 consensus and Tuesday’s final print of $275.56, which was down almost 6% on the day.

Starwood Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: STWD): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 target price. The consensus target is $27.42. The shares ended Tuesday’s session trading at $22.71.

Sun Country Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCY): Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $25 target price. The consensus target is $27.60. The stock closed Tuesday almost 8% higher on the day at $20.74 on no news except the initiation.
Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW): Evercore ISI resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $42 target price. That compares with the lower $28.50 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $23.66.

Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN): Zacks named this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes the case that agriculture and construction are still hot markets. Shares last closed at $30.12, and the consensus price target of $40.00 would be a 52-week high.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG): BTIG Research upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has an $8 target price. The consensus target is less than $5, and the last trade on Tuesday was for $3.56 a share.

United Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ: UBSI): Janney started coverage with a Buy rating and a $40 price objective. The consensus target is $38.67. The shares closed on Tuesday at $35.52.

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ: WFRD): Evercore ISI started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $53 price objective. The consensus target is just $44.67. The stock closed on Tuesday at $28.34, which was down close to 4% for the day.

Westlake Corp. (NYSE: WLK): Credit Suisse started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $120 target price. The consensus target is $118.13. The stock closed at $95.68 on Tuesday.

W.R. Berkley Corp. (NYSE: WRB): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform, and its $77 price target rose to $80. The consensus target is $77.27. The stock closed on Tuesday at $65.72.

WW International Inc. (NASDAQ: WW): Citing declining subscriber numbers, Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $22.59 in the past year but closed most recently at $5.14, which is down about 68% year to date.

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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.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Broadcom, Ciena, Deere, FedEx, IMAX, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Lululemon Athletica, LyondellBasell Industries, Nvidia and Starbucks. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Anheuser-Busch InBev, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services, Edison International, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, NextEra Energy, Pure Storage, Tesla, Transocean and more.

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