The futures were mixed Thursday, after the Nasdaq finally ended a seven-day losing streak, the longest in six years, closing up 2.14%. All the other major indexes joined in on the bounce and also closed much higher. With no major data to drive buyers, it appears that the very oversold conditions lured some institutional money back into the fray. Some short covering probably played a part too.

One issue investors may face soon is that Wall Street analysts are becoming increasingly negative on third-quarter corporate earnings and have been lowering estimates all summer long. If major companies miss the lowered numbers or offer negative guidance for the fourth quarter, they could be in big trouble as they finish out the year.

Interest rates backed up across the Treasury curve on Wednesday, after big selling on Tuesday, as buyers took advantage of the yield spike. The two-year note garnered a big round of buying for investors after the security traded over 3.50%, while closing at a 3.44% handle, on Wednesday The dreaded inversion remained in place with the 10-year note closing at 3.27%. This inversion is considered a recession warning.

Beleaguered consumers being battered at the fuel pump got some more good news Wednesday as both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed below the $90 level, with WTI down a stunning 4.95% and Brent just over 5%. Natural gas also saw the profit takers come in, and it closed down almost 4% and under the $8 level, after printing $10 just a couple of weeks ago.

Gold and Bitcoin both closed higher on Wednesday, after a lousy stretch for the crypto stocks and the gold miners. While both are well down from their 52-week highs, at this juncture any positive print is likely a relief for investors battered by the selling.

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, September 8, 2022.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB): BofA Securities resumed coverage on the money management giant with a Neutral rating and a $45 target price. The consensus target is $43.67. The final trade for Wednesday was for $42.55 per share.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP): BofA Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $336 target. The consensus target is $303.11. Wednesday’s close was at $276.86 a share.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Neutral rating on the technology giant and has a $139 target price. The consensus target is $184.01. The stock closed on Wednesday at $155.96, after the company rolled out the iPhone 14 and the Apple Watch Series 8.
ChargePoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPT): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $22 target price. The consensus target is $23.21. The stock closed 9% higher on Wednesday at $16.07, likely on the research coverage.

Chimerix Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRX): CapitalOne initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $7 target price. The consensus target is $7.60. The stock closed on Wednesday at $2.17.

Cincinnati Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CINF): Zacks selected this property and casualty insurer as its Bear of the Day stock, citing poor earnings performance. Shares have traded as high as $143.22 in the past year but last closed at $99.03, which is down about 28% in the past 90 days.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $107 target price. The consensus target is $105.58. The shares ended trading Wednesday at $68.25, up close to 9% for the day on what was possibly some big short covering.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): Oppenheimer maintained coverage with a Perform rating and a $77 target. The consensus target is higher at $89.42. The stock closed Thursday at $56.50, down over 3% on the day.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): Baird reiterated a Neutral rating and has set a $60 target price. The higher consensus target is $87.69. The final trade for Wednesday was reported at $55.14.

Doximity Inc. (NYSE: DOCS): Truist Financial started coverage with a Hold rating and a $35 target. The consensus target is $41.50. The stock closed on Wednesday at $32.95.

East West Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: EWBC): This stock was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which said that higher rates and strong earnings are creating an opportunity for this bank. Shares most recently closed at $71.79. The consensus price target of $84.33 represents more than 17% upside.

EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating for the natural gas giant and has a $53 price target. The consensus target is $59.10. The stock closed on Wednesday at $46.00.

Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST): Baird stuck with a Neutral rating and a $48 target price. The consensus target is $49.57. The stock closed on Wednesday at $51.10.

Gitlab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and has an $80 target price. The consensus target is $72.73. The stock closed at $54.16, which was up over 14% for the day after the company beat earnings expectations for the quarter. Some on Wall Street feel forward guidance is very conservative.

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has an $85 price objective. The consensus is up at $97.30. On Wednesday, the stock closed at $67.36.
ICON PLC (NASDAQ: ICLR): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $270 price target. That compares with the slightly lower $267.56 consensus target and Wednesday’s final print of $215.91.

iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $7 price target. The consensus target is $6.08. The last trade Wednesday came in at $3.43.

Petco Health & Wellness Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $17 target price. The consensus target is $19.08. The shares closed on Wednesday at $15.21, up almost 5% on the day.

Ryman Hospitality Inc. (NYSE: RHP): Truist Financial lifted its Hold rating to Buy and boosted the $95 target price to $103. The consensus target is $102.71. The stock closed almost 7% higher on Wednesday at $85.81. The company announced the reinstatement of its dividend.

Stem Inc. (NYSE: STEM): Northland Capital started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $24 target price. The consensus target is $18.71. Wednesday’s $15.63 close was up almost 11% for the day on no news except the initiation.

Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC): Truist Financial started coverage with a Hold rating and a $35 target. The consensus target is $36.54. The stock closed over 5% higher on Wednesday at $30.60.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $217 target price The consensus target is $210.25, and the shares were last seen on Wednesday trading at $196.29.

Wallbox N.V. (NYSE: WBX): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $14 target. The consensus target is $16.05. The stock closed at $8.80 Wednesday, up over 7% for the day on the initiation of coverage.

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Seven natural gas producers pay strong and reliable dividends. Their stocks offer outstanding growth potential and reasonable entry points, and the closer we get to winter weather, the more attractive they become.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amazon.com, Boeing, Carlyle, Frontline, Olin, Perrigo, Rocket Companies, Starwood Property Trust, Transocean and WW. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on AstraZeneca, Bilibili, Electronic Arts, GoodRx, NetEase, Netflix, Pinterest, U.S. Foods and more.

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