The futures were trading higher Monday, following Friday’s big risk-on rally that helped end the three-week losing streak for the equity markets. All the major indexes closed higher on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way by closing up over 2.11%, driven higher by some solid earnings reports and very oversold conditions.

With next week’s August consumer price index report the big economic news on the docket, some across Wall Street expect a lower print due to the decline in gasoline prices since the July report came out in early August. That spurred on bullish investors Friday looking to embrace the peak-inflation narrative, while the bear market rally crowd continued to stand their ground.

Interest rates were modestly higher on Friday, and with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage nearing the 6% mark, the highest since 2008. Any big selling across the Treasury curve over the next few weeks could push that rate over 6%. The two-year and 10-year note inversion stayed in play Friday, with the former closing at 3.56% and the latter at 3.32%.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were strong on Friday, with both closing up over 3%. Big selling in the energy complex last week due to global recession worries, plus J.P. Morgan’s comments that OPEC could cut production by a million barrels per day, seemed to be the biggest catalyst for the move higher Friday. Natural gas closed above the $8 mark, up almost 2%, while gold closed higher and Bitcoin rallied over 10% on a weakening dollar to close at $21,288.

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 Monday, September 12, 2022.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: ASO): Loop Capital started coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 price target objective. The analysts’ consensus target is $58.70. The shares closed on Friday at $49.56.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Mizuho downgraded the shares of the legacy tech giant to Neutral from Buy and cut its $480 target price to $440. The consensus target is $460.36. Friday’s close was at $394.78.

Alnylam Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $222 price objective. The consensus target is $231.27. The stock closed on Friday at $224.01.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AXL): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered its $16 price target to $13. The consensus target is $10.63. Friday’s close was at $9.71.
Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BILL): Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $220 price target. The consensus target is $215.21. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Friday at $167.39.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM): This fresh egg producer was named as the Zacks Bull of the Day stock. The analyst suggests that the underlying price trend for shell eggs is a positive for investors. Shares last closed at $57.93, which is up more than 56% year to date.

CarGurus Inc. (NASDAQ: CARG): Oppenheimer lowered its $32 price target to $26 while keeping an Outperform rating. The consensus target is $32.25, and the stock closed on Friday at $19.11.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA): Piper Sandler lifted its Neutral rating to Overweight but chopped the target price to $73 from $98. The consensus target is $58.53. The stock closed Friday at $36.62, up close to 8% for the day after the upgrade. The stock was up an additional 8% in Monday’s premarket.

Elevance Health Inc. (NYSE: ELV): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a price target hike to $575 from $535. The consensus target is $547.36. The last trade on Friday was for $493.60 a share.

Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE: WTRG): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $52 target. The consensus target is $55. Friday’s close was at $47.81.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the Wall Street heavyweight, but its $355 target price is less than the $392.50 consensus target. The closing share price on Friday was $340.10.

Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (NYSE: HPP): Morgan Stanley raised its Underweight rating to Neutral with a $13 target. The consensus target is $18.50. The stock closed on Friday at $14.15.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating after the company’s positive R&D day. The firm’s $296 target price is well above the $221.40 consensus target and Friday’s last print of $142.28.

New Jersey Resources Corp. (NYSE: NJR): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and trimmed the $47 target price to $46. The consensus target is $46.33. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Friday at $44.29.

Omnicell Inc (NASDAQ: OMCL): BofA Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $120 target price. That compares with the higher $154 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $105.35, which was up close to 4% on the day.

Prelude Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PRLD): When Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight, its price target dropped from $19 to $11. The consensus target is $11.80 and the final trade on Friday was recorded at $7.75.

Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS): Jefferies began covering the stock with a Hold rating and a $52 target price. The consensus target is $58.67. The last trade on Friday was posted at $47.15.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Morgan Stanley upgraded the pharmaceutical giant to Overweight from Equal Weight and its $625 target price catapulted to $851. The consensus target is $700.59. The shares closed on Friday at $724.32. The stock surged last week on positive results from the company’s eye disease drug trial.

RH (NYSE: RH): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $375 target price objective. The consensus is much lower at $324.44. The stock closed trading Friday at $273.56 up close to 5%.

Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade was to Overweight from Neutral, and the target price rose to $78 from $74. The consensus target is $75.39. The last trade for Friday came in at $70.29, a 2% gain on the day.

Swvl Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SWVL): Baird began coverage with an Outperform rating and an $8 target. The stock has traded as high as $11.40 since its IPO but closed on Friday at $1.56.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the stock, which is on the firm’s Franchise List of top ideas. Its $200 target price is well above the $160.23 consensus target. The stock closed 6% higher on Friday at $127.78.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $190 price target, after the company announced a $14 billion stock buyback plan. The consensus target is $171.52. The last trade on Friday came in at $145.70.

Trimble Inc. (NASDAQ: TRMB): Baird reiterated an Outperform rating with a $78 target price. That compares with the $79.43 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $63.08.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ): The B. Riley Securities downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a price target cut to $25 from $42. The consensus target is $36.00. The shares closed Friday at $27.56, up just shy of 4% for the day.

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OPEC is expected to step up production cuts, which would have a huge impact on energy pricing and for energy investors going forward. Six oil and natural gas related stocks have at least a 6% dividend and appear to have solid upside potential.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chipotle Mexican Grill, CrowdStrike, First Solar, Fortinet, Franklin Resources, GSK, Intel, Nvidia, Shoals Technologies, Spirit AeroSystems, Starbucks, Wendy’s and Williams Companies. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on CarMax, Coinbase Global, DocuSign, Enphase Energy, ImmunoGen, Navient, 3M, Virgin Galactic and more.

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