The futures traded higher Monday, to start the first trading week of the fourth quarter. Many are more than happy to see the end of the third quarter, which had big up and down moves and ended on a decidedly negative note. All the major indexes closed lower Friday, each one exiting September down more than 8%. The Nasdaq was down 10.5%, after yet another early rally attempt failed. All three are trading in bear market territory, down over 20% for the year.

Red-hot eurozone inflation readings, growing nervousness over third-quarter earnings and guidance, and some high-profile earnings misses were cited as reasons for the continued selling. Add into the mix that institutional accounts had quarter-end books to square up, and it was another dreadful day.

Yields were flat across the Treasury curve, after last week’s massive buying spree drove rates down for all maturities. The 10-year yield closed at 3.75%, after touching the 4% mark just last Wednesday. With the two-year note closing at 4.17%, the inversion remains in place. As we have noted, bond market traders consider it a recession indicator. Last week’s final gross domestic product reading of −0.6% confirmed that we are in a recession now.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both ended lower Friday. The financial media noted that in some states, noticeably in the deep south, the price for a gallon of gasoline indeed fallen below the $3 mark for the first time since last winter. The black gold was surging higher Monday morning after OPEC announced it is considering the largest production output cut since 2020. Natural gas also closed lower Friday, while gold and Bitcoin ended modestly higher.

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, October 3, 2022.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the legacy biotech giant with a $290 price target. The consensus target is $253.12. The stock closed on Friday at $225.40.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $100 target price. The consensus target is $102.19. The stock ended Friday’s session at $66.02.

Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC): Argus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $90 target price. The consensus for the stock is up at $104.47. Friday’ close was at $77.81.

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL): Jefferies lifted its Hold rating to Buy with a $240 price target. The consensus target is $273.50. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Friday at $196.80.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Goldman Sachs lowered its $94 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $84. The consensus target is $94.80. The stock was last seen on Friday trading at $71.10.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Capital One started coverage of the cybersecurity giant with an Overweight rating and a $235 target price. The consensus target is $239.78. The shares ended Friday’s session at $164.81.

CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR): Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $187 target price. The consensus target is $180.24. Friday’s close was at $149.94.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Ltd. (NASDAQ: EGLE): Stifel started coverage with a Buy rating and a $62 target. The consensus target is $71.82. The stock closed almost 5% higher on Friday at $43.18. Note that the dividend yield is 20.43%.

ForgeRock Inc. (NYSE: FORG): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price objective. The consensus target is higher at $22.88. Friday’s close was at $14.53.

Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $67 target. The consensus target is $65.81. Friday’s final trade hit the tape at $50.09.

Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (NYSE: GNK): Stifel started coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The consensus target is up at $25.68. The stock closed on Friday at $12.53, up over 3% for the day. Note that this company pays a 15.86% dividend.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $229 target price. The consensus target is much higher at $348.95. The stock closed on Friday at $178.14.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN): Stifel maintained a Buy rating. Its target price of $300 is well above the $250.53 consensus target and Friday’s last print of $190.79.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $575 target price after attending the company’s analysts day. The consensus target is $540.45. Friday’s close was at $387.32.

JFrog Ltd. (NASDAQ: FROG): Truist Financial started coverage with a Buy rating and a $30 target price. The consensus target is $29.14. Friday’s close at $22.11 up over 4% for the day, likely on the initiation.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Stifel reiterated a Hold rating and trimmed its $56 target price to $54. Needham maintained a Buy rating and cut its $64 target to $60. Mizuho stayed with a Neutral rating, but its $56 target dropped to $52. The consensus target is $68.90. The stock closed on Friday at $50.10.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Raymond James resumed coverage of the legacy software and technology giant with an Outperform rating and a $300 target. That compares with a $333.24 consensus and Friday’s closing share price of $232.90.
MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Truist Financial started coverage with a Buy rating and a $300 target price. The higher $357.95 consensus target also compares with and Friday’s closing print of $198.56.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): UBS reiterated a Buy rating on the athletic shoe and apparel giant and lowered the $156 target price to $141. Stifel stayed with a Buy rating but trimmed its target price to $110 from $130. Jefferies also reiterated a Buy rating and cut its $130 price target to $115. The consensus target is $128.28. The stock closed on Friday at $83.12, down almost 13% on the day after concerns over inventory and earnings hit the stock.

NOV Inc. (NYSE: NOV): The Neutral rating at BofA Securities rose to Buy with a $19 target price. The consensus target is up at $23.38. The stock closed Friday at $16.18, which was up almost 3% for the day.

Relay Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RLAY): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $23 target. The consensus target is higher at $41.89. The stock closed more than 3% lower on Friday at $22.37.

Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): MoffettNathanson initiated coverage with an Underperform rating. The firm’s $19 target is well below the $44.63 consensus target and the most recent close at $35.84.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $56.05. The stock closed at $31.86 on Friday.

Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $220 target following a positive analysts day. The consensus target is just $201.64. The stock closed on Friday at $157.71.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of the money-center banking giant to Buy from Neutral and bumped its $46 target price up to $48. The consensus target is $52.77. The shares closed on Friday at $40.22.

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Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Coinbase Global, Constellation Brands, Dollar General, First Solar, Kraft Heinz, Marvell Technology, Monster Beverage, QuantumScape, Range Resources and VFC. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Agnico Eagle Mines, Bed Bath & Beyond, Century Aluminum, Micron Technology, Voya Financial and more.

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