The futures traded lower after the September nonfarm payrolls number came in above expectations. The major indexes all closed lower Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials posting the largest decline, over 1.15%. The song remains the same, as sellers have been nipping away at the 5.5% rally gains that were posted over the first two days of the week.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Governor Raphael Bostic tossed some cold water earlier in the week on the Fed pivot hopes across Wall Street, after he noted he favors the plan to move the federal funds rate to 4.0% to 4.5% by year-end. That indicates yet another 75-basis-point increase in November, followed by 50 basis points at the last meeting of the year in December.

Interest rates were up across the Treasury curve Thursday, once again led by the five-year note, which closed at 4.06%. The inversion remained in place, as the 10-year note closed at 3.77% and the two-year paper at a 4.25% yield. Bond market pros view the continued inversion between the two securities as a sign of the current recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both ended higher Thursday, after a big week in which the price of oil climbed over 10%. The massive OPEC production cut starting in November was the big sector-moving news. Natural gas closed lower, back below the $7 level. Gold and Bitcoin also both closed lower, with the cryptocurrency leader trading back right to $20,000 level.

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 Friday, October 7, 2022.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock, with the analyst pondering whether the company can capitalize on rising interest rates and high real estate prices. The shares last closed at $111.58, and hitting the consensus target price of $140.50 would be a gain of about 26%.

Bally’s Corp. (NASDAQ: BALY): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $23 target price. The consensus target for the resort and casino heavyweight is $28.25. The stock closed trading on Thursday at $21.44, which was down almost 5% on the day.

Cactus Inc. (NYSE: WHD): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered the $52 price target to $48. The consensus target is $51.78. The last trade on Thursday was posted at $44.00.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating but lowered its $23 price target to $19. The consensus target is $21.49. The shares ended Thursday’s trading session at $14.97, down close to 3% for the day.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Evercore ISI started coverage of the cybersecurity giant with an Outperform rating and a $250 target price. The consensus target is $239.63. The shares closed Thursday’s session at $178.89.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Ltd. (NASDAQ: EGLE): Shipping rates are coming way down and that could spell trouble ahead for the Zacks Bear of the Day, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $78.75 apiece in the past year but closed most recently at $48.46. That is down more than 21% in the past six months.

Entegris Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $108 target price. The consensus target is up at $134.82. Shares were last seen on Thursday trading at $88.19.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR): BMO Capital Markets cut its Outperform rating to Market Perform and lowered the $88 target price to $74. That compares with an $82.81 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $64.45, which was down over 3% for the day.

Fair Isaac Corp. (NASDAQ: FICO): Baird’s downgrade to Neutral from Outperform included a target price cut to $475 from $546. The consensus target is $546.29. The stock closed almost 6% lower on Thursday at $413.82.

Global Medical REIT Inc. (NYSE: GMRE): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform. It also cut its $13 target price to $9, much lower than the $15.25 consensus target. The stock was blasted Thursday, closing at $7.73 down, almost 10%, on no news except the downgrade.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Goldman Sachs lowered its $255 target price on the social media giant to $200 while keeping a Buy rating in place. The consensus target is $222.78. The stock closed at $139.07 on Thursday.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN): Stephens began covering the stock with an Equal Weight rating and a $22 target price. The consensus target is $24.57, and Thursday’s close was at $20.41.

Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ): J.P. Morgan lifted its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $70 price target. The $66.20 consensus target is closer to Thursday’s closing print of $59.51.

Oceaneering International Inc. (NYSE: OII): Barclays downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight and cut its $15 target price to $10. The consensus target is $15. The last trade Thursday came in at $9.59.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $45 price target. The consensus target is up at $99.26. The stock closed on Thursday at $58.01.

Penn Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN): Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target is $51.20. The stock was last seen on Thursday trading at $31.90.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL): Seaport Research Partners raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $28.50 target price. The consensus target is higher at $31.56. The shares closed on Thursday at $25.45.

RPM International (NYSE: RPM): When J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, it also lifted its $90 target price to $100. The consensus target is $96.69. Thursday’s close was at $94.92.
Silvergate Capital Corp. (NYSE: SI): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Underweight from Overweight and slashed the $115 target price to $70. The consensus target is up at $131. The stock closed on Thursday at $73.79, down almost 7% for the day on the downgrade.

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE: SAH): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade was from Neutral to Overweight with a $60 target. The consensus target is $59.83. The stock closed on Thursday at $44.58.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): UBS’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $86 from $125. The consensus target is higher at $130.61 for now. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Thursday on the downgrade.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD): Though Goldman Sachs raised its Neutral rating to Buy, it also trimmed its $89 price target to $88. The consensus target is $86.95. The shares closed on Thursday at $77.14.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the big-box retailer and has a $205 target price. The consensus target is $191.20. The closing share price on Thursday was $155.75.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X): Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating on the legacy steel company and lowered the price target to $18 from $21. The consensus target is $26.50. The final trade for Thursday hit the tape at $19.62.

Westlake Corp. (NYSE: WLK): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $235 target price. The consensus target is $222.34. The stock closed at $182.92 on Thursday.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $235 target price. The consensus target is $222.34. The stock closed on Thursday at $182.92.

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Thursday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Blackstone, Carlyle, FedEx, Home Depot, Palo Alto Networks, Payoneer, Poshmark, Take-Two Interactive Software, Trade Desk, Twitter and ZoomInfo Technologies. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Ally Financial, CMS Energy, Credit Suisse, Freeport-McMoRan, Pinterest, Transocean, Verizon Communications and more.

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