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CPI Set Up to Disappoint? Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Marvell, Meta and More

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Markets continued lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq getting the worst of it. The tech-heavy index was down 1.0%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials were down 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively.

Look for the latest consumer price index (CPI) data on Thursday morning. The print is likely to show inflation is still at historically high levels, as analysts are forecasting 8.1% year over year, compared with August’s 8.3% increase. However, if this number disappoints, it could spell disaster for the markets.

When the August CPI data came out on September 13, the S&P 500 saw its worst day of the year thus far, down 4.3%. J.P. Morgan even warned that if the September reading, due on Thursday, comes in higher than last month, the S&P 500 could drop as much as 5%.

If inflation continues to hold at high levels, the Federal Reserve likely will continue with its rate hikes, sinking markets further.

Here, 24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Tuesday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Etsy, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wayfair, Workday and more.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised the $257 price target to $279. Shares traded near $242 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $198.64 to $258.45.

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK): UBS lowered its Buy rating to Neutral and cut its $700 price target to $585. Shares have traded as high as $973.16 in the past year but were near $531 on Tuesday, which is up about 40% year to date.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade was from Overweight to Neutral with a $102 price target. Shares were last seen trading near $84. The 52-week range is $81.66 to $149.78.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): The Outperform rating at Evercore ISI dropped to In Line, and the price target fell to $46 from $56. Shares traded near $39 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $38.51 to $78.28.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc. (NYSE: ELF): Piper Sandler upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral. It also raised its $35 price target to $46. The stock was last seen trading near $39, in a 52-week range of $20.49 to $41.31.

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL): Wells Fargo’s upgrade was from Equal Weight to Overweight with a $58 price target. The shares traded near $39 on Tuesday. The 52-week range is $38.93 to $93.85.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Atlantic Equities downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight and has a $160 price target. The 52-week trading range is $127.77 to $353.83. Shares changed hands near $128 apiece on Tuesday.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a price target cut to $85 from $130. The 52-week trading range is $78.68 to $178.50, and the share price was near $79 on Tuesday.

Rackspace Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RXT): as Evercore ISI cut its Outperform rating to In Line, it also lowered the $9 price target to $5. Shares were last seen trading near $4, in a 52-week range of $3.79 to $18.50.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): The J.P. Morgan upgrade lifted its Neutral rating to Overweight with a $460 price target. The 52-week trading range is $367.71 to $707.60. The share price was near $371 on Tuesday.

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