Wednesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alphabet, Apple, Boeing, HP, Netflix, PepsiCo, Snap, SunPower, Texas Instruments, Zoom Video and More

Investing

Published: October 12, 2022 8:56 am

Last Updated: October 12, 2022 9:06 am

The futures were trading higher on Wednesday, as Wall Street prepares for the producer price index readings. Tuesday, it looked for a fleeting moment that all the carnage of the past four trading days was over, but a midday rally turned negative in the last hour of trading and only the Dow Jones industrials closed the day higher. The Nasdaq once again led the losers, closing down 1.1%. There was a sense from the financial press and some of the (always bullish) media pundits that the bear market is closer to the end than the beginning, and that if the consumer price index numbers show a bigger than expected decline, then November’s 75-basis-point rate increase could be trimmed back to 50 basis points.

In addition, ARK funds founder Cathie Wood wrote an open letter to Chairman Powell and the Federal Reserve Governors stating that their policies are risking an “economic bust.” With Wall Street expectations calling for an 8.1% year-over-year increase on Thursday, any print for the CPI well below the 8% level could possibly get them to tap the brakes some. A higher number? Look out below.

The Treasury market reopened Tuesday after the Columbus Day holiday and rates were modestly higher across the curve. The benchmark 10-year note looked like it was trading back to the 4% level before buyers stepped, and the final trade came in at 3.94%. That keeps the inversion to the two-year note in place, as it closed at 4.31%. Bond traders view the inversion as a recession indicator.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower after a big run over the past week. The two benchmarks each closed down close to 3%. Natural gas was a big winner on the day, closing up close to 3%. Gold closed higher on the day, while Bitcoin closed slightly lower.

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 Wednesday, October 12, 2022.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating on the search leader while trimming the $140 target price to $134. The consensus target is $141.94. The last trade for Tuesday was reported at $97.18.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI): Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $193.73. The stock ended Tuesday’s session trading at $138.80.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the technology giant while cutting its $169 target price to $155. The consensus target is $183.16. The shares closed on Tuesday at $138.98.