The futures were trading lower Thursday morning, after the September consumer price index year-over-year numbers came in above Wall Street expectations at 8.2%. All the major indexes closed lower yet again on Wednesday, after the producer price index report came in basically in line with economists views. Two seemingly irrelevant European issues could be big and continue to lurk below the surface, with the United Kingdom’s fixed income quantitative easing move (Bank of England bought bonds), and credit default swaps on Credit Suisse continue to soar. Published reports suggest the bank could have some liquidity issues in 2023 after a string of corporate missteps and scandals.

Interest rates across the Treasury curve were lower on Wednesday, as the bond market eagerly awaited fresh CPI data. The benchmark 10-year note, which had started to slowly rise back toward the 4% level, caught buyers in the afternoon and closed at a 3.90% yield. The two-year note closed at a 4.28%, keeping the dreaded inversion in place, although the spread has narrowed some.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both ended the day over 2% lower, with WTI back below the $90 level at $87.27. Some of the big gains generated by the OPEC production cut have been taken off the table this week. Natural gas closed the day lower as well, while gold and Bitcoin were both slightly 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 Thursday, October 13, 2022.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and lowered its $375 target price to $325. The consensus target is $320.70, and the final trade for Wednesday was at $208.05 a share.

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT): Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $215 from $250. The consensus target is $289.93. The stock closed 3% lower on Wednesday at $183.79.

Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE: ARW): Citing declining estimates, Zacks named this Fortune 500 stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $137.95 in the past year but closed most recently at $91.63. That is down almost 32% year to date.

AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ): Sidoti upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $49 target. The consensus is higher at $53. The stock closed on Wednesday at $33.31, which was up almost 10% on the day despite posting earnings that lagged expectations earlier this week.

Boston Scientific Inc. (NYSE: BSX): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target is $48.53, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $39.60.
Caesars Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the gaming and casino giant and has a $63 target price. The consensus target is higher at $70.75. The shares ended Wednesday trading at $36.11.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME): Though Deutsche Bank raised its Hold rating to Buy, it also trimmed its $212 price objective to $200. The consensus target is $207.25. The stock closed on Wednesday at $171.71.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Redburn started coverage of the popular gambling and fantasy sports site with a Neutral rating and a $19 target. The consensus target is $25.87. Wednesday’s close was at $13.49.

Dutch Bros Inc. (NASDAQ: BROS): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares from Neutral to Overweight with a $38 price objective. The consensus target is up at $46. Due to the upgrade, the stock closed almost 7% higher on Wednesday at $31.51.

elf Beauty Inc. (NYSE: ELF): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst makes the case that this retailer is more or less recession-proof. Shares last closed at $40.08, and the consensus target price of $42.89 would be a multiyear high.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but cut its $765 target price all the way to $670. The consensus target is $774.32 for now. The stock closed on Wednesday at $511.86.

Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV): Atlantic Equities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight and reduced its $130 target price to $105. That compares with the $124.88 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $93.70.

Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV): Morgan Stanley raised its Equal Weight rating to Overweight, and its $68 target price rose to $73. The consensus target is $73.55. Shares last traded on Wednesday at $59.01.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $238 target price. The consensus target is $263.12, and the stock ended Wednesday at $223.42 a share.

Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL): Truist Financial downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and lowered its $72 target price to $51. The consensus target is $63.75. The stock closed on Wednesday at $51.87, which was down over 3% for the day.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and an $85 target. The consensus target for the popular online brokerage is up at $93.17. Wednesday’s close was at $68.68.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM): Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating on the legacy technology giant but trimmed its $163 target price to $158. The consensus target is $140.68. Wednesday’s close was at $117.57.
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG): Jefferies initiated coverage of the robotic surgery leader with a Hold rating. Its $210 target price is lower than the $256.80 consensus figure. Wednesday’s was at $186.34.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT): Jefferies started coverage of the medical devices giant with a Hold rating. Its $87 price objective compares with a $108.20 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $80.31.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH): UBS upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. The consensus target is $19.07. Wednesday’s final trade was reported at $12.98, up almost 12% for the day on the upgrade.

Owens & Minor Inc. (NYSE: OMI): Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and slashed its $62 target price to $22. The consensus target is $44 for now. The stock was clubbed Wednesday, closing at $15.10, down 35%, after posting negative preliminary third-quarter results that clearly missed the mark.

Palomar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR): Keefe Bruyette cut its Outperform rating to Market Perform, and yet it bumped its $88 target price up to $90. The consensus target is $87. The stock closed on Wednesday at $88.83, lower by 6%, likely on the downgrade.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD): Citigroup downgraded the Permian Basin energy giant to Neutral from Buy and cut its target price to $240. The consensus target is higher at $280.65. Wednesday’s close was at $246.89.

Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and an $85 target. The consensus target for the defense and aerospace giant is up at $108.44. Wednesday’s last trade came in at $82.99.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight. It also cut its $110 price target to $82, well below the $112.23 consensus target. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $75.72.

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Five top BofA Securities value stock picks come with dependable dividends and should hold up better than the overall market if the inflation-induced decline continues.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Analog Devices, Apple, Boeing, Datadog, Dynatrace, HP, Netflix, PepsiCo, Snap, Splunk, SunPower, Texas Instruments and Zoom Video Communications. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Allstate, American International Group, Bilibili, Cinemark, DocuSign, Kimberly-Clark, Lyft and more.

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