The futures were higher Monday, as we get ready for another trading week with the potential for some big volatility as third-quarter earnings start to kick into high gear. All the major indexes closed down Friday, after the big banks reported mixed results and the follow-through rally attempt from Thursday’s massive gains bit the dust by midday. The Nasdaq led the pullback, down a whopping 3.08%.

With yet another white-hot inflation report last week, the odds of a 75-basis-point hike in the federal funds rate in November is now right at 100%. The bullish narrative remains that we are close to the peak inflation levels, and some of the components in the consumer price index report, like transportation and medical care, might be ready to taper down some next month.

Treasury yields were up across the curve on Friday, as the yield on the 10-year note closed above the 4% level for the first time since October of 2008. Despite the higher yield, the inversion with the two-year note stayed well in place, as the short government note closed at 4.49%. As we have noted, this ongoing inversion is a recession signal to bond traders, and the spread really widened out late last week.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both hammered Friday, with the former closing down 3.35% and the latter at 3.93% as traders continued to chip away at the gains from the OPEC production cut announcement last week. Natural gas also was down to the tune of 4%. Gold and Bitcoin ended the week down as well.

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 17, 2022.

AZEK Co. Inc. (NYSE: AZEK): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and lowered its $29 target price to $18. The consensus target is $25.37. The stock closed almost 6% lower on Friday at $16.24, likely on the downgrade.

Braze Inc. (NASDAQ: BRZE): Needham reiterated a Buy rating but chopped its $70 price objective to $50. The consensus target is $51.92. Friday close at $28.07 was down almost 5% on the day.

Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL): Credit Suisse raised its Neutral rating to Outperform with a $363 target price. The consensus target is $337.50. Friday’s close was at $281.62.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO): Deutsche Bank reiterated a Hold rating but lowered its $64 price target to $59. The consensus target is $67.02, and the stock closed on Friday at $54.98.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on the Buy-rated shares to $188 from $214. The consensus target is $139.04. Friday’s final trade came in at $75.69, down over 6% for the day.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating while cutting the $432 price target to $373. The consensus target is $386.78. The last trade Friday was delivered at $317.34, down almost 5% on the day.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Zacks selected this solar energy play as its Bull of the Day, citing it as a standout in the industry, with strong and consistent growth. Shares last closed at $237.87, and reaching the consensus price target of $284.48 would be a gain of almost 20%.

Enviva Inc. (NYSE: EVA): Though Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also cutting its $79 target price to $62. The consensus target is $77.33. The stock closed almost 8% lower on Friday at $48.03 after a short-seller put out a report alleging failure to meet sustainability promises.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): D.A. Davidson resumed coverage of the legacy motorcycle giant with a Neutral rating and bumped the $36 price objective to $37. The consensus target is higher at $44.75, and Friday’s closing print was $35.89.

Harmony Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HRMY): The Jefferies upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $61 from $57. The consensus target is $61.50. The shares ended trading Friday at $51.07, up over 7% after multiple upgrades.

Hayward Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HAYW): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, and it sliced the $18 price target to $9. The consensus target is $13. The last trade on Friday was posted at $8.73, which was a 3% loss on the day.

JELD-WEN Holding Inc. (NYSE: JELD): Credit Suisse’s downgrade to Neutral from Outperform included a price target cut to $9 from $20. The consensus target is $15.25. The stock closed on Friday at $8.76.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating while cutting its $185 target price to $178. The consensus target is $186.31. Friday’s close was at $164.46.

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ: LBTYA): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and an $18 target price. The consensus target is up at $32.93. The stock ended Friday’s session trading at $15.91.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating but reduced its target price to $325 from $354. The consensus target is $329.65. The shares ended Friday at $228.56, down over 2% on the day.

MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Though Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating, it cut its $430 target price to $380. The consensus target is $352.05. The shares closed almost 5% lower on Friday at $172.08.

Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Buy, and it cut the $65 target price to $58. The consensus target is $66.15. The shares closed almost 6% lower on Friday at $54.75, likely on the downgrade.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Zacks named this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst suggests that its post-earnings drop is part of a much longer downturn. The stock has traded as high as $179.10 in the past year but closed most recently at $87.55. That is down more than 34% in the past six months.

Organon & Co. (NYSE: OGN): The BofA Securities downgraded was to Underperform from Neutral, and it trimmed the $27 target price to $25. The consensus target is $35.86. The stock closed 3% lower on Friday at $23.31.

Parker-Hannifin Corp. (NYSE: PH): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $285 target. The consensus target is $319.88. The stock closed at $254.24 on Friday.

QuidelOrtho Corp. (NASDAQ: QDEL): UBS lifted its Sell rating to Neutral with an $86 target price. The consensus target is up at $122.67. The last trade Friday came in at $76.29.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Goldman Sachs cut its $752 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $640. The consensus for the stock is just $552.94. Friday’s close at $341.76 was down close to 6% on the day.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Wells Fargo reiterated an Equal Weight rating but lowered its $280 target price to $230. The consensus target is $294.78. The stock closed almost 8% lower on Friday at $204.99.

TPG Inc. (NASDAQ: TPG): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the shares from Outperform to Neutral with a $32 target price. The consensus target is $33.50 for now. The stock closed Friday at $27.60, down close to 6% for the day on no negative news we could source, aside from the dreadful tape.

Trex Co. Inc. (NYSE: TREX): The Neutral rating at Credit Suisse dropped to Underperform, and the $65 target price was lowered to $43. The consensus target is $61.69 for now. The stock closed down almost 8% on Friday at $45.22.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating but decreased its $260 target price to $230. That compares with the $217 consensus target and Friday’s close at $139.59.

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There is potential for more market downside, so this may hardly seem like the time to get aggressive on technology. However, for investors looking to buy while there is “blood in the streets,” Goldman Sachs has six top software stocks it likes for a market recovery.

Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Altice USA, Apple, Colgate-Palmolive, Marathon Petroleum, Mastercard, Medtronic, Meta Platforms, Nike, Prologis, Realty Income, SLM, Tenaris and Visa. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Alkermes, AppLovin, Delta Air Lines, Micron Technology, Stanley Black & Decker and more.

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