The futures were fairly positive Thursday morning, after some of the gains from earlier this week were given back on Wednesday. Solid earnings seem to be the catalyst for the most recent uptick in the markets. Even though most analysts retain a bearish sentiment going forward, gains for now are welcome by investors.

Tesla released earnings on Wednesday after the markets closed and, while results were mixed, shares ultimately went lower. Revenues fell short at $21.45 billion, versus the consensus calling for $22.09 billion. Per-share earnings beat out the consensus estimate of $1.01, coming in at $1.05. However, looking forward, the firm said that it expects to see 50% average annual growth rate on vehicle deliveries for the year.

West Texas Intermediate crude traded up just over 2% early on Thursday to just over $87 a barrel. This after WTI bottomed out around $76 less than one month ago. Crude is still looking for a direction in general, but with President Biden’s recent move to release an additional 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, it should be heading lower into the end of the year.

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 20, 2022.

Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ACI): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised its $30 price target to $26. The consensus target is $33.08. Wednesday’s close was at $27.20.

Alliant Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: LNT): Wolfe Research’s downgrade was to Peer Perform from Outperform. The consensus target is $61.89. The stock closed 1% lower on Wednesday at $50.35.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Wells Fargo downgraded the shares from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $23 price target. Morgan Stanley lowered its Overweight rating Equal Weight and cut its $40 price target to $28. Shares most recently closed at $26.00. The consensus price target of $36.89 represents more than 31% upside from that close.

American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR): Wells Fargo’s downgrade was from Equal Weight to Underweight with an $85 price target. The consensus target is $89.50. Wednesday’s close at $86.12 was a 1% loss for the day.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK): Wells Fargo upgraded it to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $140 price target. The consensus target is $161.58. The stock closed most recently at $134.00.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML): The Hold rating at Deutsche Bank was raised to Buy. The consensus price target is $624.03, and Wednesday’s closing trade was at $424.02.

Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP): Credit Suisse’s Outperform rating was cut to Neutral. The consensus target is $91.61. Wednesday’s close was at $71.82.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): When Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral, it also cut its $67 price target to $55. The consensus target is $74.24, and Wednesday’s closing print was $52.37.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Canaccord Genuity’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a price target cut to $110 from $120. The consensus target is $135.65. The stock ended Wednesday’s regular session at $79.00.

Denbury Inc. (NYSE: DEN): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $146 price target. The consensus target is $104.73. Wednesday’s close was at $96.00.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D): KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Sector Weight from Overweight. The consensus target is $86.75. Wednesday’s close was at $65.69.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX): Summit Insights lifted its Hold rating to Buy. The consensus target is $467.96. Wednesday’s final trade was posted at $330.08 a share.

Monarch Casino & Resort Inc. (NASDAQ: MCRI): Stifel’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a price target hike to $77 from $70. The shares closed at $61.55 but exploded after the close, up almost 17% year to date.

Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS): Deutsche Bank cut its Buy rating to Hold and reduced its $104 price target to $87. The consensus target is $100.43. The shares closed on Wednesday at $79.59.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight and has a $70 price target. The consensus target is $87.26. The shares closed on Wednesday at $66.30.

ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD): The BofA Securities upgrade was to Buy from Neutral, and the firm raised its $245 price target to $260. The consensus target is $252.14. Wednesday’s close at $215.30 was down nearly 2% for the day.

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded share from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $70 price target. The consensus target is $74.33. Wednesday’s close was at $64.69.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Piper Sandler started coverage with a Neutral rating and an $87 price target. The consensus target is $137.19. The final trade for Wednesday was for $88.75 a share.

Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA): Wolfe Research’s downgrade was to Peer Perform from Outperform. The consensus target is $37.86. The stock closed on Wednesday at $15.90, down 10% on the day.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN): Wolfe Research cut its Outperform rating to Peer Perform. The consensus target is $47.71. The shares closed on Wednesday at $20.40.

Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE: TALO): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $27 price target. The consensus target is $28.00. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $20.28.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING): Truist’s downgrade to Hold from Buy came with a price target cut to $125 from $145. The consensus target is $135.35. The stock closed on Wednesday at $123.07.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: XEL): Wolfe Research upgraded it to Outperform from Peer Perform and has a $69 price target. The consensus target is $77.13. The stock closed over 2% lower on Wednesday at $47.32.

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Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included APA, Edwards Lifesciences, Enterprise Products Partners, Global Payments, International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Match, Medtronic, Netflix, Trade Desk, UDR and Walmart. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Best Buy, EOG Resources, Home Depot, Lockheed Martin, Lowe’s, Petco Health and Wellness and more.

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