The futures were trading lower after last week’s solid rally had a follow-through on Monday to get the ball rolling on what will be a massive week for earnings, especially from big tech. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, which account for roughly one-quarter of the S&P 500’s market cap, are all scheduled to report. These are also major contributors to the Nasdaq index as well.

All the major indexes closed higher Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials leading the way. While we still have a long way to go with the third-quarter earnings, the early reports have been for the most part solid. One big concern among equity strategists is that lowered forward earnings estimates and guidance seem to be mounting, and a slew of numbers being chopped could pave the way for another big move lower.

Treasury yields were up across the curve, with the benchmark 30-year bond closing at 4.36%, after printing a 4.43% 52-week high earlier in the day. Following through on last week’s move higher in yields, if they end higher this week, it will be the 13th consecutive week that Treasury securities have traded lower and yields trended up. The two-year and 10-year inversion remained in place, after the final trade left the 10-year at 4.23%, and the two-year paper ended at a 4.51% handle.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed modestly lower, while natural gas stormed higher, closing up almost 5% at $5.18. Despite the solid equity rally to open up the week, both gold and Bitcoin ended Monday 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 Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): HSBC Securities started coverage with a Hold rating but lowered its $170 price target to $165. The consensus target is $101.08. The shares closed on Monday at $58.70.

Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut the $180 target price to $140. The $189.51 consensus target is higher, and Monday’s close was at $144.53.

ANSYS Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS): Though Rosenblatt upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, it lowered its $290 price target to $270. The consensus target is $294.88. Monday’s close was at $216.07.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T): Raymond James upgraded the telecommunications giant from Outperform to Strong Buy with a $24 target price. The consensus target is lower at $20.20. Monday’s closing price was $17.51 a share.
Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral and bumped its $230 target price to $231. The consensus target is $225.67. The shares had a 17% gain on Monday, closing at $220.83. Strangely, we found no specific news for the price jump. Avis reports earnings next week.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): The HSBC Securities downgrade was from Buy to Hold with a $177 target price. The consensus target is $181.72. Monday’s close was at $173.13.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR): Benchmark cut its Buy rating to Hold with a $325 target price. The consensus target is $307.74. The stock closed Monday at $251.67, up close to 3% for the day.

Doximity Inc. (NYSE: DOCS): Evercore ISI started coverage with an In Line rating and a $28 target. The consensus target is up at $39.86. The shares closed on Monday at $24.87.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a target price cut to $160 from $199. The consensus target is $193.70. The shares ended Monday’s session at $154.76.

Flywire Corp. (NASDAQ: FLYW): Loop Capital started coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 target price. The consensus target is $31.55. Monday’s final trade was at $21.14.

Harley Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Citigroup started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $44.48. The shares closed on Monday at $35.89.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): HSBC Securities started coverage with a Reduce rating and a $23 target. The consensus target is higher at $34.74. The stock closed on Monday at $27.18.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX): The Bear of the Day stock at Zacks has been beaten down and estimates are falling, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $62.29 in the past year but closed most recently at $48.44. That is down more than 20% year to date.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): BofA Securities downgraded the social media giant to Neutral from Buy and chopped the $196 price target to $150. The consensus target for now is at $210.15. Monday’s close was at $129.72.

NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR): Piper Sandler’s downgrade was to Neutral from Overweight, and it reduced the $90 price target to $70. The consensus target is $94.88 for now. The stock closed almost 12% lower on Monday at $63.98 due to the downgrade.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI): Barclays downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight. It also slashed its $200 target price to $140, below the $190.62 consensus target and Monday’s close at $144.94.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI): Gordon Haskett initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 target. The consensus target is $62.29. The stock closed on Monday at $54.63.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and chopped the $120 price target to $90. The consensus target is $112.33. The shares closed on Monday at $86.01.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM): HSBC Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $181.11. The stock closed on Monday at $116.38.

Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB): The Barclays downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a target price cut to $95 from $140. The consensus target is $163.44. Monday’s close at $118.53 was down over 5% for the day, likely on the downgrade.

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO): BofA Securities downgraded the utility giant to Underweight from Neutral and trimmed its $63 target price to $59. The consensus target is $70.81. The stock closed on Monday at $64.59.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN): Barclays lifted its Underweight rating to Equal Weight with a $150 target price. The consensus target is $182.00. Monday’s close was at $161.65.

WeWork Inc. (NYSE: WE): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and an $8 price target. The consensus target is $8.38. The stock closed on Monday at $2.22.

Wolfspeed Inc. (NYSE: WOLF): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral came with a target price hike to $160 from $130. The consensus target is just $119.14. The stock closed on Monday at $103.02.

Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS): Zacks named this security stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst suggests it looks to have found a bottom and shows good growth. The shares last closed at $148.67, and hitting the $220.83 consensus target price of would be a gain of more than 48%.

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Five of the highest-yielding Dow stocks still offer good entry points and come with dependable dividends. They look to poised benefit from solid demand and can do well even if a severe recession is on tap for 2023.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Archer Daniels Midland, Chevron, FedEx, Intel, Meta Platforms and Qualcomm. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Amazon.com, Huntington Bancshares, Prologis, Williams-Sonoma and more.

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