The futures were trading mixed after a very up and down day on Wall Street Wednesday that saw the Dow Jones industrials and Russell 2000 close higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day in the red, after very disappointing results from Alphabet and Microsoft and a host of other tech stocks, many of which have announced layoffs as well.

With the Federal Reserve likely set to raise rates next week, and the midterm elections due the week after, it is quite possible that more volatility is coming into the market. With 50% of the Nasdaq and 28% of the S&P 500 weighted to technology, more lousy earnings and guidance could trigger a landslide move lower.

Yields were down across the Treasury curve for the second day in a row, as investors looking for safe havens continued the buying spree that started Tuesday. The 10-year note, which last week traded at a 15-year high of 4.30%, closed Wednesday at a 4.02% yield. The inversion with the two-year note stayed in place, as it closed at a 4.42% handle.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed the day up 2.74% and 3.48%, respectively, despite the Energy Information Administration reporting a slight build in inventories. One item that energy analysts noted was that the new British Prime Minister plans to reinstate the fracking ban in England. Natural gas ended the day up over 2%. Gold and Bitcoin both surged higher, with the cryptocurrency up well over 3%.

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 27, 2022.

Abbott Laboratories Inc (NYSE: ABT): Mizuho started covering the stock with a Neutral rating and a $105 target. The $117.90 consensus target is higher, but Wednesday’s closing print was $98.42.

Agilysys Inc. (NASDAQ: AGYS): Craig Hallum raised its Hold rating to Buy from and lifted the $50 target price to $65. The consensus target is $58.50. Wednesday’s close at $62.15 was up over 13% for the day, after it posted stellar earnings this week.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the biotech heavyweight and has a $300 target price. The consensus target is $282.40. The shares ended Wednesday’s session at $280.43.

Biohaven Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN): Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sell and, in a bizarre move, slashed the $158 target price to $27. The consensus target is $23. The stock was last seen Wednesday at $13.61, down close to 6% on the day after a secondary offering.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $1,800 price target. The consensus target is $1,799.43. The stock closed on Wednesday at $1,476.03.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $100 target price. That compares with a $112.90 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing trade at $86.76.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Goldman Sachs raised its $328 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $362. The consensus target is $284.03. Wednesday’s close at $291.87 was up almost 10% on the day, after posting outstanding results earlier this week.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL): Wells Fargo upgraded the energy services giant to Overweight from Equal Weight. Its $52 target price is higher than the $41.86 consensus figure. Wednesday’s at $36.48 was a 4% gain for the day after the upgrade.

Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (NYSE: HLX): BTIG Research raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $10 target. The consensus target is just $6.92. The stock closed 19% higher on Wednesday at $6.16 despite the company posting mixed results.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM): Citing its long-term potential and new highs, Zacks selected this health insurer as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $539.10, and the $554.86 price target would be an all-time high.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ): Credit Suisse downgraded the money managing giant to Underperform from Neutral. It also lowered its $13 target price to $11.50, which would be a 52-week low. Wednesday’s final trade was for $15.10 a share.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE: LBRT): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and has a $24 target. The consensus target is $21.50. Wednesday’s closing share price was $16.48, which was up 4% for the day.

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $32 target price to $28 but stayed with a Buy rating in front of the upcoming holiday season. The consensus target is $30.83. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $19.23.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Pivotal Research raised its Sell rating all the way to Buy while jacking the $200 price target up to $375. The consensus target is $275.03. The stock closed Wednesday at $298.62, up close to 3% on the day.

Pentair PLC (NYSE: PNR): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade was from Underweight to Neutral with a $42 target price objective. The consensus is set at $51.93. The stock closed Wednesday at $41.85.

Permian Resources Corp. (NYSE: PR): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating, and it has a $12 target price. The consensus target is $11.08, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $9.94.

Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC): Susquehanna upgraded the stock to Positive from Neutral and has a $38 target price. The consensus target is $37.88, and the stock closed on Thursday at $28.00. The company posted stellar third-quarter results earlier this week.
Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $55 target price. The consensus target is $42.02. The shares ended on Wednesday at $45.50.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Goldman Sachs lowered its $133 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $114. The $132.42 consensus is also well above Wednesday’s last print of $84.42, which was down 13%, after the company posted metrics this week Wall Street did not take kindly to.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF): Goldman Sachs lowered its $40 price target on the Buy-rated stock to $35. The consensus target is $39.67. The shares closed on Wednesday at $35.05.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V): Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed its $216 target price to $210. The consensus target is up at $251.01. The shares closed on Wednesday at $203.88, up almost 5% on the day after posting very solid numbers for the quarter.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: WASH): Compass Point downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and reduced the $60 target price to $49. The consensus target is $53.25. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $46.74, down over 4% on the day despite earnings topping estimates earlier this week.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR): The BofA Securities downgrade was to Underperform from Neutral, and it chopped its price target to $119 from $155. The consensus target is $149.33. The shares closed on Wednesday at $134.74.

Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM): The Zacks Bear of the Day has become a victim of its own meteoric rise, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $291.31 in the past year but closed most recently at $83.37. That is down more than 54% year to date.

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For nervous and frustrated investors looking for a safe harbor in a rough fourth quarter, seven blue chip stocks offer a degree of safety and some tempting dividends, which can really help with the total return potential.

Wednesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Coterra Energy, EOG Resources, FedEx, Fortinet, Hertz Global, Palo Alto Networks, Range Resources, Stem, TechnipFMC, Twilio and United Parcel Service. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Ally Financial, Baker Hughes, Biohaven, Biogen, Bumble, Canopy Growth, Corning, Discover Financial Services, Match, Roku and more.

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