Investing

Tuesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Boeing, BP, Costco, DoorDash, Meta Platforms, Okta, Shell, Splunk and More

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The futures were trading higher on election day 2022, as Americans head to the polls for what may be one of the most defining midterm elections in the past 20 years. While many pollsters expect Republican victories in the House of Representatives, the Senate races in many states are way too close to call, but a shift in the balance of power seems certain.

The major indexes ended higher across the board Monday, with the venerable Dow Jones industrial average leading the surge, closing up 1.3%. In addition to the election results, stock and bond investors will be keeping a close eye on Thursday’s release of the consumer price index (CPI) report for October. Economists are predicting a still red-hot year-over-year total of 7.9%, which would be lower than September’s 8.2% reading. Core CPI, which does not contain the food and energy components, is expected to roll in at 6.5%. Any results that come in way above the estimates could force the Federal Reserve to move the terminal or final rate above the 5% level.

Sellers returned to the Treasury market on Monday, as yields were up across all maturities, with the five-year note up seven basis points to the 4.39% level. The inversion between the two-year and 10-year paper stayed in place, with the benchmark latter note closing at 4.21% and the former at 4.73%.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude tried to follow through on the strength from last week, but both ended the day modestly lower. Natural gas was the winner on Monday, ending the day 5% higher. Both gold and Bitcoin finished 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, November 8, 2022.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and cut its $189 target price to $160. The consensus target is $219.27. The stock closed Monday at $162.02, which was down over 3% for the day.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and has a $180 target price for this Franchise Picks list stock. That is less than the consensus target of around $189, but the stock closed on Monday at $164.91, up over 3% on the day.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Underweight rating and a $300 target price. The consensus target is $333.50. The shares closed more than 2% lower on Monday at $367.00.


BP PLC (NYSE: BP): Wells Fargo raised its Underweight rating to Equal Weight and boosted its $31 target price to $36. The consensus target is $37.50. The closing trade on Monday was reported at $34.33.
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD): Argus upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $78 target price. The consensus target is 82.11. Monday’s $72.86 close was a 2% gain for the day.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight. It also cut its $600 target to $490, below the $565.79 consensus target. Monday’s close was at $488.55.

Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D): As UBS downgraded the utility to Neutral from Buy, it lowered the $83 target price to $73. The consensus target is $79.40. The shares closed over 6% lower on Monday at $62.94 despite earnings that beat estimates last week.

DoorDash Inc. (NYSE: DASH): Oppenheimer upgraded the popular food delivery company from Perform to Outperform with a $70 target price. That is less than the $80.95 consensus but well above Monday’s closing print of $52.10.

EnLink Midstream LLC (NYSE: ENLC): Zacks named this energy play as its Bull of the Day stock, citing skyrocketing earnings estimates. Shares last closed at $12.08, and the $12.72 consensus price target would be a 52-week high.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL): Berenberg downgraded the fragrance and makeup giant to Hold from Buy and slashed its $323 target price to $220. That compares with a $248.88 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $206.01.

Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR): D.A. Davidson raised its Neutral rating to Buy, and it lifted the target price to $40 from $25. The stock closed on Monday at $33.97, up over 7% on the day despite earnings that lagged Wall Street estimates.

Greenbrier Companies Inc. (NYSE: GBX): Susquehanna’s downgraded to Neutral from Positive included a price target hike to $37 from $30. The consensus target is $37.60. The stock closed on Monday at $37.58.


Hanover Insurance Group Inc. (NYSE: THG): Piper Sandler’s downgrade was to Neutral from Overweight, and it has a $144 target price. The consensus target is $152.20. Monday’s close was at $141.41.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Itau BBA raised shares of the Facebook and Instagram parent company from Market Perform to Outperform with a $102 target price. The consensus target is higher at $156.65. The stock closed almost 7% higher on  Monday at $96.72. Reports indicate that the company was poised to start some big layoffs.

NOV Inc. (NYSE: NOV): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Equal Weight from Underweight included a target price hike to $25 from $16. The consensus target is $23.59. Monday’s close was at $23.94.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Guggenheim upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $65 price objective. The consensus target is up at $89.47. The shares ended Monday at $47.24, a gain of close to 5% on the day. The upgrade likely helped.
Sea Ltd. (NYSE: SE): Though J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, it also lowered the $85 target price to $70. The consensus target is up at $106.40. The stock closed Monday at $48.47, up 10% for the day on the upgrade.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK): BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating but lowered the $65 price target to $60. The consensus target is $54.89. Monday’s $44.20 close was down 6% on the day.

Shell PLC (NYSE: SHEL): Goldman Sachs downgraded the legacy oil heavyweight to Neutral from Buy and trimmed its $79 price target to $76. The consensus target is $67.56. Monday’s close was at $56.86.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI): Atlantic Equities raised the stock to Overweight from Neutral and boosted its target price to $385 from $356. The consensus target is $381.00. The stock closed on Monday at $319.25.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $90 target price. The consensus target is up at $125.39. Shares ended Monday’s session at $73.58.


Syneos Health Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNH): Evercore ISI downgraded the shares to In Line from Outperform, and it slashed its $55 price target to $27. The consensus target is $57. The stock closed on Monday at $30, up a stunning 17% for the day despite mixed earnings results.

TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (NASDAQ: TIXT): Scotiabank’s downgrade to Sector Perform from Sector Outperform came with a target price reduction to $26 from $33. The consensus target is $30.50. Monday’s close at $20.26 was down almost 9% on the day despite solid earnings metrics.

Trinity Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRN): Susquehanna cut its Positive rating to Neutral and has a $30 target price. The consensus target is $33.62. The stock closed on Monday at $29.40.


Berkshire Hathaway reported disappointing third-quarter results recently, but two huge energy stocks helped buoy the rest of the portfolio. The share price of one of them doubled this year, making it a huge winner for Warren Buffett.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Altice USA, Arista Networks, Block, Cardinal Health, ConocoPhillips, Datadog, GoodRx, Monster Beverage, PepsiCo, Spirit AeroSystems, Twilio and WeWork.

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