The futures were trading higher Wednesday as we get ready to finish off November and head to December, the final month of what has been a very difficult year for investors. The Dow Jones industrials and the Russell 2000 ground out small gains Tuesday, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed lower.

Many across Wall Street are very anxious to hear the speech that Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell will deliver at the Brookings Institute, in which he will no doubt address the Fed’s ongoing inflation fight. While Powell may indicate a smaller increase in the federal funds rate when the final meeting for the year is held in December, the “higher for longer” mantra, and the possibility that the terminal rate could be about the expected 5.00% to 5.25%, is expected to be reinforced.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve Tuesday, and the bond market will pay very close attention to Powell’s aforementioned remarks. Bond markets strategists noted that, last week, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped to 0.78 percentage point below that of the two-year yield, the largest negative inversion gap since 1981. While some feel the current yield curve could indicate slowing inflation, the huge gap also signals the potential for recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both higher on the day, as some in the sector expect an OPEC+ production cut at the next scheduled meeting for the group in Vienna on December 4. Natural gas also finished up on the day. Gold and Bitcoin both ended higher 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 Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the energy heavyweight and has a $65 target price. The consensus target is $55.50. As energy rallied on Tuesday, APA closed almost 4% higher at $46.59.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARWR): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its $65 price objective to $66. The consensus target is $73.23. The stock closed on Tuesday at $29.99, up 7% for the day on the Goldman Sachs move.

Azek Co. Inc. (NYSE: AZEK): Truist Financial maintained a Buy rating with a $30 target price. The consensus target is $23.95. The stock closed on Tuesday at $17.74.
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and $48 target price. The consensus price target is $35.67. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $41.63, up over 4% on the day.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN): Jefferies raised its $100 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $120. The consensus target is $114.05. The stock ended Tuesday’s session at $97.12.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT): Truist Financial lowered its $160 price target on the apartment REIT giant to $136 while staying with a Buy rating. The consensus target is $141.40. The stock closed on Tuesday at $117.78.

CinCor Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: CINC): Goldman Sachs slashed its $64 target price to $26 but reiterated a Buy rating. The consensus target is $58.50 for now. The stock closed over 11% lower on Tuesday at $12.50 after disappointing clinical data from a hypertension drug trial.

Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB de C.V. (NYSE: KOF): The Zacks Bull of the Day continues to benefit from strong demand for its suite of products, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $67.21. That is more than 22% higher year to date, while the S&P 500 is down almost 17% in that time.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL): Truist Financial raised its $96 target price to $109 but kept a Hold rating. The consensus target is $98.50. Tuesday’s close was at $113.59.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $40 target price. The consensus target is $48.47, and Tuesday’s close was at $34.61 a share.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the popular retailer. Its $180 target price is well above the $166.35 consensus figure. The stock closed on Tuesday at $157.00.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Jefferies downgraded shares of the home generator giant to Underperform from Neutral and has an $85 price objective. The consensus target is up at $156.40. The stock closed on Tuesday at $100.66.

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $78 target price. The consensus target is $70.75. The stock closed on Tuesday at $38.39.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the yoga and sports apparel giant and has a $400 target price. The consensus target is $380.31. Tuesday’s close was at $363.32.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its $77 target price to $80. The $81.20 consensus target also compares with Tuesday’s final print of $74.22.
Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $160 target price. The consensus target is lower at $153.59. The stock closed on Tuesday at $98.43.

Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR): Exane BNP Paribas lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral with a $100 target price. The consensus target is $97.65. Tuesday’s close was at $104.26.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM): Goldman Sachs raised its $85 target price to $95 while keeping a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $102.64. The shares ended Tuesday at $97.79.

Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD): BofA Securities maintained a Buy rating after another strong earnings report. Its $92 target price compares with the consensus target of $91.15. The shares ended trading Tuesday at $78.43, up 6% after a rally in certain Chinese stocks.

Proto Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: PRLB): Lake Street started coverage with a Buy rating and a $29 target. The consensus target is higher at $34.50. The shares closed over 4% higher on Tuesday at $25.43.

Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP): Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating with a $45 target price. The consensus target is $40.65. The last trade for Tuesday was recorded at $37.15.

Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: TBLA): Oppenheimer raised its $3.50 target price on the Outperform-rated stock to $4.50. The consensus target is $4.38. The shares closed on Tuesday at $2.47.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): Stifel maintained a Hold rating on the senior housing REIT and has a $70 target price. The consensus target is higher at $78.45. Tuesday’s final trade at $69.20 was up almost 4% on the day.

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Lower fuel prices could spur demand through the rest of the year and into the first quarter, and six outstanding energy stocks have the biggest and most dependable dividends and are Buy rated at top Wall Street firms.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, AppLovin, Beyond Meat, BorgWarner, Cloudflare, Diamondback Energy, First Solar, Fortinet, Li Auto, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Nio, Playtika, Roblox, Salesforce, Shopify, StoneCo, Twilio and Unity Software. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Affirm, Canadian Pacific Railway, Darden Restaurants, Generac, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Invitation Homes, PagSeguro Digital, Roku, Toast, United Parcel Service and more.

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