The futures traded lower on Wednesday, after a furious rally Tuesday that faded fast but still saw all the major indexes close higher. The Nasdaq was the big winner, up 1.01% on the day. The lower than expected consumer price index reading was the catalyst for the rally, and all eyes on Wall Street are now focused on the Federal Reserve. As it meets for the last time this year, the Fed is expected to raise the federal funds rate once again, but this time only by 50 basis points.

Yields plunged across the Treasury curve, as buyers swooped in on the inflation numbers. The five-year and 10-year maturities closed at 3.65% and 3.50% respectively. The inversion between the 10-year note and the two-year remained at the widest level in 40 years, with the short paper closing at 4.21%. The bond market views the inversion as a signal for a recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude surged 3% or more on Tuesday. Brent was back over the $80 level, while WTI closed over $75. Hopes for a reopening in China are slowly growing brighter, and inventories have shrunk to the lowest levels in years. Natural gas had a big day, up over 5%, and closed near the $7 level. Gold and Bitcoin joined in on risk-off moves, both closing higher Tuesday, with the cryptocurrency up 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 Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed its $32 target price to $13. The consensus target is $22.56. The last trade on Tuesday was 4% lower at $11.78.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $159 target price. The consensus target is up at $168.17. Tuesday’s close was at $157.52.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $93 price target. The consensus target is $90.42, and Tuesday’s close at $71.03 was up over 7% for the day on the coverage resumption.

Centene Inc. (NYSE: CNC): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral while dropping its $100 target price to $85. The consensus target is $101.32. The stock closed over 4% lower on Tuesday at $83.22 after the downgrade.
Coherent Corp. (NASDAQ: COHR): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a price target hike to $45 from $43. The consensus target is $60.44. The stock closed on Tuesday at $38.40, which was up over 8% for the day on the upgrade.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX): Cowen boosted its Market Perform rating to Outperform with an $811 target price. The consensus target is $723.59. Tuesday’s close at $707.01 was up close to 4% on the day.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $161 price objective. The consensus target is lower at $121.04. The shares closed on Tuesday at $131.60.

FB Financial Corp. (NYSE: FBK): As Stephens downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight, it trimmed its $46 target price to $42. The consensus target is $45.13. Tuesday’s close at $38.33 was down 6% for the day on the downgrade.

Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $45 target price. The consensus target is $40.33. The stock closed on Tuesday at $31.72.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and an $85 target. The consensus target is $83.04. Tuesday’s close was at $88.75.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM): Goldman Sachs raised its Neutral rating to Buy and changed its $575 target price to $652. The consensus target is $611.68. The stock closed on Tuesday at $523.06.

KeyCorp Inc. (NYSE: KEY): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade to Underweight from Neutral included a target price trim to $17 from $18.50. The consensus target is $20.65, and shares closed at $17.30.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight. It also dropped its $66 target price to $58, well below the $78.71 consensus target. The stock closed at $64.91 on Tuesday.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH): When UBS downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy, it cut its $24 target price to $19. The consensus target is $20.63. Tuesday’s close was at $15.03.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Cowen started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is $78.90. The stock closed almost 3% higher on Tuesday at $70.52.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and an $85 target price. The consensus target is up at $106.52. Tuesday’s closing share price was $73.70.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE): The Goldman Sachs upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $60 from $47. The consensus target is $54.78. The shares closed on Tuesday at $53.07.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $109 target price. The consensus target is $102.64, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $102.32.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral. It also raised its $25 target price to $30, above the $27.55 consensus target. The close Tuesday at $26.42 was up 12% after the upgrade and the company’s strong advertising outlook.

Playtika Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTK): BofA Securities upgraded the stock from Underperform to Neutral with a $9 target price. The consensus target is up at $15.33. Tuesday’s close at $8.73 was a 3% gain on the day.

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD): Citigroup lowered its Buy rating to Neutral and its target price to $10 from $11. The consensus target is $12.41. The stock ended Tuesday trading at $9.35.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, and the firm lifted its $52 target price to $58. The consensus target is $52.20. Tuesday’s close was at $44.25.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): Zacks named this as its Bear of the Day stock. The analyst suggests recent mixed quarterly results have investors wondering what is next for the stock. Shares have traded as high as $160.32 in the past year but closed most recently at $94.70. That is down more than 15% from 90 days ago.

Weber Inc. (NYSE: WEBR): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell, and it has an $8.05 target price. The consensus target is just $4.54. The stock closed on Tuesday at $8.01. The popular grill maker is being taken private by BDT Capital at $8.05 a share.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating and a $101 price objective. The consensus target is $97.60. The stock closed on Tuesday at $85.61.

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24/7 Wall St. has uncovered five outstanding Buy-rated stocks with at least a 5% dividend that look like incredible year-end bargains.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Accenture, Analog Devices, Apple, Baxter International, Best Buy, Coterra Energy, Emerson Electric, Johnson Controls, Lam Research, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, Silvergate Capital, Tapestry and Walt Disney.

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