The futures were trading lower after a poor start to the week on Monday, as all the major indexes closed the session lower. Hawkish central bank commentary from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank was cited as one reason for the selling Monday. In addition, despite inflation showing signs of lowering, there is still a good chance the federal funds rate will be hiked another 75 basis points in three increments next year, which would put the rate at 5.00% to 5.25%.

Another reason for the Monday selling was that Treasury rates spiked higher across the curve, with the five-year, 10-year and 30-year paper all up 10 basis points. The inversion in the Two-year and 10-year stayed in place, as the latter closed at 3.58% and the former at 4.26%

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed higher on Monday, with Brent edging back over the $80 mark and WTI back over $75. Natural gas was the big loser on the day, down over 11% to close at $5.83. Gold and Bitcoin both closed lower 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 Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. (NYSE: AEL): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform and has a $48 target price. The consensus target is $43.33. The stock closed Monday’s session almost 3% higher at $40.29.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP): Keefe Bruyette downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and has a $325 target price. The consensus target is up at $342. The shares ended Monday at $306.49.

Argenx S.E. (NASDAQ: ARGX): Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $420 target price. The consensus target is higher at $443.37. Monday’s close was at $377.83.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T): MoffettNathanson downgraded the legacy telecommunications giant from Market Perform to Underperform with a $17 target price. The consensus target is $20.28. The shares closed Monday at $17.85, down almost 4% on the day.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX): As J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, it cut its $68 target price to $55. The consensus target is $62.08. The stock closed on Monday at $49.94.
Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE): Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating with a $111 target. The consensus target is $117.79. The stock closed on Monday at $101.02.

Centene Inc. (NYSE: CNC): Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $100 target price. The consensus target is $100.53. Monday’s close was at $81.42.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI): Truist Securities raised its $142 target price to $156 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is $150.40. The stock closed at $138.30 on Monday.

DZS Inc. (NASDAQ: DZSI): Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $25 price target. The consensus target is $22.20. Monday’s close was at $11.36.

Glaukos Inc. (NASDAQ: GKOS): Though J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight, it lowered its $48 target price to $42. The consensus target is higher at $59.22. The stock closed on  Monday at $42.28.

Global Partners L.P. (NYSE: GLP): Energy stocks continue to show relative strength and earnings momentum, according to Zacks, which selected this one as its Bull of the Day. The shares last closed at $32.72, which is more than 57% higher than six months ago.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN): Raymond James maintained a Market Perform rating on the homebuilder and has a $90 target price. The consensus target is higher at $102.88. The stock closed on Monday at $90.10.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX): The Buy rating at TD Securities dropped to Hold with a $72 target price. The $66.89 consensus target is nearer to Monday’s closing price of $60.75 a share.

L3 Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LHX): Baird downgraded the defense giant to Neutral from Outperform and cut its $290 target price to $241. The shares have traded as high as $279.71 in the past year but closed on Monday at $205.42.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MDGL): Piper Sandler reiterated an Overweight rating and raised its $203 target price all the way to $280. The consensus target is $152.58 for now. The stock closed on Monday at $234.83, up 268% after the company posted incredible late-stage clinical results.

Main Street Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: MAIN): UBS initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $41.40. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Monday at $35.89.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM): Now is not the time to gamble on this casino name, says Zacks of its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $49.00 in the past year but closed most recently at $34.22, after a more than 4% tumble on Monday.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Needham reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and lifted its $200 target price to $230. The consensus target is just $195.08. Monday’s close was at $162.54.

Palomar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR): Truist Securities lowered its price target to $65 from $89, but it maintained its Buy rating. The consensus target is $78.57 for now. The stock closed over 5% lower on Monday at $47.61.

Pentair PLC (NYSE: PNR): Stifel raised its Hold rating to Buy, and its $46 price target is now $57, higher than the $50.87 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $43.85.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF): Keefe Bruyette’s downgrade was to Market Perform from Outperform, and the $130 target price was trimmed to $120. The consensus target is $124.40. The final trade for Monday was reported at $105.14.

Spok Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK): Lake Street resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 price target, the same as the consensus target. The stock was last seen on Monday trading at $7.92.

Thomson-Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI): Scotiabank resumed coverage with a $126 target price. The consensus target is $115.62. The stock closed on Monday at $111.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX): Jefferies downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and has a $340 target price. The consensus target is $323.94. Monday’s closing share price was $291.59.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL): Stifel cut its Buy rating to Hold but bumped up its $113 target price to $115. The consensus target is $124.40. The close on Monday was at $108.48.

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Domestic energy producers are expected to benefit from a buildup of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Five mega-cap leaders that pay big and dependable dividends are offering investors inviting entry points and look like outstanding ideas for 2023.

Monday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Brixmor Property, Dollar General, Delta Air Lines, Express, JD.com, ONEOK, Prudential Financial, Trip.com, United Airlines and Verizon Communications. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on American Electric Power, Enphase Energy, Moderna, Tesla, Verizon Communications, Warner Music, Waste Management and more.

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