The futures traded lower Thursday after a strong risk-on Wednesday in which all the major indexes closed higher. Many are hoping this is the beginning of this year’s Santa Claus rally, which has run into some roadblocks over the past two weeks. Positive numbers from apparel and shoe giant Nike, and some extreme cost-cutting driving gains at FedEx provided the tailwinds for the strong move higher.

Yields were flat across the Treasury curve, as analysts noted little if any effect from the widening of the band by the Bank of Japan on the country’s 10-year debt. The Treasury curve saw some steepening after a big back-up in yields earlier this week. The 10-year and two-year inversion remained in place, with the former closing at 3.68% and the latter at 4.22%. Many see the ongoing inversion as presaging a recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude continued their march higher, as both closed up almost 3%. Some on Wall Street feel that if China ever can overcome the ongoing lockdowns and disruptions from COVID-19, that oil could march to as high as $120 a barrel next year. Natural gas ended the day higher, up over 2% to $5.48. Gold and Bitcoin both finished the day modestly 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 Thursday, December 22, 2022.

Bausch + Lomb Corp. (NYSE: BLCO): Barclays initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $17 target price. The consensus target is higher at $30.01. The last trade for Wednesday came in at $14.69.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an In Line rating and has a $70 target price. The consensus is higher at $82.11. The stock closed Wednesday at $66.87.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT): Jefferies downgraded the Chili’s parent to Hold from Buy and dropped its $38 target price to $35. The consensus target is $32.88. The last trade for Wednesday was recorded at $32.81.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA): Truist Securities downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and slashed the $50 target price to $5. The consensus target is $16.47. The stock closed on Wednesday at $4.32.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): As D.A. Davidson raised its Neutral rating to Buy, it bumped up its $78 target price to $80. The consensus target is $81.70. The stock closed on Wednesday at $65.04.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): Stifel maintained a Hold rating but cut its $181 target price to $167. The consensus target is $193.64. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $169.99 after posting solid results.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $196 from $165. The consensus target is $159.03. Wednesday’s $162.06 close was up almost 4% for the day.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Guggenheim reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target price to $120 from $180. The consensus target for the home generator giant is up at $151.60. Wednesday’s close was at $92.09.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY): Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $110 target price. The consensus target is $93.79. The stock closed on Wednesday at $74.47.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK): Wedbush downgraded the popular fast-food chain operator to Neutral from Outperform. It also lowered its $100 target price to $75, less than the $83.22 consensus target. The final trade on Wednesday was at $67.44 a share.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH): Goldman Sachs raised its $34 target price to $38 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $38.50. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $32.19.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR): Truist Securities raised its $64 price target to $68 and reiterated a Buy rating. The consensus target is $63.60. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $52.79.

LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ: LIVN): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $62 price objective. The consensus target is $72.33. The stock closed on Wednesday at $53.97.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and lifted its $120 target price to $133. The consensus target is $116.49. Wednesday’s close at $115.78 was up over 12% for the day on stellar earnings.

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE: PAGS): New Street’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral, though it lowered its $22 target price to $17. The consensus target is$18.06. Wednesday’s close at $8.42, up almost 7% for the day on no news we could source.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Underperform from Outperform and has a $4.50 price target. The consensus target is $9.12. The stock closed 3% higher on Wednesday at $6.50.
Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN): Truist Securities cut its Buy rating to Hold, and its target price was cut almost in half to $5.50 from $10. The consensus target is $4.53. The stock closed on Wednesday at $4.73.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 target price. The consensus target is $24.59. The stock closed on Wednesday at $21.05.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating for the stock, which is on the firm’s Select List of top picks. Its $475 target price is lower than the $521.63 consensus, but the stock closed on Wednesday at $391.91.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): The Buy rating at Jefferies has slipped to Hold, but the $100 target price is still a bit higher than the $99.51 consensus figure. Wednesday’s closing print was $98.67.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT): Gordon Haskett downgraded the big-box retailer from Buy to Hold with a $132 target price. The consensus target is up at $176.52. The shares ended Wednesday’s session at $142.31.

Trane Technologies PLC (NYSE: TT): The BMO Capital Markets downgrade was from Outperform to Market Perform with a $180 price target. The closing share price on Wednesday was $170.94.

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $230 target price. The consensus target is just $200.87. The final trade Wednesday was for $170.08 a share.

Zions Bancorp. N.A. (NASDAQ: ZION): D.A. Davidson upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $56 target price. The consensus target is $58.79. The stock closed on Wednesday at $47.57.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

After a horrific year in the markets, Jefferies has made some big changes to its Franchise Picks list of top stocks. Eight outstanding additions to the list have plenty of upside potential and offer growth investors some solid entry points.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Boston Scientific, Caterpillar, Ciena, Costco Wholesale, Generac, Hasbro, Rivian Automotive, Steel Dynamics, Tapestry, Trade Desk and Walmart.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.