The futures were trading higher as we get ready to finish a dreadful 2022 trading year with a holiday-shortened week and the potential for some more of the tax-loss selling that we have seen through much of December. While the major indexes closed higher on Friday, stocks still ended lower for the third straight week. With corporate buyback windows already closing in front of fourth-quarter results, it could be another tough week.

Yields across the Treasury curve were higher Friday as sellers had the upper hand during the day. The 10-year note closed at 3.75%, up a stunning 35 basis points since December 6. Despite the big increase, the inversion with the two-year note remained in place, as the shorter paper closed at 4.33% and likely will be in place when we start 2023.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished a strong week for the black gold benchmarks, with Brent closing near the $84 level and WTI closing back in on the $80 mark. Prices jumped again Friday as reports circulated that Russia may cut production. Natural gas had a solid day, closing up almost 3% as forecasters warned of the potential for a cyclone bomb and some of the worst holiday travel conditions in decades. Gold and Bitcoin finished the day modestly higher.

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 27, 2022.

Anixa Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIX): Chardan Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Buy rating and an $8 target price. The consensus target is $11. The stock closed Friday’s session at $3.94.

Array Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $26 target price. The consensus target is $27.14, and shares closed on Friday at $20.94.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating while cutting its $100 target price to $75. The consensus target is $67.43. The shares closed on Friday at $60.16, up over 5% on the day.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): The Zacks Bull of the Day stock has been marching toward all-time highs on the back of an improved earnings outlook, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $239.87, which is over 47% higher than 90 days ago.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR): Wells Fargo upgraded the cable and telecom giant to Equal Weight from Underweight but lowered its $370 target price to $340. The consensus target is up at $500.84. Friday’s close was at $333.92.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF): B. Riley Securities reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its target price to $27 from $26. The consensus target is $17.16, and shares were last seen on Friday trading at $16.90.

Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI): Jefferies resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 target price. The consensus target is $28.80. The stock closed over 7% higher on Friday at $18.03 after the upgrade.

Cytokinetics Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTK): Needham reiterated a Buy rating and trimmed its $60 price target to $58. The consensus target is $62.20, and Friday’s close was at $45.59.
Eaton Corp. PLC (NYSE: ETN): BofA Securities maintained a Buy rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $166.17. The stock closed on Friday at $156.80.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Daiwa Securities initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $175 target price objective. The consensus target is $161.03. The final trade on Friday was reported at $156.75.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $132 target price. The consensus target is $127.14. The stock closed on Friday at $102.81.

Ligand Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: LGND): Roth Capital reiterated a Buy rating and lifted its $85 price target to $90. The consensus target is up at $110.83. Friday’s close was at $67.32.

Limoneira Co. (NASDAQ: LMNR): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $15 target price. The consensus target is $18. The stock closed on Friday at $12.21, which was down almost 9% on the day after the company posted a fourth-quarter loss.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $157 price objective. The consensus target is $177.43. The stock closed on Friday at $165.59.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPW): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $17 target price. The consensus target is $15.46. The shares were last seen on Friday at $11.15.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA): Loop Capital downgraded the shares to Sell from Hold and cut its price target in half, to $14 from $30. The consensus target is $20.52. The stock closed on Friday at $16.66.

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX): Stifel maintained a Hold rating with a $119 target price. The consensus target is $123.81. The shares closed on Friday at $116.01.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG): Daiwa Securities initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $325 target price. The consensus target is $345.40. Friday’s close was at $310.15.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating but cut the $250 target price to $175. That compares with the $253.32 consensus target and Friday’s last trade at $123.15.

Toro Co. (NYSE: TTC): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $130 target price. The consensus target is $121.50. The last trade for Friday came in at $112.98.

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