The futures were higher on Wednesday, after we started off the holiday-shortened trading week with just the Dow Jones industrial average eking out a small gain The big news over the long Christmas holiday weekend was the massive winter storm that crippled much of the United States and snarled air and ground traffic. Some good news for stocks to start this final trading week of 2022 was that the Chinese government started to ease Covid protocols across the country by ending the quarantine requirement for travelers coming into the country starting on January 8.

Treasury yields were higher across the board, as demand for the safe-haven government debt ebbed with the news out of China. This follows a big move higher for yields last week when yields across the curve saw their biggest rise last week since April. The inversion between the 10-year note and the two-year remained in place and likely will stay there when we begin trading in 2023. Bond traders view the anomaly as a harbinger of a recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed the day higher, extending last week’s rally after the black gold hit three-week highs. Demand from a reopening in China and the possibility that the massive winter storm will crimp production were cited as the reason for the moves higher. Natural gas closed up over 3% at $5.21, as traders feared the storm would impact LNG production. Gold finished higher while Bitcoin closed lower on Tuesday.

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 28, 2022.

Applied Molecular Transport Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTI): SVB Securities downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and slashed its $15 target price to $2. The consensus target is $2.70. The stock closed Tuesday at $0.37, which was down over 14% on the downgrade.

Century Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: IPSC): Chardan Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $19 target price. The consensus target is $23.75. The shares closed on Tuesday at $5.28.

CTO Realty Growth Inc. (NYSE: CTO): BTIG Research lowered its $24 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $21. The consensus target is $24.29. The stock closed on Tuesday at $18.31.

Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO): Citing profit projections that have fallen more this year than the price of “the barbarous relic” itself, Zacks selected this miner as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $12.49 in the past year but closed most recently at $8.67.

Generac Inc. (NASDAQ: GNRC): Janney initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $160 target price. The consensus target is $148.60. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $91.15.

Gesher Acquisition I Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: GIAC): Chardan Capital Markets started coverage with a Buy rating and a $13 target price. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $10.14.

Graphite Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPH): BofA Securities lowered its $10 target price to $8 but kept a Buy rating on the stock. The consensus target is $11.43. Tuesday’s close was at $2.84.

Lion Electric Co. (NYSE: LEV): Northland Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $5 target price. The consensus target is $3.88. The shares closed on Tuesday at $1.98.

Loop Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LOOP): Raymond James maintained an Outperform rating with a $15 target price. The consensus target is higher at $17.63. The last trade on Tuesday was reported at $2.62.

MasTec Inc. (NYSE: MTZ): Cowen reiterated an Outperform rating while trimming its $125 price target to $120. That is still above the consensus target of $110 and Tuesday’s close at $84.25 a share.

Mesa Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: MLAB): Zacks selected this medtech stock as its Bull of the Day, citing soaring earnings estimates, growing revenue and strong M&A strategies. Shares last closed at $161.65, and the $195.33 consensus target represents almost 21% upside potential.

Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR): Cowen reiterated an Outperform rating and lifted its $155 target price to $165. The consensus target is $162.40. The shares ended Tuesday’s session trading at $143.97.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): Raymond James reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $72 target price. The consensus target is $77.90. The shares closed on Tuesday at $65.94.

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Legacy companies in sectors poised to benefit from solid demand next year and that pay big, dependable dividends are likely among the best ideas to outperform. Five top Dow Jones industrials still offer excellent entry points and have survived market downturns before.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Array Technologies, CarMax, Caterpillar, Cleveland-Cliffs, Eaton, First Solar, Intercontinental Exchange, Medical Properties Trust, Paramount Global and Tesla.

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