The futures were higher as we began the first trading week of 2023, albeit a shortened one due to the New Year holiday. All the major indexes closed lower to end 2022 last Friday, with the Nasdaq once again leading the way. The tech-heavy index closed down a stunning 33% last year, while the S&P 500 barely dodged bear market status by closing down 19.44%. The Dow Jones industrials fared the best, down 8.82%. Last year marked the worst one for stocks since the 2008 financial crisis.

The view from Wall Street strategists is also not very rosy to start the new year. Many feel that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates when it meets at the end of January, but the coming rate hikes may very well be of the 25-basis-point variety as federal funds creep closer to the expected terminal rate of 5.00% to 5.25%.

Yields ended 2022 higher across the curve, as sellers once again held the upper hand on the final trading session. The benchmark 30-year bond closed at 3.98%, once again approaching the 4% level. The 10-year note closed at 3.88%, which kept the widening inversion with the two-year paper in place, as the latter closed the day at 4.43%. Bond market pros see the inversion as a tell-tale recession sign.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed solidly higher to end the year. Many across Wall Street feel that the energy sector, which was one of the few winners in 2022, may be poised for another banner year. Natural gas once again closed lower at $4.44, down almost 3%, ending a bad week despite the record winter storms that blew across the United States during the Christmas holiday weekend. Gold closed higher on the day, while Bitcoin ended lower, closing out a horrific year for the cryptocurrency.

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, January 3, 2023.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Barclays downgraded the bank to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered its $40 price target to $33. The consensus target is $32.40. The stock closed on Friday at $24.45.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $176 target price. The consensus target is $177.25., and the final trade on Friday was for $165.71 a share.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the tech giant to Neutral from Outperform and has a $140 target price. The consensus target is $176.20, and shares ended Friday trading at $129.93.
Ardelyx Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX): Citigroup raised its $6 price target to $7 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $6.87. The shares closed on Friday at $2.85, which was up close to 13% on the day. The FDA granted the company’s appeal for a new drug application for its Xphozah drug.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Baird upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral. It also raised its $62 target price to $78, which is still less than the $89.00 consensus target. The stock closed at $62.84 on Friday.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): Zacks has selected this electronic signature specialist as its Bull of the Day stock, citing signs of a turnaround for this beaten-down name. The shares last closed at $55.42, which is about 19% higher than a month ago.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating on the homebuilder, which is one of the firm’s four top ideas in the space. The analyst has a $104 price target, and the consensus target is at $94.50. The stock closed on Friday at $89.14.

Enovix Corp. (NASDAQ: ENVX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $36 target price. The consensus target is $32.14. Friday’s close was at $12.44.

Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR): BofA Securities downgraded the utility giant to Neutral from Buy and cut the $135 target price to $119. The consensus target is $124.63. The stock closed on Friday at $112.50.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG): Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating with a $157 target price. The consensus target is $155.45. The shares closed on Friday at $129.52.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Citing an earnings trend that is headed in the wrong direction, Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $25.87 in the past year but closed most recently at $11.63. That is down about 16% in the past month.

Futu Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: FUTU): BofA Securities cut its Buy rating to Underperform and slashed its $59.60 target price to $27. The consensus target is $64.46 for now. The last trade for Friday was posted at $40.65, which was down a stunning 31% after it was reported that Chinese regulators said the company violated fintech laws.

iHuman Inc. (NYSE: IH): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $3.10 target price. The consensus target is $3.09. The shares ended Friday trading at $2.60, a one-day gain of over 6%.

Masonite International Corp. (NYSE: DOOR): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $115 price objective. The consensus target is $106.00. The stock closed on Friday at $80.61.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Argus downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy. Over the past 52 weeks, the chip giant’s shares have traded between $48.43 and $98.45, and they have a $64.20 consensus price target. The final trade on Friday was for $49.98 a share.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX): H.S. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating while slashing its $207 target price to $110. The consensus target is $77.67. The stock closed Friday at $10.28, up almost 6% on the day after the company said it was taking its Covid/Flu combo vaccine back to the clinic.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): The Truist Securities upgrade was from Hold to Buy with a $95 target price. The consensus target is $105.63. The stock closed on Friday at $71.22.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE): Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating on the pharmaceutical giant. Its $54 target price is shy of the $55.49 consensus target. The stock ended Friday’s session at $51.24 a share.

SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SSNC): Raymond James reiterated a Strong Buy rating with a $63 price target. The consensus target is $62.46. The stock closed on Friday at $52.06.

TG Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX): B. Riley Securities raised its $17 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $23. The consensus target is $20.11. The stock closed Friday at $11.83, up close to 14% after the FDA approved the company’s treatment for MS.

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ: QURE): Raymond James reiterated an Outperform rating with a $58 target price. The consensus target is $51.71. Friday’s close was at $22.67.

XPO Inc. (NYSE: XPO): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and chopped its $60 target price to $35. The consensus target is $54.04 for now. The last trade on Friday came in at $33.30, down over 3% for the day.

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A top Wall Street strategist feels energy could once again shine in 2023. Six outstanding energy stocks offer big and dependable dividends that could be raised this year, making them excellent total return candidates.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AMC Entertainment, CNH Industrial, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Opendoor Technologies, Tesla and TG Therapeutics.

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