The futures were lower as we get set to end a back-and-forth week that saw the major indexes once again finish the day higher Thursday. The first reading for fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in higher than expected at 2.9%, and Tesla earnings also surprised to the upside. However, many chalked the GDP surprise up to inventory builds, which could bring a much different result when the first quarter results are posted in April.

Treasury yields were up modestly across the curve as sellers pushed the benchmark 10-year note back up to close at 3.49%, after buyers over the past week had knocked yields back down to levels not seen since September. The stronger than expected GDP print was cited as the main reason for the backup. The two-year paper closed at 4.19%, keeping the widest inversion in years in place. Bond traders see the inversion as a recession signal.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude continued their march higher, both closing Thursday up well over 1%. Brent zeroed back in on the $90 level. The big story in the energy complex was natural gas closing below the $3 level for the first time since May of 2021, ending the day at $2.91. Worries that suppliers would be unable to meet wintertime demands around the globe have been replaced by an unseasonably warm winter and other factors leading gas prices to drop more than 70%, after printing a 14-year high of $10.03 in August. This could change fast as an early February winter blast is expected.

Gold closed lower on the day, down almost 1%, while Bitcoin, which was down big early, rallied to close just above the $23,000 level. The cryptocurrency has recouped all the losses from the FTX implosion but remains extremely volatile.

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 Friday, January 27, 2023.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $310 target price. The consensus target is $307.24. The stock closed 3% higher on Thursday at $279.24.

Alerus Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ALRS): Hovde downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform. Its $21 target price is less than the consensus target of $25. Thursday’s close at $20 was down over 11% on the day after missing earnings estimates.

Carters Inc. (NYSE: CRI): Wedbush’s downgrade was from Outperform to Neutral with a $78 target price. The consensus target is $70.71. The shares were last seen on Thursday at $80.60.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $95 target price. The consensus target is higher at $106.93. Thursday’s close at $76.00 was up over 7% for the day on the positive coverage.
DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM): Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $121 target price. The consensus target is $130.17. Thursday’s final trade was for $106.65 a share.

Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating. Its $29 target price is higher than the $25.27 consensus target. The stock closed most recently at $17.71.

FibroGen Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and has a $35 target. The consensus target is just $18.60, but the stock closed over 7% higher on Thursday at $22.11 after the upgrade.

HubSpot Inc. (NYSE: HUBS): Stifel raised its $325 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $390. The consensus target is $370.75, and the stock closed on Thursday at $357.87.

Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight came with a target price increase to $113 from $111. The consensus target is $111.13. The shares closed on Thursday at $111.80.

JFrog Ltd. (NASDAQ: FROG): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $29 target. The consensus target is $28.89. Thursday’s final trade came in at $25.96.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX): Goldman Sachs raised its $434 target price on the Buy-rated stock to $495. The consensus target is $480.13. Thursday’s closing share price was $497.75.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS): Stifel’s $60 price target on the Buy-rated gambling giant was bumped up to $66. The $55.16 consensus target is less than Thursday’s close at $58.37, which was up over 6% on the day despite earnings that lagged estimates.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $20 price target on the Buy-rated stock to $18. The consensus target is $22.50, but shares closed on Thursday at $15.36.

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $55 target price. The consensus target is $63.48. The closing share price on Thursday was $51.78.

Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ): As Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, its $72 target price dropped to $60. The consensus target is $66.45. The shares closed 3% higher on Thursday at $60.11.

Next Era Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE): The BofA Securities downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $80 from $94. That compares with a $97.30 consensus and Thursday’s close at $76.40.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC): Though Deutsche Bank lifted its Hold rating to Buy, the analyst trimmed the $273 target price to $266. That still beats the $251.92 consensus target. Thursday’s close was at $241.18.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE): UBS’s downgrade was to Neutral from Buy, and its $55 target price was reduced to $47. The consensus target is $55.20, and Thursday’s close was at $44.25.

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NYSE: PB): Janney downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral with an $80 target. The consensus target is $78. Shares ended Thursday trading at $74.77.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $325 target price to $390. The consensus target is $509.66. Thursday’s $463.07 close was up over 3% for the day.

TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TTMI): Stifel downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and has a $17 target price. The consensus target is $18.19. The stock closed over 7% lower on Thursday at $15.55 after the downgrade.

UMB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: UMBF): Janney downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy. Its $94 target compares with the $92.80 consensus target. Thursday’s close was at $87.71.

Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT): Citing a history of earnings misses and falling future earnings estimates, Zacks selected this satellite broadband provider as its Bear of the Day stock. The shares have traded as high as $52.72 in the past year but closed most recently at $34.46.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Tigress Financial lifted its Neutral rating to Buy, and its $170 target price increased to $176. The consensus target is $161.18. The stock closed on Thursday at $142.21.

Weibo Corp. (NASDAQ: WB): Zacks has named this Chinese social media stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst makes the case that emerging market valuations remain attractive and the bullish move may be just getting underway. Shares last closed at $25.02, which is almost 31% higher year to date.

Wolfspeed Inc. (NYSE: WOLF): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $115 target price. The consensus target is $96.53. After the company delivered in-line earnings and guidance below Wall Street estimates, the stock closed almost 6% on Thursday at $77.09.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Amazon.com, APA, Diamondback Energy, D.R. Horton, Enphase Energy, Fisker, Fox, Microsoft, Mobileye Global, Philip Morris International, Shoals Technologies, SunPower and Toast.

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