The futures are trading higher after we kicked off the week with some serious selling, as all the major indexes closed down on Monday. Despite the selling, we will finish off a strong January that saw the Dow Jones industrials, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all turn in a winning month for beleaguered investors. With the Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday by at least 25 basis points, traders and investors will focus on the commentary. While rate hikes likely will continue to be lower, more should be in store, and when the federal funds rate peaks at 5.00% to 5.25% or slightly higher, it may stay there until well into 2024.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve Monday, as the bond market will be closely watching and listening to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell this week. He is expected to maintain vigilance toward inflation. With energy, copper and other commodity prices edging higher in January, the consumer price index report next month could be a negative surprise.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed lower on Monday after a strong move recently. Both major benchmarks finished the day down, even though some domestic production in the Permian Basin is expected to be shut down as the frigid weather moves into the United States from Canada this week. Profit taking also was cited for the selling.

Natural gas was almost 6% lower on the day, despite the coming cold snap, which likely will shut down production for nat gas operators as well. Gold closed flat Monday, while Bitcoin was down over 4%, surrendering some of the strong January gains for the cryptocurrency giant.

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 31, 2023.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): Susquehanna reiterated a Positive rating and lifted its $80 target price to $88. The consensus target is $91.25. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Monday at $72.45.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating but lowered its $140 target price to $130. The consensus target is $135.81. Monday’s final trade was reported at $100.55.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade was from Equal Weight to Overweight with an $82 target price. The consensus target is $80.79. The shares closed Monday at $72.88.
Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN): As Vertical Research downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it trimmed its $94 target price to $92. The consensus target is $94.82. The stock closed on Monday at $86.35.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT): Compass Point upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $125 target price. The consensus target is $114.90, and Monday’s closing share price was $109.97.

Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $40 from $33. The consensus target is $33.45. The final trade on Monday was for $33.96 a share.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR): Zacks selected this as its Bull of the Day stock. The analyst points out that it has been notably strong over the past six months, crushing the S&P 500’s performance. The shares last closed at $77.74, and the consensus target price of $102.00 would be an all-time high.

Kemper Corp. (NYSE: KMPR): Credit Suisse’s upgraded to Neutral from Underperform came with a target price lift to $56 from $44. The consensus target is $61.40. Monday’s close was at $56.82.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Sell rating and a $27 target price. The consensus target is $29.46. The stock was closed on Monday at $31.42.

Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT): The prior Hold rating at DZ Bank rose is now Buy. Its $523 target is well above the $478.81 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $460.59.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): MoffettNathanson started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $15 target. The consensus target is higher at $22.20. The shares closed on Monday at $15.55, which was down close to 4% on the day.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $28 price target. The consensus target is $23.11. The stock closed on Monday at $23.32.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the Facebook and Instagram parent. It also raised its $155 target price to $175, while the consensus target is just $156.75. Monday’s close at $147.06 was down 3% on the day.
Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): When Stifel upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold, the firm’s target price jumped to $90 from $60. The consensus target is $79.64, and Monday’s final print was $69.21, down just over 3% for the day.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Cowen changed its Market Perform rating to Outperform, and its $775 target price rose to $875. The consensus target is $808.54. The stock closed on Monday at $736.46.

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA): Credit Suisse’s downgrade was to Neutral from Outperform, though it raised the target price to $288 from $269. The consensus target is $236.60. The stock ended Monday’s session at $264.41, a drop of over 3% on the day.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Roth Capital raised its Neutral rating to Buy. Also, the firm’s $38 target price jumped to $56, well above the $42.12 consensus target. Monday’s close was at $100.00 a share.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE: SKT): Compass Point downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $21 target. The consensus target is $18.17. The stock closed on Monday at $18.56.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Though Berenberg upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, it also cut its $255 target price to $200. That is still higher than the $192.93 consensus target. Monday’s $166.66 close was down almost 7% for the day on the weak tape and after some big recent gains, after the company posted stellar results last week.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): MoffettNathanson began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $47 target price. The consensus target is $45.47. Monday’s close at $29.63 was down close to 3% on the day.

Varonis Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNS): Baird cut its Outperform rating to Neutral and has a $30 target price. The consensus target is $29.33. The stock closed 4% lower on Monday at $25.66.

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See which six high-conviction stock picks with some of the biggest dividends are safer ideas for nervous investors concerned about the economy and the stock market for the rest of the year.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Apple, Bill.com, Chewy, Etsy, Fortinet, General Mills, Las Vegas Sands, MongoDB, Steel Dynamics, Take-Two Interactive Software, Tesla and 3M.

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