The futures were lower after a dreadful trading day on Thursday that saw all the major indexes pummeled by 1% or more. Once again the culprit was inflation data from January that came in hotter than expected. The producer price index jumped 0.7%, versus expectations for a 0.4% increase, and the core (which excludes food and energy) jumped 0.5%, versus 0.3%. In addition, the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index dropped to −24.3, well below the −7.8 estimate.

With only one more inflation data point before the Federal Reserve meets in March, you can bet that Chair Powell and crew likely will be planning on three more 25-basis-point rate hikes, in March, May and July. That would get the funds rate to 5.25% to 5.50%, and there is no guarantee that will be enough to tamp inflation down to the 2% target level, which looks increasingly unlikely.

Treasury yields across the curve jumped higher again Thursday on the inflation data and the strong retail sales print earlier in the week. The 10-year note closed the day at 3.84%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.65% keeping the inversion between the two securities at the widest level in 40 years. Bond traders view the inversion as a precursor to recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed lower on the day, despite demand estimates from OPEC and the U.S. Energy Information Administration that were higher than expected. Natural gas also closed down almost 3%, as a nasty bout of selling over the past week followed through on Thursday. Gold closed modestly higher, while Bitcoin continued its short squeeze move higher, closing up almost 1% at $24,541.

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, February 17, 2023.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Deutsche Bank upgraded the video game giant to Buy from Hold and raised its $83 price target to $90. The consensus across is $91.43. The final trade for Thursday came in at $77.51.

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI): Goldman Sachs raised its $186 target price on the Buy-rated stock to $210. The consensus target is $206.69. The stock closed on Thursday at $193.83.

Avient Corp. (NYSE: AVNT): Oppenheimer’s upgrade was from Perform to Outperform with a $50 target price. The consensus target is $45.95. Thursday’s close was at $42.07.

Baker Hughes Co. (NASDAQ: BKR): Piper Sandler upgraded the oilfield services giant to Overweight from Neutral. It also raised its $34 target price to $43, well above the $36.95 consensus target. Thursday’s closing print was $32.26.
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Bernstein’s downgrade to Underperform from Market Perform included a target price chop to $255 from $320. The consensus target is $328.11. Thursday’s $335.01 close was down almost 15% for the day on a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP): SMBC Nikko cut its Neutral rating on the cybersecurity company to Underperform, and it trimmed its $125 price target to $120, even further below the consensus target above $136. The shares closed 3% lower on Thursday at $123.98.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): D.A. Davidson downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy, and its $60 target price is in the ballpark of the consensus target. Thursday’s $65.59 closing share price was down almost 6% for the day on the downgrade.

Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN): Truist Financial cut its $80 price target to $70 as it reiterated a Buy rating. The consensus target is $75.62. The final trade on Thursday was for $55.72 a share.

Dutch Bros Inc. (NASDAQ: BROS): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $37 target price. The consensus target is $40.67. Thursday’s close was at $39.36.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): The prior Buy rating at Deutsche Bank is now at Hold. Its $125 price target compares with a $133.16 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $111.72.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE): Travel is still hot in 2023, says Zacks, which named this stock as the Bull of the Day. Shares closed most recently at $111.53, which is up more than 23% year to date. The $133.69 consensus target suggests there is still plenty of room to run.

Fastly Inc. (NYSE: FSLY): When Craig Hallum upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold, it boosted its $9 target price to $17. The consensus target is $11.00 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $16.06, up 16% on the day after a strong quarterly report.

Generac Inc. (NASDAQ: GNRC): Canaccord Genuity’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a price target hike to $175 from $104. The consensus target is $149.11. The shares ended Thursday trading at $129.91, which was down close to 4% on the weak tape.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO): Benchmark raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $32 price objective. The consensus target is $34.51. The stock closed up 3% on Thursday at $26.78 on the positive upgrade.

Nvidia Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA): DZ Bank dropped its Buy rating to Sell with a $195 target price. The consensus target is $202.03. The stock closed well above both levels Thursday at $220.02, despite slipping over 3% on the downgrade.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight and has a $76 price target. The consensus target is $70.37. Thursday’s close was at $66.50.
RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): Evercore ISI’s downgrade was to In line from Outperform. Its $40 target price is less than the $51.23 consensus target. The stock was mauled Thursday, closing down over 23% to $37.07, despite earnings topping estimates and strong subscription revenue growth.

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU): Atlantic Equities upgraded the shares from Underweight to Neutral with a $76 target. The consensus price objective is $57.28 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $70.57, up 11% on the day after earnings beat estimates.

Seagen Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN): Evercore ISI’s upgrade to Outperform from In Line came with a target price increase to $175 from $150. The consensus target is $161.10. The shares closed up 13% on Thursday at $160.91 after earnings beat expectations.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Goldman Sachs raised its $36 target price on the Neutral-rated shares to $40. The consensus target is $44.36. The $44.91 close on Thursday was down 16% on the day after a lackluster quarterly forecast.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO): Cowen initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and has a $245 target price. The consensus target is $246.66. Thursday’s final trade was for $236.98 a share.

Tripadvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP): As Bernstein downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform, it trimmed its $28 target price to $26. The consensus target is $25.80. The stock closed almost 11% lower on Thursday at $22.57, despite better than expected quarterly results.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its $75 target price to $85. The consensus target is $79.77. The shares ended Thursday at $75.45, up almost 15% on the day after an earnings beat and strong forward guidance.

Vitesse Energy Inc. (NYSE: VTS): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $22 target price, which was a bit lower than the consensus target. The stock closed down 4% on Thursday at $17.72.

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The rally that started this year was likely of the bear market variety, and some feel we could be headed for a 20% drop. So, it makes sense for investors to take advantage of the recent increase in stock prices and shift to higher and safer ground.

Also see who the 10 most influential activist investors were last year.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Bath & Bodyworks, Chewy, Coca-Cola, DraftKings, GlobalFoundries, Marriott International, Mobileye Global, SoFi Technologies, Southwest Airlines, Tesla, Upstart and U.S. Bancorp.

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