The futures traded higher on Tuesday, after an incredible tug-of-war on Monday that saw all the major indexes plunge on the open only to rally in the afternoon and then ultimately close lower. The Nasdaq was the exception, as it finished the day well off the morning lows. The Federal Reserve stepped into the Silicon Valley Bank mess to backstop bank clients in an attempt to keep the banking system on an even keel in what amounted to a bailout. In the meantime, regulators seized Signature Bank, which became the third largest bank to ever to fail, behind Silicon Valley Bank and Washington Mutual bank in 2008.

Treasury yields plunged again on Monday, especially on some of the shorter maturities, as investors rushed into the safe-haven trade of U.S. government securities. The two-year short paper saw its yield freefall a stunning 57 basis points to close at 4.02%. This after trading over 5% last week. The 10-year benchmark note finished the day at 3.52%, down 18 basis points. While the inversion between the two-year and 10-year notes has tightened by a 50 basis points over the past week, it still signals that a recession could be on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were hit Monday, with the former closing down almost 3%. The overall volatility in the stock market was a big factor in the decline, after both benchmarks closed Friday very strongly. Natural gas finished the day up modestly at $2.62.

Gold and Bitcoin were huge winners Monday, as investors bid the bullion up 2.5% to $1,913 in another investors’ safe haven move. Not to be outdone, Bitcoin, which has dropped 20% in the past three weeks, closed up a stunning 9.1% at $24,234. Analysts cited the Silicon Valley Bank assistance as the big reason for the jump.

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, March 14, 2023.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): BofA Securities lowered its $28 target price on the Underperform-rated shares to $25. The consensus target is $35.65. Monday’s final trade was reported at $23.05, which was down 11% for the day on the banking turmoil.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Though Wells Fargo upgraded the legacy biotech giant to Overweight from Equal Weight, it also trimmed its $275 target price to $265. The consensus target is $258.76, and the stock closed on Monday at $233.18.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): Zacks suggests its Bull of the Day is set to break into the AI market and revenue growth could accelerate by double digits. Shares last closed at $133.65, and the consensus price target of $179.48 would be a 52-week high.
Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $28 target price. The consensus target is $27.30. Monday’s $21.10 close was up almost 7% for the day on the upgrade.

Bill Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $125 target price. The consensus target is higher at $139.86, but the stock closed on Monday at $73.82. That was up 8% on the day, after the company’s exposure to bank issues in California were seen as not a problem.

Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $94 target price. The consensus target is $92.80, and the stock closed on Monday at $73.59.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Though Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating, the firm lowered its $84 target price to $70. The shares traded near $185 a year ago but closed most recently at $59.17. That was a one-day gain of 11% due to the surge in Bitcoin on Monday.

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY): When Wells Fargo lifted its Equal Weight rating to Overweight, it also raised its $360 target price to $375. The consensus target is $380.13. The shares closed up 3% on Monday at $324.49.

GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC): Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $90 target price, the same as the consensus target. The shares finished Monday at $76.24.

Genius Sports Ltd. (NASDAQ: GENI): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $7 target price. The consensus target is $7.50, and the shares closed on Monday at $4.24.

Hercules Capital Inc. (NYSE: HTGC): Keefe Bruyette’s downgrade to Underperform from Market Perform included a target price cut to $10.50 from $14.50. The consensus target is $16.22 for now. Monday’s close at $11.56 was down 6% for the day on the downgrade and capital concerns.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform. Its $476 price target is less than the $483.95 consensus target. Monday’s closing print was $391.56.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight. Its $148 target price increased to $155, but that is still less than the $158.37 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $131.25.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK): The Overweight rating at Wells Fargo was cut to Equal Weight, and the $120 target price dropped to $115. That compares with a $119.75 target and Monday’s $105.73 closing share price.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): TD Cowen’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform came with a target price hike to $180 from $150. The consensus target is up at $224.50. The stock closed 7% higher on Monday at $147.90.
Newmont Corp. (NYSE: NEM): When Canaccord Genuity upgraded the giant miner to Buy from Hold, it also bumped the $53 target price up to $55. The consensus target is higher at $68.73. Monday’s close at $45.12 was up over 7% for the day on a big spike in gold pricing.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the cybersecurity software giant. Its $225 target price compares with a consensus target of $221.71 and Monday’s close at $185.90.

Sage Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SAGE): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform and lifted its $40 target price to $60. The consensus target is $57.61 for now. Monday’s final trade was reported at $43.22, which was up over 9% for the day on no news we could source.

Target Hospitality Corp. (NASDAQ: TH): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $22 target price. The consensus target is $21.33. The shares ended Monday trading at $16.71.

Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC): Baird’s upgrade was from Neutral to Outperform with a $53 target price. The consensus target is $52.45. The stock closed almost 17% lower on Monday at $32.24 due to the banking panic.

Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX): Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating with a $28 target price. The consensus target is just $19.22, and Monday’s close was at $10.58.

Wix.com Ltd (NASDAQ: WIX): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $110 target price. The consensus target is $105.94. The shares closed on Monday at $86.11.

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The time for aggressive stock investors to strike is when the proverbial blood is in the streets, and now may be that time. Six top banks should be able to navigate current troubles easily, and their stocks look like smart ideas for these investors. Warren Buffett is a big fan of three of them.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Arista Networks, Array Technologies, Ballard Power Systems, Caterpillar, Charles Schwab, Chewy, Coterra Energy, DocuSign, Gap, General Electric, KeyCorp, Marathon Petroleum, Marvell Technology, Roblox, Shoals Technologies, SunPower and Sunrun.

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