The futures were lower after another risk-off day across Wall Street in which all the major indexes, except the Nasdaq, closed lower. Once again, trouble in the financial sector ignited the selling. This time the culprit was Credit Suisse, whose activities and practices have been scrutinized for years. After the bank’s biggest investor, Saudi National Bank, said it could provide no more capital, the stock nosedived. Credit Suisse shares have traded down 97% over the past five years, and credit default swaps show that the bank could be on the verge of a meltdown, as it is trading near the distressed zone.

Yields across the Treasury curve plunged again as investors rushed once more into the safe-haven security of government debt. The five-year note yield was down 22 basis points, while the benchmark 10-year note yield fell 15 basis points. Note that bond prices trade higher when yields fall. The two-year note once again was the center of attention, and buying as the yield dropped a remarkable 33 basis points to close at 3.89%, the lowest since last September.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude plunged Wednesday, down 3.90% and 4.35%, respectively, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that for the March 10 period the oil inventories reported a 1.6 million barrel build. This came as gasoline inventories for that same period fell 2.1 million barrels. Natural gas was a loser as well, closing down almost 4% at $2.43.

Gold was the big winner, along with the government bonds, as scared investors ran for the safety of the bullion. The spot price spiked almost 1% on the day to close at $1919. Bitcoin, however, was lower Wednesday, after a big move higher recently. The cryptocurrency closed down 1.2% at $24,460.

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 Thursday, March 16, 2023.

Apartment Income REIT Corp. (NYSE: AIRC): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the shares from Underperform to Market Perform with a $39 target price. The consensus target is $41.50. The stock was closed at $36.18 Wednesday.

Aris Water Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ARIS): Goldman Sachs lowered its $21 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $15. The consensus target is $16.55. The stock closed 10% lower on Wednesday at $8.60.

Azul S.A. (NYSE: AZUL): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Equal Weight from Underweight included a target price bump from $6.00 to $8.60. The consensus target is up at $13.42. Wednesday’s closing share price was $7.31.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW): Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral, but it also lowered its $81.50 target price to $67.50. The consensus target is $85.72. Wednesday’s $59.55 close was up 5% for the day on the upgrade.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating, but its $68 target price is much lower than the $80.91 consensus target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $44.83.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $175 target price. The consensus target is $157.27. The stock closed on Wednesday at $147.76.

Everbridge Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG): Citing rising earnings estimates that suggest big growth this year, Zacks has named this secure messaging provider as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares closed Wednesday at $31.97, and the consensus price target was last seen at $34.40.

FinVolution Group (NYSE: FINV): Citigroup’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $5.08 from $5.68. The consensus target is $6.53. Wednesday’s $3.83 close was down 15% on the day after the downgrade and announced management changes.

Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG): Jefferies maintained a Hold rating with a $39 target price. The consensus is up at $52.00. The last trade on Wednesday was for $39.25 a share.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): Daiwa Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $444 price target. The consensus target is $483.95. The stock closed on Wednesday at $406.32.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY): The Zacks Bear of the Day must battle the headlines as it tries to assert its investment and balance sheet positives, says the analyst. The stock has traded as high as $24.62 in the past year, but it closed most recently at $11.75. That is down about 39% in the past month.

Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLU): Goldman Sachs lowered its $5 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $4.30. The consensus target is $6.53. The stock closed on Wednesday at $2.48, up 18% on the day after solid results.

Luna Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: LUNA): Northland Capital’s downgrade was from Outperform to Market Perform with an $8 target price. The consensus target is $10.13 for now. The stock closed 32% lower on Wednesday at $6.50, despite a solid quarterly report.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Stifel raised its price target to $230 from $210. The consensus target is $213.06. The shares closed on Wednesday at $197.95.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $280 target price. The consensus target is $285.89. The shares closed on Wednesday at $265.44.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $415 target price is well above the $357.09 consensus target. Wednesday’s closing print of $303.79 up 3% on the day.
Orchard Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: ORTX): Stifel raised its $4 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $22. The consensus target is $21.60. The $5.20 closing price on Wednesday was down over 3% for the day.

Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP): When UBS downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, it slashed its $100 target price to $57. The consensus target is $79.60. The stock closed on Wednesday at $51.72, down close to 3% for the day on the downgrade.

Q2 Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: QTWO): Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, and its $60 price target dropped to $25, below the $36.17 consensus target. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $23.18.

Reinsurance Group of America Inc. (NYSE: RGA): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Sell included a target price hike to $158 from $133. The consensus target is $159.27. Wednesday’s $124.83 close was down over 4% on the day.

ShockWave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SWAV): Needham initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $240 target price. The consensus target is $241. Shares closed on Wednesday at $201.61.

Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC): Citigroup’s upgrade was from Neutral to Buy with a $52 target price. The consensus target is $52.15. Wednesday’s close was at $32.10.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM): When Citigroup raised its Neutral rating to Buy, the target price rose to $53 from $49. The consensus target is $47.85. The stock closed on Wednesday at $37.86, down almost 5% on the day with the weak tape.

Vacasa Inc. (NASDAQ: VCSA): Goldman Sachs lowered its $2.75 target price on the Neutral-rated stock to $1.75. The consensus target is $3.89. The shares closed on Wednesday at $0.98.

W.R Berkley Corp. (NYSE: WRB): Though BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it also trimmed its $77 target price to $76. The consensus target is $82.45. Wednesday’s close was at $60.30.

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With an expected surge in oil demand on the horizon and the markets pulling back due to the recent banking crisis, seven blue-chip energy leaders with big and dependable dividends look like outstanding ideas for investors now.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Academy Sports and Outdoors, Asana, Charles Schwab, Estee Lauder, General Electric, GitLab, Home Depot, Match, Ovintiv, SoFi Technologies and United Airlines.

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