The futures traded up on Tuesday, after a bounce-back Monday that saw all the major indexes finish the day higher to start off the new trading week. The market got a huge boost over the weekend when UBS purchased (with the help of the Swiss National Bank) Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion. While it appears on some levels that a banking crisis has been averted, many feel that the flight from regional and smaller banks will tighten available credit and hammer small businesses, which will again fuel recession fears.

Treasury yields moved higher Monday, as sellers took advantage of some big gains after safe-haven buying had driven yields down to levels not seen in years. The plunge in the two-year yield last week was the biggest move lower since the market crash in 1987. The inversion between the two-year, which closed at 3.97, and the 10-year, which finished Monday at 3.48%, of 49 basis points is at the tightest level since last October.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished the day mixed, as the fears of a banking crisis continue to weigh on the sector, which is at the lowest level since 2021. In addition, Goldman Sachs backed away from its $100 oil price target for 2023. According to published reports, Standard Chartered blamed much of the recent downside in the sector to gamma hedging that has exacerbated the sell-off in oil futures. Natural gas closed the day 1% higher to $2.25.

Gold took a breather on Monday, closing flat after rallying almost 6% last week to close above the $2,000 level for the first time in almost a year. Bitcoin continued to soar, closing at $28,121, the highest level since June of last year.

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 21, 2023.

Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG): Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock from Sell to Hold with a $30 target. The consensus target is $41.05. The stock closed on Monday at $36.15.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $43 target price. This compares with a $47.01 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $38.55, which was up close to 4% for the day on the coverage.

Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW): Deutsche Bank lifted its Hold rating to Buy with a $60 target price. Analysts have a consensus target of $58.33. Monday’s final trade was for $51.26 a share.
East Group Properties Inc. (NYSE: EGP): When Mizuho upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, it raised its $180 target price to $185. The consensus target is $173.93. Monday’s close was at $162.01.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): Investors are done playing games with this video game stock, says Zacks of its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $142.79 in the past year but closed most recently at $113.52. That is down about 7% year to date.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Raymond James boosted its Market Perform rating to Outperform with a $225 target price. The consensus target is up at $301.16. Monday’s close was at $192.29.

ESAB Corp. (NYSE: ESAB): BofA Securities initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $63 target price. The consensus target is $67.67. The shares closed almost 3% lower on Monday at $57.56.

Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG): J.P. Morgan started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $150 target price. The consensus target is $143.80, and shares closed on Monday at $131.13.

Genius Sports Ltd. (NYSE: GENI): BTIG Research started coverage with a Buy rating and a $6 target price. The consensus target is up $7.29. Monday’s $3.99 close was down almost 12% for the day on no news we could find. The stock did recover about 4% in after-market trading.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $15 target price. The consensus target is $17.40. Monday’s close was at $14.44.

Hostess Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: TWNK): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $26 target price. The consensus target is $28.90, and shares closed at $24.54 on Monday.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB): Deutsche Bank raised its Sell rating to Hold and bumped the $122 target price to $123. The consensus target is $128.92. The stock closed on Monday at $128.48.

Lifecore Biomedical Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR): The Stephens downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a target price cut from $11 all the way to $2. The consensus target is up at $13.25. The shares surprisingly closed at $3.10, up 85% on no news we could source.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB): Deutsche Bank upgraded the chemical heavyweight to Buy from Hold. Its $100 price objective compares with a $97.40 consensus target and the most recent close at $87.14.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB): Keefe Bruyette upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and bumped its $10 target price to $11. The consensus target is $10.30. Monday’s $8.61 was up 32% on the day after the FDIC announced a transfer of Signature Bank holdings to the bank.

Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ PTLO): Stifel upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. Its $24 target is less than the $27.44 consensus target. The stock closed up almost 5% on Monday at $21.15.
PowerSchool Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PWSC): The prior Market Perform rating at Raymond James is now Outperform, but its $22 target price is less than the  $26.75 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $18.98.

Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $140 target price. The consensus target is $142.53. Monday’s close was at $118.70.

Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP): Truist Financial initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $510 price target. The consensus target is $492.75. The stock closed on Monday at $432.18.

Sea Ltd. (NYSE: SE): Zacks has named this tech conglomerate as its Bull of the Day stock, citing the earnings momentum. The shares last closed at $76.91, and the $97.95 consensus price target signals more than 27% upside potential.

Treehouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS): UBS started coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 price target. The consensus target is just $53. The stock closed almost 6% higher Monday at $48.38, though it traded down about that much in the aftermarket session on no news or data we could find.

UBS Group AG (NYSE: UBS): Societe Generale downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and has an $18.86 target price. The consensus target is $22.65. The stock closed on Monday at $18.80, which was up over 3% for the day on the deal to acquire Credit Suisse.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM): As Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, it boosted its $44 target price objective to $50. The consensus target is $48.15. Monday’s closed at $38.59 was up over 5% for the day on the upgrade.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB): Baird’s upgrade from Neutral to Outperform with a $52 target price. The consensus target is $54.61. The stock closed almost 5% higher on Monday at $34.49.

WestRock Co. (NYSE: WRK): Though Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, it also trimmed its $34 target price to $32. The consensus target is $38.22. The shares closed on Monday at $28.37, which was up close to 5% for the day after the upgrade.

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Increasing dividends show that four analyst favorite companies are doing well, making them excellent total return candidates for investors nervous about the volatility and weakening stock market.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Bill, Bumble, Dollar General, FedEx, FMC, Jabil Circuit, Microsoft, Nike, Nvidia, Sarepta Therapeutics, Shopify, Synchrony Financial, Warner Bros. Discovery and Zscaler.

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