The futures traded higher on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve stayed the course and raised interest 25 basis points to get the federal funds rate to 4.75% to 5.00%, the highest level since 2007. All the major indexes finished Wednesday lower on a big end-of-the-day sell-off. Most of the ongoing chatter across Wall Street remains focused on the bank contagion and liquidity crisis, which appears to be mostly contained for now.

The big concern for many is that regional and smaller banks will be tightening lending standards. That could crimp the efforts of small business, which employs about 50% of the total workforce. However, J.P. Morgan says that the next shoe to drop may be commercial real estate, as higher rates and lending standards could be a straw that breaks the camel’s back.

After two days of big moves higher, Treasury yields were lower in a big way across the curve, as bond traders keyed in on Fed Chair Powell’s press conference after the rate announcement. While we are likely closing in on the end of the rate hikes, a burst of inflation could keep them in place for longer than currently anticipated.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day higher after OPEC announced it would not be changing current production levels despite last week’s plunge in benchmark pricing. The group cut production late last year and will be staying put. Natural gas finished lower, down almost 6% at $2.20. Gold rebounded Wednesday to close up over 1.4%, while Bitcoin’s run higher ended in a big down day as the cryptocurrency giant was mauled to the tune of 3.5% and closed at $27,209.

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 23, 2023.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ: ASO): Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $80 target price. The consensus target is $75.77. The stock closed on Wednesday at $63.63.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $355 target price. The consensus target is $377.73. The shares closed at $296.24 on Wednesday.

Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE: AR): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its $31 target price to $28. The consensus target is $35.31. The stock closed almost 6% lower on Wednesday at $21.46.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $22 target price. The consensus target is just $10.11, and the stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $9.18.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF): Citing negative earnings estimate revisions, Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $119.60 in the past year but closed most recently at $71.19, which is down more than 16% year to date.

ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHPT): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $10 target price. The consensus target is up at $17.83. The stock closed on Wednesday at $8.99.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED): Argus upgraded the legacy utility to Buy from Hold. Its $104 target price is well above the $89.43 consensus target. Wednesday’s close was at $92.10.

DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DV): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Overweight from Sector Weight and has a $30 target price. The consensus target is $35.20. Wednesday’s $28.01 close was up close to 3% for the day on the upgrade.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Susquehanna raised its Neutral rating to Positive with a $275 target price. The consensus target is up at $298.85. Wednesday’s close was at $202.15.

Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE: HWM): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 price objective. The consensus target is $46.65, and shares closed on Wednesday at $40.51.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX): The prior Peer Perform rating at Wolfe Research is now at Outperform, but the $65 target price is less than the $67.56 consensus target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $55.96.

Krispy Kreme Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT): Truist Financial’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $20 from $15. The consensus target is $15.40. The stock closed up over 6% on Wednesday at $15.31.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): The KeyBanc Capital Markets upgrade was from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $240 target price. The consensus target is lower at $219.28. The final trade on Wednesday was for $199.81 a share.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB): Raymond James resumed coverage with a Strong Buy rating and a $13 price target. The consensus target is $10.57. The stock closed on Wednesday at $8.76, down almost 5% on the day.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): When Barclays upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight, its $110 target price increased to $154. The consensus target is $130.03. The stock closed on Wednesday at $119.50, which was down close to 5% for the day.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its $275 target price to $300. The consensus target of $259.23 is lower than Wednesday’s $264.68 closing price.

OpenText Corp. (NASDAQ: OTEX): Barclays resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $41 target price. The consensus target is $57.57. The stock closed over 3% lower on Wednesday at $37.04.
PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM): Wolfe Research upgraded the builder to Outperform from Peer Perform. Its $64 target price compares with a $66.09 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $55.93.

Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Neutral from Underweight. The analyst also boosted the $385 target price to $420, though the consensus target is $494.72. The stock closed on Wednesday at $428.58.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST): Loop Capital lifted its Hold rating to Buy and boosted its $105 price target to $115. The consensus target is $123.71, Wednesday’s close was at $102.61.

Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC): The B. Riley Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral came with a target price hike to $52 from $34. The consensus target is $44.63. The stock closed on Thursday at $31.99, up almost 4% on the day.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Guggenheim upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and it lifted its $120 target price to $155. The consensus target is $128.39. The last trade on Wednesday was for $128.20 a share.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO): Compass Point’s downgrade was to Sell from Neutral, and its $12 target price is now $9. The consensus target is $10.75. The shares closed at $9.03 on Wednesday.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG): Compass Point’s Neutral rating rose to Buy with a $7.50 target. The consensus target is $6.65. The final trade on Wednesday was reported at $6.03.

Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $22 target price. The consensus target is $19.50. Wednesday’s close was at $9.58.

Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG): As Guggenheim upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, it bumped its $35 target price to $36. The consensus target is $38.33. The stock closed on Wednesday at $30.87.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alphabet, Danaher, Emerson Electric, Foot Locker, GoDaddy, Harley-Davidson, Meta Platforms, New York Community Bancorp, Nvidia, Prologis, Rio Tinto, Simon Property and Vornado Realty Trust.

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