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Friday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AMC Entertainment, APA, Chewy, FirstSolar, Marathon Oil, Match, Meta, Pioneer Natural Resources, Toast and More
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The futures were trading lower, as we get ready to end a rollercoaster week for the stock market. All the major indexes finished a volatile Thursday higher, with the Nasdaq leading the way, up over 1%. While Federal Reserve Chair Powell raised rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, many took his prepared comments and his press conference follow-up as a sign that a final hike could be coming as soon as the next meeting in early May. While that could be the case, and the terminal rate ends up in the 5.10% range, it is almost a given that it could stay at the highest level since 2007 well into 2024.
Treasury yields plunged again across the curve, with the short end trading much lower while the longer 30-year bond yield was down slightly. The inversion between the benchmark 10-year note and the two-year paper remained, with the former closing at 3.41% and the latter at 3.80%. While the spread has tightened dramatically, it still signals recession is on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower on Thursday and some analysts feel that a surprise jump in growth and demand from China could be in the offing, as the spring and summer months could see a wide reopening of the country and a significant increase in demand. While few see prices returning to last summer’s highs, a solid increase from current trading levels is very possible.
Natural gas finished the day over 1% lower at $2.15, while gold continued its run back toward the $2,000 level, closing the day up almost 1.3% at $1995. Bitcoin also finished the day higher, at $28.203, up over 3%.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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, March 24, 2023.
Accolade Inc. (NASDAQ: ACCD): Guggenheim upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $16 target price. The consensus target is $13.68, and the stock ended Thursday’s session at $13.25, up over 10% on the day, likely on the upgrade.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC): Citigroup resumed coverage of the “meme superstar” with a Sell rating and a $1.60 target price. The consensus target is $2.39, and shares closed at $4.45 on Thursday.
Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: COLD): Barclays raised its Underweight rating to Equal Weight, and the $30 target price increased to $32. The consensus target is $33.65. The stock closed on Thursday at $27.05.
APA Corp. (NYSE: APA): Goldman Sachs slashed its $51 target price on the Neutral-rated shares to $33. The consensus target is $51.38. Thursday’s close was at $34.01.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $220 target price. The $232.21 consensus target is higher, and Thursday’s final trade was for $201.14 a share.
BellRing Brands Inc. (NYSE: BRBR): Truist Financial’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $40 from $25. The consensus target is $35.21. The stock ended Thursday over 6% higher to $31.95 on the upgrade.
Chewy Inc. (NASDAQ: CHWY): As Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it cut its $41 price objective to $35. The consensus target is $47.86 for now. Thursday’s $34.95 closed was down almost 8% for the day on the downgrade, despite posting solid results earlier in the week.
Coterra Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRA): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $30 target price to $27 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $30.63. The stock closed on Thursday at $23.10.
Disc Medicine Opco Inc. (NASDAQ: IRON): BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating. The firm’s $40 target compares with a $33 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $22.84, which was up almost 6% for the day on the positive initiation.
Dynatrace Inc. (NYSE: DT): Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $45 target price. The consensus target is $48.95. The shares closed at $39.41 on Thursday, up over 3% on the day.
FirstSolar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating and raised its $162 target price all the way to $230. The consensus target is $203.19. Thursday’s close was at $210.19.
HashiCorp Inc. (NASDAQ: HCP): BTIG started coverage with a Buy rating and a $37 target price. The consensus target is $36.80, and Thursday’s $29.62 closing share price was up over 5% on the day.
IDEYA Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: IDYA): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 target. The consensus target is $26.11. The stock closed on Thursday at $14.25.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH): BofA Securities bumped its $37 target price to $39 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $41.27. The shares ended Thursday at $39.57, up almost 8% on the day after posting stellar quarterly results.
Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO): Citigroup upgraded the shares from Neutral to Buy with a $27 target price. The consensus target is higher at $33.99. Thursday’s close was at $21.98.
Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. Its $65 target price compares with the $63.00 consensus target and the most recent close at $39.72.
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Citing momentum, cost cutting and a growing user base, Zacks selected this social media giant as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares most recently closed at $204.28, which is up almost 70% since the beginning of the year.
Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE: OVV): Citigroup’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy came with a target price chop to $38 from $55. The consensus target is up at $61.96. The shares closed on Thursday at $34.14.
Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Its Bear of the Day faces rising costs, leadership shakeups and other headwinds, says Zacks. Shares have traded as high as $108.53 in the past year but closed last at $77.37. That is almost 11% lower than a month ago.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD): Citigroup’s Neutral rating rose to Buy, and the $193 target price is now $210. The consensus target is still higher at $262.39. The shares closed on Thursday at $189.02.
Regency Centers Corp. (NASDAQ: REG): As Barclays boosted its Equal Weight rating to Overweight, it also nudged its $69 target price up to $70. The consensus target is $69.40. Thursday’s close was at $56.69.
Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $475 target. The consensus target is $503.00, and shares closed at $425.05 on Thursday.
Samsara Inc. (NYSE: IOT): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a price target bump to $19 from $18. The consensus target is $21.90. The stock closed on Thursday at $18.12.
Select Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: WTTR): Raymond James started coverage with a Strong Buy rating. Its $12 target price is higher than the $11.38 consensus figure. The shares closed up over 4% on Thursday at $6.27 on the initiation.
SL Green Realty Inc. (NYSE: SLG): Barclays downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight and has a $22 target. The consensus target is $37.19 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $19.96, down almost 9% for the day on the downgrade.
Talos Energy Inc. (NYSE: TALO): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and $18 target price. The consensus target is up at $27.50. The stock closed on Thursday at $13.28.
Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): Exane BNP Paribas started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $16 target price. The consensus target is $23.87. Thursday’s close was at $16.11.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns six top financial companies that benefit from higher interest rates. All have stocks rated Buy across Wall Street, pay reliable dividends to shareholders and make sense now with signs pointing to a coming recession.
Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Antero Resources, Carnival, CF Industries, ChargePoint, Enphase Energy, Howmet Aerospace, Meta Platforms, New York Community Bancorp, Nike, Nvidia, PulteGroup, Ross Stores, Spotify Technology, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Transocean and Viking Therapeutics.
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