The futures were trading mixed on the final day of the first quarter of 2023. Despite the volatility, investors were rewarded with solid gains for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to start off 2023, and all the major indexes closed higher Thursday. The song remains the same, as fears of financial contagion have settled, massive buying of big-tech stocks by the major institutions continues, and while the expectations for a Federal Reserve pivot any time soon are starting to fade, especially with “sticky inflation” stubbornly remaining, all eyes are turning to first-quarter earnings reporting, which is just over a week away.

Treasury yields were modestly lower across the curve Thursday as some buyers returned. We likely could see some big shuffling in the government securities complex, as portfolio managers scramble to do quarter-end window dressing. The two-year and 10-year inversion widened again, as the short paper closed at 4.12% and the other closed at 3.55%. The inversion continues to suggest a recession is coming, and many think it will be a third-quarter 2023 event.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day higher, after OPEC delegates said that current production cuts will remain. That likely will be formally announced on Monday when the cartel meets. While prices have rebounded nicely, both Brent and WTI are below where they were trading when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Natural gas, which has been under pressure, closed at $2.10.

Gold rebounded Thursday, after a couple of days of profit-taking earlier in the week. The bullion closed up 0.85% at $1,982, while Bitcoin, which has been on fire since the beginning of the year, finished the day 1.2% lower at $28,019.

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 Friday, March 31, 2023.

AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $74 target price. The consensus target is $77.29. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $55.36 a share.

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT): MoffettNathanson upgraded the cell tower giant to Outperform from Market Perform and trimmed its $244 target price to $234. The consensus target is $242.87, and shares closed on Thursday at $201.21.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW): Morgan Stanley lowered its $99 target price to $68 as it downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight. The consensus target is $82.49. The stock closed 5% lower on Thursday at $52.47 after the downgrade.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $157 target price. The consensus target is $151.22. The shares closed almost 5% higher on Thursday at $125.06 on the initiation.
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI): When MoffettNathanson downgraded the shares to Outperform Weight from Market Perform, it trimmed its $161 target price to $155. The consensus target is $157.78. Thursday’s close was at $132.55.

DiamondRock Hospitality Co. (NYSE: DRH): Though Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight, it also trimmed its $10.50 target price to $9. The consensus target is $10.18, and the stock closed at $7.80 on Thursday.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $28 target price. The consensus target is $24.14. Thursday’s close was at $18.91.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Goldman Sachs lowered its $329 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $295, the same as the consensus target. The stock closed on Thursday at $205.27.

Fluence Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNC): Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. It also bumped its $25 target price up to $29, above the $26 consensus target. Thursday’s $18.64 close was up almost 15% for the day on the upgrade and positive corporate news.

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB): SMBC Nikko initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $37 price target. The consensus target is $50.38, and Thursday’s closing print was $33.01.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN): Barclays resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $125 target. The consensus target is $142.04. The stock closed on Thursday at $103.14.

Globus Medical Inc. (NYSE: GMED): Canaccord Genuity’s upgrade was from Hold to Buy with a $67 target price. The consensus target is $67.17. Thursday’s close at $55.71 was up over 4% on the day.

Holley Inc. (NYSE: HLLY): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating and a $5 target price. The consensus target is $3.91. The stock closed almost 13% higher on Thursday at $2.64 after the upgrade.

Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG): BofA Securities lifted its Neutral rating to Buy, and its $38 target price is now $40. The consensus target is $40.50. The stock closed on Thursday at $36.46.

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line and lifted the $34 target price to $38. The consensus target is $36.07. The shares closed on Thursday at $34.04.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX): Canaccord Genuity upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold. The target price increased from $124 to $132, above the $126.62 consensus target. Thursday’s closing print was $99.21.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX): Stifel raised its $119 price target to $122 while keeping a Hold rating. The consensus target is $122.66. The stock closed on Thursday at $113.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral included a price objective hike to $116 from $109. The consensus target is $113.38. The stock closed on Thursday at $96.62.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG): TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $150 price target. The consensus target is $147.22. Thursday’s last trade was reported at $134.85.

RH (NYSE: RH): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a target price of $227. The consensus target is higher at $311, and the stock closed at $237.63 on Thursday.

SBA Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: SBAC): MoffettNathanson upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform. Yet, it trimmed its $330 target price to $312, below the $325.33 consensus target. The stock closed on Thursday at $257.20.

Shoals Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Neutral from Sell, and its target price increased to $22 from $20. The consensus target is $31.36. The last trade on Thursday was for $22.32 a share, which was up over 3% for the day on the upgrade.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO): Morgan Stanley cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight with a $70 target price. The consensus target is $59.77. The stock closed on Thursday at $75.77.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN): Goldman Sachs lowered its $37 target price on the Buy-rated stock to $27. The consensus target is $41.18. Thursday’s close was at $18.85.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM): TD Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $200 target. The consensus target is just $168.31. The stock ended Thursday trading at $161.53.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, Carnival, Deere, Delta Air Lines, DexCom, Enovix, First Republic Bank, GitLab, Hartford Financial Services, Interpublic Group, Invesco, Lululemon Athletica, Macy’s, Marathon Petroleum, Medtronic, Micron Technology, Nextracker, Viking Therapeutics and Vipshop.

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