The futures were lower, as Wall Street returns from the long holiday weekend after a shortened trading week that saw the major indexes close higher last Thursday. With the March jobs report out of the way, which actually came in above estimates on Friday, all eyes will turn to earnings reports, which begin in earnest this week with the financial giants on Friday.

Analysts will be watching closely for how companies performed during the first quarter and likely will be even more keen to get direction and guidance for the second quarter and the balance of the year. You can bet that lousy numbers and bad forecasts could trigger some big selling.

After a week of buying that drove yields down across the Treasury curve, yields were flat to slightly higher on Friday, as the bond market was open. The two-year note saw its first move higher in six sessions, closing the week at 3.99%, after hitting the lowest level last week since September of last year. The benchmark 10-year closed at 3.29%. The 70-basis-point inversion still suggests recession is on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed modestly higher on Friday, after a solid week that saw both jump 6% on the OPEC production cut. Toss in some big inventory draws, and the black gold may be set up for a strong move higher. Natural gas was a loser, closing down almost 7% at $2.01.

Gold finished the day slightly lower, after a strong week that saw the bullion finish back over the $2,000 level at $2,018. Central banks around the world keep buying gold, following on last year’s record buying, where banks bought gold at the fastest pace since 1967. Bitcoin closed up at $27,933.

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 Monday, April 10, 2023.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): UBS reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its $120 target price to $123. The consensus target is $125.16. Thursday’s close was at $108.42, which was up almost 4% on the day.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but cut its $135 target price to $125. The consensus target is $133.58. The stock ended Thursday trading at $102.06.

Ambarella Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA): Imperial Capital upgraded the shares to Outperform from In Line. Its $95 target price is less than the consensus target of $98.79. Thursday’s close was at $71.03.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating but lifted its $158 target price to $168. The consensus target is $170.29. The shares closed on Thursday at $164.66.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Raymond James upgraded the bank to Strong Buy from Outperform. Yet it also cut its $84 target price to $57, below the $68.96 consensus target. The shares closed up over 3% on Thursday at $41.28.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is up at $102.38. The shares ended last week at $65.83.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): The Raymond James upgrade was to Outperform from Market Perform. Its $285 price target is well above the consensus target of $243.46. The stock closed on Thursday at $232.10.

Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE): Goldman Sachs lifted its Sell rating to Neutral, and its $182 price target jumped to $283. The consensus target is $281.77. The stock closed most recently at $271.94.

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day is an undervalued emerging market stock poised to continue its strong momentum. The shares last closed at $8.82 and have a consensus price target of $10.75, which represents almost a 22% gain.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the chip equipment giant to Neutral from Outperform. Its $435 target price compares with a $432.05 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $374.66.

Leslie’s Inc. (NASDAQ: LESL): Loop Capital upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy with a $16 price target. The consensus target is $16.71. Thursday’s close was at $10.95.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): Wedbush reiterated a Neutral rating, but the analyst slashed the $103 target price to $52. The consensus target is $55.44, and Thursday’s close was at $52.56.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): When J.P. Morgan downgraded the shares Neutral from Overweight, it cut its $60 target price to $46. The consensus target is $55.17. The stock closed on Thursday at $43.67, down over 5% for the day on the downgrade.

New Relic Inc. (NYSE: NEWR): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is $82. The shares closed on Thursday at $73.79.
Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Raymond James started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $33 target price. The consensus target is $29.49, and t stock closed on Thursday at $28.25.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ: POOL): Loop Capital lifted its Hold rating to Buy, and its $395 target price rose to $415. The consensus is $395.70. Shares ended last week at $326.26.

Pure Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSTG): Wedbush upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. Its $34 target price is less than the $35.68 consensus target, but the closing price on Thursday was $25.62 a share.

Qorvo Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO): Stifel initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $110 target price. The consensus target is $106.73. The shares ended Thursday trading at $94.37.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): Stifel started coverage with a Buy rating and a $150 target price. The consensus target is $125.85. Thursday’s final trade was for $111.35 a share.

Toast Inc. (NASDAQ: TOST): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $20 target price. The consensus target is $23.25. Thursday’s final trade was recorded at $16.55.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Though Raymond James upgraded the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform, it lowered its $52 target price to $47. The consensus target is $51.34. The stock closed on Thursday at $37.90.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $81 from $70. The consensus target is $82.28. The stock closed on Thursday at $71.55.

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Seven top value stocks of blue chip leaders that pay outsized dividends are well suited for growth and income investors during what could be an ugly rest of the spring and summer.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Amgen, Arista Networks, Bloom Energy, ConocoPhillips, Fastenal, Livent, On Holding, Palo Alto Networks, SLM, UnitedHealth, Vici Properties and Zions Bancorp.

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