The futures were mixed, approaching the end of a solid week for stocks after some positive inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday. All the major indexes closed higher Thursday, with the inflation data clearly the strongest tailwind. Wall Street now turns its focus to first-quarter earnings, with the major money center banks dropping earnings reports today, and an onslaught of S&P 500 companies start reporting next week. Earnings growth is expected to decline for the second quarter in a row.

Yields were modestly higher across the Treasury curve Thursday, despite the encouraging producer price index (PPI) results. It was reported that the PPI numbers had the steepest decline in three years and have been less than the headline consumer price index print in 10 of the past 11 months. That could indicate why many of the issues that were backing up supply chains over the last year are dissipating.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both down over 1% on Thursday after OPEC reported inventories were less tight now than a year ago. Note that the spot prices for the two benchmarks are back near the highest levels since November. Also note that the nearly 12% drop in gasoline price last month contributed to the positive inflation prints, and that looks poised to change in April as prices have moved solidly higher. Natural gas closed down 3.8% at $2.01.

Gold rallied big for the second day in a row, finishing up over 1.25% at $2,041 and closing in on all-time highs printed in 2020 and last year. Bitcoin also surged almost 2% higher Thursday, closing over $30,000 at $30,465.

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, April 14, 2023.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): Valuation of the Zacks Bull of the Day stock may be intriguing as Elon Musk pursues a 51% stake, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $12.95 apiece, which is down about 34% in the past 90 days.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and has a $245 target price. The consensus target is $232.21. The shares finished the day at $196.31 on Thursday.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $770 target price. The target is just $687.32. The closing share price on Thursday was $624.24.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): Scotiabank’s upgrade to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform included a target price bump to $200 from $195. The consensus target of $144.68 is much lower than Thursday’s close at $172.13.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP): Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $72 target price. The consensus target is $84.19 for now. The stock closed 16% higher on Thursday at $50.56 after the upgrade and additional positive commentary.

DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): Exane BNP Paribas lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral with a $17 target price. The consensus target is $24.14. The shares closed on Thursday at $19, which was up over 2% for the day.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): HSBC Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $271 price target. The consensus target is $292.06. Thursday’s $209.69 close was up almost 7% on the day after numerous bullish analyst calls.

EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG): Though Scotiabank upgraded the shares to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform, it also trimmed its $150 target price to $145. The consensus target is $144.68. The stock closed on Thursday at $121.28.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): The Sector Outperform rating at Scotiabank dropped to Sector Perform, and the analyst trimmed the $140 target price to $135. The consensus target is $128.09. Thursday’s final trade was for $115.77 a share.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy but raised its $190 target price to $230. The consensus target is $209.44. Thursday’s close was at $211.26.

Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $80 target price compares with a $74.50 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $66.22, which was up almost 5% on the positive commentary.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HTZ): This vehicle rental giant was selected as the Bear of the Day at Zacks, which cited the departure of the chief financial officer as a red flag. Shares have traded as high as $24.35 in the past year but closed most recently at $15.68.

LSB Industries Inc. (NYSE: LXU): The Jefferies downgrade to Hold from Buy came with a price target cut in half to $10 from $20. The consensus target is $18.24. The stock closed almost 5% lower on Thursday at $9.53 after the downgrade.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB): Jefferies downgraded the chemical heavyweight to Hold from Buy. Its $113 price objective was cut to $90, below the $99.15 consensus figure. Shares closed on Thursday at $96.06.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD): Oppenheimer raised its $304 target price to $315 while keeping a Buy rating and calling the stock a top pick at the firm. The consensus target is $296.61. The shares closed on Thursday at $289.07.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK): Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and boosted its $105 target price to $121. The consensus target is $118.96. The stock closed on Thursday at $115.63.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): Goldman Sachs raised its $215 target price on the Buy-rated stock to $245. The consensus target is $224.64. The shares closed on Thursday at $220.35, up just shy of 3% for the day.
Primerica Inc. (NYSE: PRI): Raymond James initiated coverage with a Strong Buy rating and a $244 target price. The consensus target is just $188.20, and Thursday’s close was at $177.74.

PubMatic Inc. (NASDAQ: PUBM): B. Riley Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price objective. The consensus target is $18.15. Thursday’s $14.55 close was up over 5% for the day on the coverage.

Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RETA): Stifel raised its $105 target price to $115 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $114.70. On Thursday, the stock closed at $96.01.

RxSight Inc. (NASDAQ: RXST): Oppenheimer started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $23 target price. The consensus target is $20.50. Thursday’s close at $17.87 was up over 3% on the day.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $65 target price. The consensus target is $49.48. Thursday’s final trade was for $45.73 a share.

SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG): HSBC Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $418 target price. The consensus target is $366.40. Thursday’s $306.89 close was up almost 8% for the day on the upgrade and positive sentiment for the industry.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO): Citigroup’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. Its $40 target price is now $42, while the consensus target is $39.00. The stock closed at $35.10 on Thursday.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): As BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral, it bumped its $14 target to $15. The consensus target is $18.01. Thursday’s close at $14.04 was over a 7% gain for the day on the upgrade and positive commentary.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE): Morgan Stanley’s Equal Weight rating rose to Overweight and its target price to $120 from $105. The consensus target is $99.89. The stock closed on Thursday at $103.15.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alcoa, Archer Daniels Midland, Bill, Block, Confluent, Dow, Foot Locker, Huntsman, Las Vegas Sands, LyondellBasell Industries, Raytheon Technologies, Realty Income, Shopify and Wheaton Precious Metals.

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