The futures traded lower after a down day for the major indexes across Wall Street. They ended lower, except for the S&P 500, which squeaked out a small gain.

The floodgates have officially opened for S&P 500 companies’ first-quarter earnings results. So far, some of the earnings, especially for the financials, have been solid, but note that estimates and expectations have been moved so much lower over the past 6 to 8 weeks that some companies are beating expectations that would be dreadful in a normal year. In addition, there is plenty of concern about margins continuing to be compressed and earnings estimates being revised much lower. Plus, the futures market is pricing in a 90% chance for another rate hike in early May.

Treasury yields across the curve were modestly lower Monday, after some serious selling across the board over the past few sessions. The yields on the 10-year note closed at 3.57%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.20%. The inversion between the two continues to widen, after a period of compression in March following the Silicon Valley Bank implosion. The bond market views the inversion as a precursor to recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed slightly higher after a 2% pullback to start off the week. While oil demand predictions for the year are all over the board, one thing is certain: we are only about six weeks from the beginning of the summer driving and vacation season. With airfare prices skyrocketing, many Americans may be driving to summer destinations this year. Natural gas was a winner again on Tuesday, closing up almost 5% to $2.38.

Gold rallied back above the $2,000 mark on Tuesday and closed at $2,006. Bitcoin, which was demolished to start the week, was up 3% to close at $30,351. The cryptocurrency has been very volatile, after a massive 2023 move higher.

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 Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Align Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $375 target price to $390. The consensus target is $337.60. Tuesday’s final trade was for $348.05 a share.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Citigroup lowered its $150 price target on the Buy-rated insurance giant to $138. The consensus target is $140.7. The shares closed on Tuesday at $114.14.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating, but it trimmed its $130 price objective to $125. The consensus target is $132.94. Tuesday’s close was at $102.30.
Bath & Bodyworks Inc. (NYSE: BBWI): This year will be a tough one for its Bear of the Day stock, says Zacks. Shares of the personal care company have traded as high as $58.17 in the past year but closed most recently at $35.36. That is down about 16% year to date.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT): Goldman Sachs lowered its $134 target price on the Neutral-rated stock to $120. The consensus target is $133.10. The stock closed on Tuesday at $105.95.

CION Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: CION): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a target price cut from $10.50 to $9.25, the same as the consensus target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $128.73.

Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: CLB): BofA Securities downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform with a $21.50 target price. The consensus target is $23.19. The stock closed on Tuesday at $22.00.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR): When Wells Fargo boosted its Equal Weight rating to Overweight, its target price rose to $285 from $275. The consensus target is up at $300.30, and shares closed on Tuesday at $256.14.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD): The $29 target price at Barclays is now $30, and the firm’s Overweight rating remains. The consensus target is $31.80. The shares closed on Tuesday at $27.01.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $612 target price. The consensus target is $602.76. Tuesday’s close was at $512.68.

Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA): BofA Securities hiked its $165 target price to $170 and kept its Buy rating. The consensus target is $162.64. The stock closed at $136.75 on Tuesday.

Lovesac Co. (NASDAQ: LOVE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $60 target price compares with a $52.50 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $29.87, which was up almost 4% on the day after positive analyst commentary.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight came with a target price cut from $153 to $135. The consensus target is $153.00. The stock closed on Tuesday at $129.06.

Merus N.V. (NASDAQ: MRUS): Stifel raised its $34 target price to $44 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is $40.60. Tuesday’s $20.45 close came after a 14% plunge in the wake of clinical data.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM): Truist Financial raised its $54 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $57. The consensus target is $54.51. The stock closed at $44.59 on Tuesday.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): TD Cowen reiterated an Outperform rating, and the analyst raised the $285 target price to $300. The consensus target is $296.76, and Tuesday’s closing print was $288.37.

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB): Argus upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy with a $150 target price, which is less than the consensus target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $125.73.

NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. (NYSE: NEX): BofA Securities downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform with an $8.50 target price. The consensus target is $14.82. The stock closed on Tuesday at $8.15.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating, and its $150 target price is well above the $135 consensus target. Tuesday’s last trade was for $126.21 a share.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating with a $105 target price, after raising its revenue estimates for the company. The consensus target is just $93.45. The stock closed on Tuesday at $77.81.

PTC Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT): The $60 Truist Financial target price on the Buy-rated shares was raised to $65. The consensus target is just $51.21, below Tuesday’s close at $52.96.

Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD): Zacks selected this precious metals royalties firm as its Bull of the Day stock, citing the bullishness of analysts. Shares last closed at $139.47, which is almost a 24% gain since the beginning of the year.

Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ: OLED): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $160 target price increased to $180, even higher than the $153.38 consensus target. The shares closed on Tuesday at $143.30.

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Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boston Scientific, General Motors, JPMorgan Chase, Match, Moderna, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, Snap, Uber Technologies and Wells Fargo.

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