The futures were lower, after a back-and-forth trading day Wednesday that saw the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 end lower while the Nasdaq finished modestly higher. The song remains the same across Wall Street, as quarterly reports for the top S&P 500 companies continue to roll in. While earnings are the main attraction now, Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the debt limit discussions, as lower tax revenues could bring the deadline for raising the debt limit to prevent default to June from later in the summer.

The continued rise in Treasury yields across the curve was one of the biggest headwinds for the market on Wednesday, as the two-year yield closed at 4.25% and is up over 50 basis points in less than a month. The benchmark 10-year note also sold off and closed the day at 3.60%, keeping the inversion between the two in place. Bond traders see this inversion as a sign that a recession may be coming.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day lower despite a big drawdown in crude inventories for the period ending April 14 of 4.6 million barrels. Natural gas also closed the day down over 6% to $2.20, after a strong move higher this week on unseasonably cold weather across parts of the United States.

Gold also took it on the chin Wednesday, after a solid run higher over the past month. The bullion finished the day down less than half a percent to close at $1,996. Bitcoin was battered as well, down a stunning 3.8% to close at $29,222.

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 Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Alliant Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: LNT): Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and boosted its $58 target price to $61. The consensus target is $57.25, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $55.29.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): J.P. Morgan reiterated an Overweight rating and lifted its $170 target price to $190. The consensus target is $170.50. Wednesday’s final trade was for $167.63 a share.

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK): Bernstein initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $38 target price. The consensus target is $43.99. The stock closed on Wednesday at $35.12.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC): When UBS reiterated a Buy rating, it bumped its $34 target price to $36. Citigroup reiterated a Neutral rating and cut its $38 target price to $33, while Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and its prior $44 target price is now $47. The consensus target is $35.95. Its stock closed on Wednesday at $30.06, despite posting solid results.
Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is $103.79. Wednesday’s close was at $85.59.

CDW Corp. (NYSE: CDW): The BofA Securities downgrade was to Neutral from Buy. The analyst cut the $240 target price to $200, below the consensus target of $215.11. The stock closed down over 13% on Wednesday at $165.12 after pre-announced sales figures were way below estimates.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $212 target price. The consensus target is  $191.42. The stock closed on Wednesday at $170.68.

Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG): UBS started coverage with a Buy rating and a $177 target price. The consensus target is $173.63. The stock closed on Wednesday at $143.67.

Extreme Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR): Craig Hallum cut its Buy rating to Hold and its $22 target price to $17.50. The consensus target is $21.93 for now. Wednesday’s $16.12 close was down over 12% on the day, likely on the downgrade.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM): UBS’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $144 from $125. The consensus target is $128.04. Wednesday’s close was at $116.57.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN): Baird upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral, and its $130 price target rose to $156, well above the $140.21 consensus figure. Wednesday’s close was at $109.99.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS): J.P. Morgan reiterated an Overweight rating but lowered its target price to $415 from $430. Morgan Stanley reiterated an Equal Weight rating and lifted its $329 target price to $337. Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating, and its price target slipped to $437 from $440. The consensus target is $384.61. Wednesday’s close at $336.89.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY): Citing its underperformance relative to its peers and the broader market, Zacks named this regional bank as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $22.13 in the past year but closed most recently at $12.38. That is down about 29% year to date.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC): Zacks selected this Ohio-based refiner as its Bull of the Day stock. The shares last closed at $126.39, and the consensus target of $151.80 would be an all-time high.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $230 target price to $250. The consensus target is $225.91, and shares closed on Wednesday at $215.70.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): The upgrade at UBS to Buy from Neutral came with a target price boost to $390 from $350. The consensus target is $356.80. The stock closed on Wednesday at $323.12.

Nvidia Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating, and it lifted its $310 target price to $340. The consensus target is $287.30. Wednesday’s close at $279.31.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $238 target price. The consensus target is $256.91. The stock closed at $227.31 on Wednesday.

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Sector Perform from Outperform. It also halved its $28 target price to $14, well below the $26.80 consensus target. Wednesday’s $12.82 close was down close to 4% for the day, likely on the downgrade.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB): UBS raised its Neutral rating to Buy from and its price target from $48 to $66. That compares with a $64.23 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $52.63.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating, but the firm trimmed its $138 target price to $131. The consensus target is $112.34. Wednesday’s close at $107.16.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): While RBC Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating, it also trimmed its $223 target price to $217. The consensus target is $197.13. The stock closed on Wednesday at $180.59.

Topgolf Calloway Brands Corp. (NYSE: MODG): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Overweight rating, but its $27 target price is less than the $33.54 consensus target. The shares closed on Wednesday at $22.83.

Trex Co. Inc. (NYSE: TREX): As BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform, its $47 target price rose to $54. The consensus target is $56.72. The shares closed Wednesday at $54.52.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Gordon Haskett lifted its Accumulate rating to Buy and its $155 target price to $165. The consensus target is $163.99. The stock closed on Wednesday at $150.01.

Western Alliance Bancorp. (NYSE: WAL): Wedbush’s upgrade to Outperform from Neutral included a target price hike to $50 from $38. The consensus target is $57.46. The stock closed 24% higher on Wednesday at $40.35, after the company said deposits rose $2 billion, and due to the analyst upgrade and positive commentary.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Allstate, Amazon.com, Bath & Bodyworks, Danaher, Enterprise Products Partners, Marathon Petroleum, MGM Resorts, Microsoft, M&T Bank, NexTier Oilfield Solutions, Nike and Okta.

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