The futures were lower, as we start a new trading week that again will feature a tsunami of first-quarter results, as over half of the S&P 500 have yet to report. In addition, Wall Street will grapple with yet another bank failure. Over the weekend, the FDIC seized First Republic Bank and sold the majority of the assets to JPMorgan in the largest bank failure since 2008.

All the major indexes finished higher on Friday, with the small-cap Russell 2000 leading the pack by closing up over 1% on the day. While the move higher has been solid, the reality is that Apple and Microsoft have generated nearly 50% of the S&P 500 gains so far this year. If you add in the rest of the FAANG stocks, the group has accounted for a stunning 94% of the index gains through April.

Treasury yields were sharply lower Friday, as buyers returned to the safe-haven trade after several days of big selling last week. The weaker gross domestic product print for the first quarter, as well as the ongoing sticky inflation, seems to be pushing portfolio managers to add the safety and the high yield on the shorter maturities to portfolios. The 10-year note closed at 3.45%, while the two-year ended at 4.02% as the inversion between the two widened some.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day higher, with the latter up almost 3%, as some Wall Street analysts predicted that oil prices are poised to rise back toward $90 by the end of the year. They cite the OPEC production cuts and demand in China as reasons for expectations of a back-loaded increase as we approach 2024. Natural gas also finished the day higher, up over 2% at $2.41.

Gold traded higher on Friday, closing at $1,992. We noted last week that central banks continue to stockpile bullion as recession and inflation concerns persist. Bitcoin had a roller-coaster day and finally closed modestly lower at $29,350.

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, May 1, 2023.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Goldman Sachs raised its $145 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $165. The consensus target is $132.49. The stock closed on Friday at $105.45, which was down almost 4% on the day, after it posted solid numbers but provided shaky forward guidance.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE): J.P. Morgan started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $7 target price. The consensus target is $6.70. Friday’s $4.35 closing share price was up 18% for the day on the upgrade and the potential for future drugs.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and an $11 target price. The consensus target is $11.18. The stock closed over 3% higher on Friday at $9.21.
Disc Medicine Opco Inc. (NASDAQ: IRON): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and has a $45 price target. That compares with the $37.17 consensus target and Friday’s closing trade of $32.73.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with an $80 target price. The consensus target is $72.13, and Friday’s close was at $63.05.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM): Zacks makes the case for now as an opportunistic time to buy shares of its Bull of the Day. The stock last closed at $33.04 per share, and the consensus target of $47.70 would be a 52-week high.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and a $105 target price. The consensus target is $90.74. The stock closed on Friday at $82.21.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN): Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $136 target price. The consensus target is $139.60. The last trade Friday was for $112.71 a share.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS): When BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight its lifted the price target to $63 from $42. The consensus target is $69.90. The shares finished Friday at $59.22 apiece.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): Stifel reiterated a Hold rating but raised its $243 price target to $260. UBS maintained a Buy rating and boosted its $269 target price to $310. BofA Securities also kept a Buy rating on the stock, and its target price increased to $300 from $280. The consensus target was last seen at $261.32. Friday’s close was at $273.06.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): Wedbush’s upgrade to Neutral from Underweight included a target price hike to $30 from $20. Benchmark raised its Hold rating to Buy with a $39 price target. The consensus target is $28.74. The stock closed over 4% higher on Friday at $31.06 after the company posted an earnings beat and said its losses narrowed.

International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform. It also trimmed its target price to $39, still above the $35.89 consensus target. The stock closed on Friday at $33.11.

Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS): Jefferies raised its Hold rating to Buy and its target price to $65 from $55. The consensus target is $58.21. The last trade on Friday was for $53.51 a share.
MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $430 target price. That compares with a $280 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $328.38, which was up 3% on the day.

Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLY): Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to Outperform from Peer Perform and has a $46 target price. The consensus target is $48.00. Friday’s $37.64 closed was up 4% for the day after the upgrade.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL): As Deutsche Bank upgraded the transport giant to Buy from Hold, its target price rose to $350 from $301. The consensus target is $328.56. On Friday, shares closed at $320.39.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (NASDAQ: PPC): BofA Securities upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy with a $26 target price. The consensus target is $26.42. The shares finished Friday’s session at $22.81, up over 3% on the day after posting solid quarterly results.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating with a $250 target price. The consensus target is $221.03. Friday’s close was at $198.37.

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares from Underperform to Neutral with a $410 target price. The consensus target is up at $539.56. The last trade Friday was reported at $459.42.

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $8 target price to $7 while maintaining a Neutral rating. The consensus target is $10.40. The closing share price on Friday was $8.71.

Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO): Barrington Research upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and has an $18 target price. The consensus target is $13.50. Friday’s close at $7.45 was up almost 7% for the day after solid results.

Tyler Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TYL): D.A. Davidson cut its Buy rating to Neutral with a $395 target price. The consensus target is $423.03, and the stock closed at $379.03 on Friday.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM): Stifel’s upgrade was to Buy from Hold, and it boosted its $171 target price to $177. The consensus target is $173.78. The stock closed on Friday at $166.05.

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Given the current stagflation scenario, eight defensive stock picks make sense now for growth and income investors. With even moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors could be looking at double-digit total return potential.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Boston Scientific, Charles Schwab, eBay, Electronic Arts, FedEx, Meta Platforms, Norfolk Southern, Progressive, Roku, ServiceNow, Viking Therapeutics, Vornado Realty Trust and Wolfspeed.

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