The futures traded modestly higher after a dreadful risk-off day for the stock market. All the major indexes finished the day lower, with the S&P 500 leading the way, down 1.16%. Attention now is focused once again on the Federal Reserve, which wraps up its two-day meeting and likely will raise interest rates 25 basis points for the 10th straight time since March of 2022. Another huge headwind facing stocks is the debt ceiling issue, as tax receipts at the Treasury were lower than expected, and Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that the country may run out of cash as early as June 1.

Treasury yields plummeted on Tuesday, as worried buyers rushed into the safe haven of the government securities. The federal funds rate increase and the debt limit issues were also cited by bond traders as the impetus behind the buying. Those issues, combined with yet another bank failure, have investors worried about the Fed’s fight with inflation, which still remains stubbornly high. The 10-year note closed at 3.44%, while the short two-year paper finished the day at 3.99%, a large 15-basis-point drop.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were also big losers on Tuesday, both benchmarks closing down well over 5%. Analysts cited weak Chinese economic purchasing managers data for April, which came in lower than expected, as a major concern. Natural gas also traded lower, closing at $2.22, down over 4%.

Gold was one of the only winners Tuesday, as traders and investors gobbled up the bullion in front of the Fed’s announcement. Closing in on all-time highs, gold finished the day at $2,018, up a big 1.75%. Bitcoin joined gold in the winners’ circle, finishing the day up 2.11% at $28,667.

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, May 3, 2023.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and nudged its $20 target price up to $21.50. The consensus target is $21.78. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $18.88 a share.

Capri Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: CPRI): Barclays downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight with a price target of $46. The consensus target is $59.31. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Tuesday at $39.79.

Centerspace (NYSE: CSR): Colliers Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $70 target price. The consensus target is $64.57, and Tuesday’s close was at $56.67.

Chegg Inc. (NASDAQ: CHGG): As Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it slashed the target price in half, from $25 to $11. The consensus target is $20.79 for now. The stock was destroyed Tuesday, closing down almost 50% at $9.08 after announcing that ChatGPT is hurting growth and forcing target cuts.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock, with the analyst making the case that “one of the pioneers of the QSR model is back in a big way.” Shares last closed at $2,053.96, after rising more than 20% in the past month.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Citigroup’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a price target cut to $65 from $80. The stock traded above $132 a share a year ago but closed on Tuesday at $51.32. That was up over 2% for the day despite the downgrade.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD): Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $179 price target. The consensus target is $169.53. Tuesday’s close was at $116.74.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight came with a price target hike to $55 from $44. The consensus target is $47.86. The last trade on Tuesday was for $44.76 a share.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Rosenblatt started coverage with a Buy rating. Its $80 target price compares with a $72.13 consensus target and the most recent close at $61.44.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC): Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares to Neutral from Sell, and its $163 target price ticked up to $164. The consensus target is $177.00. The stock closed on Tuesday at $170.96.

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ): When Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight, its $28 price target rose to $31. The consensus target is $29.50. Tuesday’s close was at $30.12.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS): Zacks pointed to the headwinds as it selected this retailer as the Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $59.12 in the past year but closed most recently at $20.81, which is down about 39% from 90 days ago.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $150 target price. That is well above the $125.61 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing print of $103.45.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $205 target price. The consensus target is just $188.70. The stock closed over 3% higher on Tuesday at $195.56 after the company posted solid first-quarter results.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW): Rosenblatt started coverage with a Buy rating and a $250 target price. The consensus target is $220.66. Tuesday’s $176.89 close was almost 4% lower on the day.

Penn Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN): Roth MKM upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Its $35 target price is now $40. but that is still less than the $41.31 consensus target. The shares closed on Tuesday at $30.48.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered its $166 target price to $148. The consensus target is $149.67. Tuesday’s final trade was for $138.11 a share.

Roper Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ROP): The Underperform rating at Bernstein is now at Market Perform, and its $425 price target increased to $490. The consensus target is higher at $510.07. The shares closed on Tuesday at $460.72.

Shoals Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Barclays cut its Equal Weight rating to Underweight and its $27 price target to $19. The consensus target is $31.29 for now. Tuesday’s $18.25 close was down over 10% for the day and the downgrade and the weak market.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): As Wedbush downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, it sliced the target price to $5 from $8. The consensus target is $7.79 for now. The stock closed over 10% lower on Tuesday at $4.91 after the downgrade and on the very weak tape.

Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC): Northland Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating. Its $63 target price is well above the consensus target of $47.95. The stock closed on Tuesday at $40.97.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE: VSCO): Barclays cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight with a $35 target price. The consensus target is $44.78. Tuesday’s close at $29.15.

VSE Corp. (NASDAQ: VSEC): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Outperform from Sector Perform. It also raised its $50 target price to $55, though the consensus target is up at $57.75. After quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates, shares closed 24% higher at $53.15 on Tuesday.

Zscaler Inc. (NYSE: ZS): Rosenblatt started coverage with a Buy rating and a $135 target price. The consensus target is $160.50. Tuesday’s close was at $87.00.

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Even with interest rates rising and a possible commercial real estate crash coming, four real estate investment trusts still look like good fits for growth and income investors seeking income, a degree of safety and solid upside potential.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Apple, Baidu, Biogen, Comcast, Danaher, Estee Lauder, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Otis Worldwide, Principal Financial and Zillow.

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