The futures traded higher after the consumer price index numbers for April came in basically in line with expectations, with the lowest inflation print since April of 2021. All the major indexes finished Tuesday lower, as investors awaited the results, and with the CPI data out of the way, Wall Street now looks for a resolution for the debt ceiling limit. While the president and the Speaker of the House finally met on Tuesday, no agreement was reached. Senate Minority Leader McConnell said Tuesday that it is up to them to come up with a solution.

Earnings are wrapping up for the first quarter, and while most were solid, as expectations were lowered, top strategists see pricing power starting to fade and the economy weakening in the second half.

Treasury yields were flat Tuesday, as the bond market also waited for the inflation data. The benchmark 10-year note finished the day at 3.52%, while the two-year paper climbed back over the 4% level to finish at 4.03%. The inversion between the securities has been in place for over a year, starting on April 1 of 2022. The anomaly suggests that a recession is on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both modestly higher after a solid move higher late last week and on Monday. Despite positive forward fundamentals, and numerous oil supply disruptions, not the least of which are the wildfires in Canada shutting in production, crude prices have been unable to break out. Natural gas also finished the day slightly higher, closing at $2.26.

Gold was also higher on Tuesday, as massive central bank purchases are said to continue around the world. Bitcoin finished the day unchanged at $27,674.

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 10, 2023.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): Scotiabank upgraded the stock to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform. The firm’s price target is $250, lower than the $259.40 consensus target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $195.17, which was up 5% for the day. Albemarle crushed earnings estimates last week.

Alkami Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKT): J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $15 target price. The consensus target is up at $18.27. The stock closed on Tuesday at $12.63.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating for the Franchise Pick list member and has a $250 target price. The consensus target is $232.58, and shares closed on Tuesday at $201.88.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP): Stifel initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $130 target price. The consensus target is $133.90. The stock closed on Tuesday at $121.51.

Enact Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ACT): BofA Securities lifted its Underperform rating to Neutral, and its $25 price target is now $27. The consensus target is $27.58. The shares closed on Tuesday at $24.40.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $435 price objective. The consensus target is $442.03. The stock closed on Tuesday at $402.01.

Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG): When Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, the analyst lifted the $141.20 target price to $181. The consensus target is $146.66. Tuesday’s closing share price was $144.33.

Ingersoll-Rand Inc. (NYSE: IR): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line. Its $71 target price is well above the $64.42 consensus target and the most recent close at $58.98.

Intapp Inc. (NASDAQ: INTA): Stifel raised its $36 target price on the Buy-rated shares to $47. The consensus target is $37.43. Tuesday’s $43.80 close was up almost 16% on the day after the company posted huge quarterly results.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR): The Barclays downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight came with a target price cut from $250 all the way to $150. The consensus target is $176. The shares ended Tuesday trading at $94.24.

Next Era Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but lowered its target price to $90 from $94. The consensus target is $78.27, and Tuesday’s last trade was for $61.93 a share.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO): Stellar earnings and sales growth has its Bull of the Day stock trading near all-time highs, says Zacks. The shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant most recently closed at $168.53, which is up nearly 21% from 90 days ago.

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE: NTR): Citing the impact of higher costs on the fertilizer maker’s margins, Zacks selected this stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $104.65 in the past year but closed most recently at $63.84. That is down almost 19% in the past 90 days.

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): The $8 Goldman Sachs target price on the Neutral-rated shares ticked up to $9. The consensus is $8.98 for now. The stock closed on Tuesday at $9.55, which was up a whopping 23% after big numbers were posted and profitability projected.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and cut its $100 target price to $85. Truist Financial reiterated it at Buy but lowered its target price to $90 from $95. Wedbush stayed with an Outperform rating, and its $100 target price dropped to $85. The consensus target is $98.28 for now. The stock closed down over 12% on Tuesday at $65.90, despite earnings that beat estimates.
PRA Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAA): Truist Financial lowered its $50 target price to $42 while keeping a Buy rating intact. The consensus target is $46.67. The shares closed on Tuesday at $23.95, down a sharp 30% due to a first-quarter loss.

Shoals Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLS): Northland Capital upgraded the shares from Market Perform to Outperform with a $30 target price. The consensus target is $30.71 for now. Tuesday’s close at $24.11 was a gain of 22% for the day, thanks to huge quarterly numbers.

Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Though DZ Bank downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold, it raised its $47 target price to $55. The consensus target is $57.78. Tuesday’s close was at $63.89.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS): The BMO Capital Markets downgrade was to Market Perform from Outperform. Its $140 target price shrank to $100, well below the $126.68 consensus target. Tuesday’s closing share price was $99.82, down over 5% for the day after the company lowered its outlook for the current quarter.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $415 target price. The consensus target is $409.47. Tuesday’s close was at $355.25.

TaskUs Inc. (NASDAQ: TASK): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Buy and slashed its $25 target price to $11. The consensus target is $22.75. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Tuesday at $11.90.

Trex Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: TREX): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy and its $54 target price to $66. The consensus target is $58.03. The shares closed over 8% higher on Tuesday at $60.92 after an earnings beat.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): The $159 Truist Financial target price on the Buy-rated stock ticked up to $160. The consensus target is higher at $164.75. The stock closed on Tuesday at $152.98.

XPO Inc. (NYSE: XPO): Though Stifel downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it bumped the target price up to $51 from $48. The consensus target is $53.05. Tuesday’s close was at $47.27.

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With demand likely to explode later this year, investors who step into the energy sector now could be in for some sizable total return potential. Five outstanding master limited partnerships are major players in the energy infrastructure arena and their stocks are Buy rated across Wall Street.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albemarle, Alcoa, American Airlines, Coinbase Global, DraftKings, Dropbox, Fortinet, Monster Beverage, Monster Beverage, Snowflake, Southwest Airlines, Walt Disney and XPO.

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