The futures traded lower Thursday, after a mixed day across Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finish the day higher, while the Dow Jones industrials closed lower. Inflation, as measured by the April consumer price index, rose 4.9% year over year, shy of estimates for 5.0%. The core CPI (less food and energy prices) rose 5.5%, versus estimates of 5.5%. While the numbers are still stubbornly firm, Wall Street is finally getting a glimpse that the year-long increases in interest rates are starting to work.

The big worry now remains the sword of Damocles that is the debt ceiling issue. While the president and Speaker of the House met on Tuesday, nothing was settled and they will meet again Friday. Note that when Congress and President Obama fought the same battle in 2011, the market was down 19% in three weeks before they raised the limit two days before an expected default.

Treasury yields dropped across the curve Wednesday, as the buyers returned after a two-day hiatus. The inflation print likely drove the buying, as some in the bond market had anticipated a much hotter report for April. The 10-year closed at 3.44%, down eight basis points, while the two-year closed at 3.91%, down 11 basis points.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished the day lower, following a big three-day rally for the energy complex. Once again, demand concerns drove the selling. Natural gas closed Wednesday’s session at $2.19, down almost 3.5%. Gold finished the day modestly lower after a strong move higher this week, while Bitcoin finished up slightly higher at $27,402.

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, May 11, 2023.

AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ: AHCO): Stifel downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and chopped the target price to $11 from $18. The consensus target is $18.33. The shares closed on Wednesday at $11.06.

Airbnb Inc. (NYSE: ABNB): Needham reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed its $155 target price to $150. Barclays stayed with an Equal Weight rating, but it cut its price objective to $112 from $128. TD Cowen maintained an Outperform rating, and its $145 target price dropped to $125. The consensus target for now is $139.13. The shares closed down almost 11% on Wednesday at $113.19, despite record first-quarter revenue.

Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ALC): Baird’s upgrade was to Outperform from Neutral, and its $75 target price increased to $90. The consensus target is $85.18. Wednesday’s close at $80.64 was up close to 9% on the day after stellar results.
Antero Midstream Corp. (NYSE: AM): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $14 target price. The $11.83 consensus is nearer to Wednesday’s close at $10.59.

Bentley Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BSY): Rosenblatt’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price hike to $47 from $43. The consensus target is $48.80. The stock closed on Wednesday at $45.89.

Braze Inc. (NASDAQ: BRZE): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating and a target price of $34. The consensus target is up at $40.92, but shares closed on Wednesday at $29.75.

Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CELH): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. The analyst also boosted the $98 target price to $125. The consensus target is $119.82. Wednesday’s $128.29 close was a one-day gain of 21%, after revenue and earnings estimates were smashed.

Cutera Inc. (NASDAQ: CUTR): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with an Underweight rating and a $14 target price. The consensus target is $32 for now. The stock closed at $17.66 on Wednesday, which was down almost 13% on the day after the company reported a first-quarter loss and missed revenue estimates.

Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ: DUOL): Wedbush reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $115 target price to $160. The consensus target is $132.38. The stock closed almost 10% higher on Wednesday at $147.70 in the wake of strong first-quarter results.

Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight. It also trimmed its $38 target price to $32, well below the $38.80 consensus target. The stock was mauled Wednesday, closing down 12% at $28.53, after only posting break-even earnings for the quarter.

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS): Craig Hallum upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold, and its $55 target price is now $85. The consensus target is $77.74 for now. Wednesday’s close at $78.73 was up almost 11% for the day after earnings estimates were blown away.

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLB): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $30 target price. That compares with the higher $46.69 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $30.30.

GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ: GFS): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating while lowering its target price to $72 from $80. The consensus target is $74.00. On Wednesday, the closing share price was $54.50.

Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN): Piper Sandler raised its Underweight rating to Neutral but trimmed its $17 target price to $16. The consensus is higher at $22.08. The stock closed on Wednesday at $15.08.

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO): Piper Sandler upgraded the company from Neutral to Overweight with a $46 target price. The consensus target is $52.44 Wednesday’s close at $34.49 up over 12% for the day on strong revenue results.
Hess Midstream L.P. (NYSE: HESM): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $37 target price. The consensus target is just $33.80. The stock closed on Wednesday at $28.50.

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE): Barclays downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut the $55 price target to $40. The consensus target is $57.50. The stock was last seen on Wednesday trading at $44.56, down over 3% on the day.

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR): The Jefferies upgrade to Hold from Underperform came with a target price trim to $1 from $1.50. The consensus target is $2.46. The stock closed on Wednesday at $0.75.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating on the stock while lowering the $112 target price to $90. The consensus target is $98.00. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Wednesday at $63.38.

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE): Morgan Stanley cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight and its target price to $48 from $60. The consensus target is $54.67. The final trade on Wednesday for $42.21 a share.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day stock has plenty more room to run. Shares of this restaurant operator hit a 52-week high of $67.50 on Wednesday and are up more than 17% in the past month.

Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO): Though Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to Sell from Neutral, the firm’s $65 target price ticked up to $66. The consensus target is $63.68. Despite earnings and revenues beating estimates, the stock closed almost 6% lower on Wednesday at $74.52.

Vitesse Energy Inc. (NYSE: VTS): Northland Capital lifted its Market Perform rating to Outperform with a $23 target price. The consensus target is $22.67. Wednesday’s $18.05 closed down almost 4% on the day.

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Three outstanding stocks from the Goldman Sachs Conviction List of top picks have the largest upside potential and may be just the thing for growth investors not thrilled with their results so far this year.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albemarle, Boeing, Ingersoll-Rand, Novo Nordisk, Nutrien, Palantir Technologies, PayPal, Shoals Technologies, Shopify, Skyworks Solutions, Walmart and XPO.

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