The futures were trading higher as we prepare to end a crazy back-and-forth week on Wall Street. All the major indexes except the Nasdaq tumbled Thursday after more bank worries spread, with PacWest once again the target, falling a stunning 30% at one point after reporting it had lost almost 10% of the bank’s deposits in the past week. Toss in the highest first-time unemployment claims in 19 months and the ongoing debt limit issues, and many investors are starting to worry that it could be a long summer. Moreover, the odds that rates will be increased again in June are rising.

Treasury yields were down across the curve for the second day in a row, as investors continue to seek safe havens for capital. Bond traders have pointed out that the Federal Reserve’s higher-for-longer mantra likely will stand through the rest of the year, and with pricing power fading, the economy could stumble for the rest of 2023. The 10-year note closed at 3.40%, while the two-year finished at 3.90%, keeping the inversion intact.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed modestly lower Thursday, despite former President Trump saying he will “Drill Baby, Drill” if elected. Top analysts cited the ongoing short-seller attack on the sector as one reason for weakness in the past two sessions. Natural gas was modestly lower, finishing flat at $2.19.

Gold finished Thursday lower at $2,020, while Bitcoin closed down almost 3% at $26,893. The cryptocurrency giant has tumbled almost 11% since printing a 2023 high of $30,506 on April 14.

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 Friday, May 12, 2023.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight. Its $270 price target is higher than the consensus target of $256.59. The stock closed up 2% on Thursday at $198.43. The company crushed earnings estimates last week.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Credit Suisse raised its Neutral rating to Outperform with a $50 target price. The consensus target is $49.24. Thursday’s final trade was for $35.33 a share.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $145 target price is well above the $129.76 consensus target. Thursday’s $116.57 close up over 4% on the day after the announcement of big AI integrations.

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV): Kepler’s upgrade was from Hold to Buy with a $105 target price. The target is $102.63, and Thursday’s close at $88.83.
Axon Enterprise Inc. (NASDAQ: AXON): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $204 price objective. The consensus target is up at $247.52. Thursday’s close at $204.60 was up close over 6% for the day on the upgrade and solid earnings.

Bentley Systems Inc. (NYSE: BSY): Though Goldman Sachs cut its Buy rating to Neutral, the analyst also raised the $45 target price to $47. The consensus target is $51. The stock closed on Thursday at $45.22.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): CLSA’s downgraded to Underperform from Buy included a target price slash to $63 from $93. The consensus target is $87.77. Thursday’s close was at $57.32.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF): Piper Sandler downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight. It also cut its $110 target price to $80, below the $92.90 consensus target. The stock closed at $67.23 on Thursday.

Dutch Bros. Inc. (NASDAQ: BROS): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating, and its $44 target price is well above the $37.11 consensus target. The stock closed over 8% lower on Thursday at $26.22. after weak results were posted this week.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL): Disappointing earnings had shares of the Zack’s Bear of the Day trading sharply lower. The stock has traded as high as $284.45 in the past year but closed most recently at $201.79. That is down more than 16% in the past month.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC): Citing relative strength and a better than expected quarterly print, Zacks named this leading packaged foods producer as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $40.65, and the consensus price target of $45.25 would be a multiyear high.

Light & Wonder Inc. (NASDAQ: LNW): The Neutral rating at Susquehanna rose to Positive with a $70 target price. The consensus target is $67.00, and shares closed on Thursday at $60.94.

Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM): The B. Riley Securities upgrade was from Neutral to Buy with a $32 target price. The consensus target is $32.97, and Thursday’s close was at $25.62.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a target price cut to $42 from $62. The consensus target is $48.80. Thursday’s $35.95 close was down almost 3% for the day after the downgrade.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral. Its $250 target price compares with a $235.88 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $210.31.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC): Barclays lowered its Overweight rating to Equal Weight. The $520.06 consensus target is well above Thursday’s $435.85 closing share price.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE): Daiwa Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and has a $38 target. The consensus target is $48.30. The last trade on Thursday was for $37.58 a share.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): As Credit Suisse upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral, its $40 target price rose to $45. The consensus target is $46.54. Thursday’s close at $28.74 was down over 5% for the day despite solid earnings posted this week.

Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX) Roth MKM upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. It also raised its $37 target price to $48, above the consensus target of $41.62. The shares closed almost 3% higher on Thursday at $39.88 after the upgrade.

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $13 target price. The consensus target is $11.63. The stock closed on Thursday at $13.94, up 4% on the day.

Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD): Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating and bumped its $76 target price up to $78. Needham also reiterated a Buy rating, and it lifted its $68 target price to $75. Citigroup kept a Buy rating and nudged its target price up to $78 from $76. The consensus target is $68.39. The shares were last seen on Thursday trading at $64.53.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): When Goldman Sachs cut its Buy rating to Neutral, the price target tumbled from $90 to $53. The consensus target is $70.30. The stock closed on Thursday 3% lower to $47.88 after the downgrade.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $175 target price. The consensus target is $164.78. On Thursday, the closing share price was $153.12.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $130 price target. The consensus target is $125.93. Thursday’s $92.31 close was down almost 9% on the day after a small earnings miss but a big subscriber drop.

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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Airbnb, Alcon, Antero Midstream, Exact Sciences, GitLab, GlobalFoundries, Halozyme Therapeutics, Lumentum, Nektar Therapeutics, PayPal and Southern Copper.

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