The futures were lower on Tuesday, after a solid start to the trading week. All the major indexes closed higher on Monday, and the song remains the same as all eyes across Wall Street remain laser-focused on the debt limit ceiling negotiations. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are supposed to meet again Tuesday, and reports of positive weekend discussions among staffers indicate that some progress has been made. With most of the S&P 500 earnings having wrapped up (the big retailers will report this week for the unofficial end to the season), the debt ceiling and regional bank weakness remain the main talking points.

Treasury yields were modestly higher on Monday, as the sellers returned to start off the week. Bond traders also continue to closely monitor the debt ceiling negotiations. Reports that redirecting unspent Covid funds and faster permitting for big investment projects are said to be positives, while clean energy tax credits, student loans and entitlement program work requirements are said to be among the differences. The 10-year yield ended Monday at 3.50% while the two-year paper closed at 4.01%, keeping the year-long inversion in place.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude started the week off on a positive note, with both of the oil benchmarks closing the day almost 2% higher. A massive deal in the energy master limited partnership sector, and reports that natural gas drilling has sunk to levels not seen since 2016, were cited as positives. Natural gas closed Monday at $2.38, up almost 5% for the day.

Gold finished the day flat at $2,020, after trading lower last week. Bitcoin rallied on Monday, closing up 1.7% at $27,387 after a dreadful week last week.

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 Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): Baird raised its Neutral rating to Outperform and its $222 price target to $288. The consensus target is $258.90 The stock closed 4% higher on Monday at $198.43. The company recently crushed earnings estimates for the quarter.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Loop Capital’s downgraded was from Buy to Hold with a $125 target price. The consensus target is $130.15. The shares ended trading on Monday at $116.51.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): As BofA Securities upgraded it from Neutral to Buy, its target price increased to $212 from $199. The consensus target is $187.40. The shares closed on Monday at $177.91.
BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a target price bump to $50 from $49. The consensus target is $54. Monday’s close was at $44.54.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT): BofA Securities cut its Buy rating to Neutral and its $132 target price to $121. The consensus target is $132.21. The shares closed on Monday at $108.84.

Catalent Inc. (NYSE: CTLT): When Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it hammered the $55 price target down to $29. The consensus target is $55.42, and the stock closed on Monday at $33.19.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW): Raymond James upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform with a $63 target price. The consensus target is $66.99. Monday’s $50.96 close was up over 4% for the day due to the upgrade.

DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE: DD): Deutsche Bank’s upgrade was to Buy from Hold. The analyst also raised the $70 target to $80, still well below the $91.78 consensus target. The shares closed on Monday at $65.62.

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE: EFC): Keefe Bruyette upgraded it from Market Perform to Outperform with a $13.75 target price. The consensus target is $14.28. Monday’s closing share price was $12.46.

Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS): The Peer Perform rating at Wolfe Research dropped to Underperform with a $204 target price. The consensus target is $236.32, and Monday’s close was at $214.05.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS): BMO Capital Markets started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $424 target. The consensus target is up at $441.48. Monday’s close was at $396.03.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NASDAQ: GT): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform. Its $13 target price is near the $13.58 consensus target, but shares closed on Monday at $14.91.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. The firm’s $96 target price increased to $108, well above the $92.44 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $95.78.

LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight and has a $12 target price. The consensus target is $11, and shares closed on Monday at $9.97.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META): As Loop Capital’s Hold rating rose to Buy, the target price exploded from $220 to $320. The consensus is $270.19. Monday’s final trade was for $238.86 a share.

Park National Corp. (NYSE: PRK): Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and lowered its $115 target price to $103. The consensus target is $123.67. The stock closed on Monday at $101.29.
PlayAGS Inc. (NYSE: AGS): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The analyst also lifted the $7 target price to $10, though the consensus target is $11.13. Monday’s $6.14 close was a 16% gain on the day after the upgrade.

Silk Road Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SILK): Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Underperform from Peer Perform and has a $27 target. The consensus target is $52 for now. The shares closed on Monday at $34.52, which was down close to 6% for the day on the downgrade and lousy results that were posted last week.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): Wedbush cut its Neutral rating to Underperform and its $5 price target in half to $2.50. The consensus target is $7.54 for now. The stock closed on Monday at $4.77, down 5% after the downgrade.

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: SPHR): Guggenheim downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and slashed its $78 target price to $25. The consensus target is $55.67. On Monday, the closing share price was $22.05.

Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR): Bernstein’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform included a target price hike to $55 from $50. The consensus target is $49.68. Monday’s close was at $43.05.

Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: WASH): Although Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight, it also trimmed its $27 target price to $26. The consensus target is $30. The shares closed on Monday at $23.10.

Wisdom Tree Inc. (NYSE: WT): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $9 target price compares with the $7.32 consensus target and Monday’s $7.02 closing share price.

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A huge energy master limited partnership merger could signal more consolidation in the space, and five top big-dividend MLPs may be in the sights of one of the larger players as the next buyout target.

Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included CyberArk Software, Diageo, Dish Network, Electronic Arts, Fox, Gilead Sciences, Molson Coors Beverage, O’Reilly Automotive, PacWest Bancorp, Palo Alto Networks, SoFi Technologies and Twilio.

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