The futures traded higher as we hit the middle of the trading week. All the major indexes closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial the big loser with a decline of over 1%. Some disappointing earnings from retail big-box giant Home Depot set the tone early, as the company missed revenue expectations by the biggest level in 20 years and cut forward forecasts as shoppers are pulling back on spending. This came on the heels of the retail sales data for April that were in line with expectations.

The big issue that remains front and center is the debt ceiling negotiations, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated that June 1 remains the drop-dead date for a solution.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve Tuesday, as sellers followed through from Monday’s action. Some of the selling could have been a reaction to Richmond Federal Reserve President Barkin’s comments that financial instability should not keep the Fed from raising rates. The 10-year note closed that day at 3.55%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.09%. Bond traders view the inversion as a recession warning.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed lower on Tuesday, after a bullish start to the week. Various outlets reported during the day that the government is soliciting bids for 3 million barrels to start refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in August. That is not much, considering that over 200 million barrels have been sold. Natural gas was flat on Tuesday, closing at $2.36.

Gold was also a loser on the day, closing down 1.47% at $1,993 as profit-taking in the bullion continues. Bitcoin also finished the day lower, closing at $26,980. Less than a month ago, the cryptocurrency giant was trading over $30,000.

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 17, 2023.

Amdocs Ltd. (NASDAQ: DOX): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its $100 target price to $115. The consensus target is $101.17. The stock closed at $93.79 on Tuesday.

America Movil SAB de C.V. (NYSE: AMX): New Street raised its Neutral rating to Buy from and its $21 price target to $27. The consensus target is $21.23. The shares closed on Tuesday at $22.95.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $325 target price. The consensus target of $255.60 is closer to Tuesday’s $227.88 per share close.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (NYSE: CP): Argus upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has an $88 target price. The consensus target is higher at $118.21. Wednesday’s close was at $82.81.

Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $12 target price. The consensus target is $10.22. The shares closed over 8% lower on Tuesday at $10.60.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Berenberg initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $55 target price. The consensus target is around $69. Tuesday’s close at $57.88 was down almost 5% for the day.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight included a price target trim to $121 from $127. The consensus target is $122.15. Tuesday’s close was at $96.25.

Etsy Inc. (NYSE: ETSY): Morgan Stanley reiterated an Equal Weight rating and reduced its $79 target price to $74. The consensus target is $122.90 for now. The shares closed over 5% lower on Tuesday at $92.65.

First Horizon Corp. (NYSE: FHN): BofA Securities resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $14 price target. The consensus target is $17.14, and shares closed on Tuesday at $10.25.

GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC): Oppenheimer started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $97 target price. The consensus target is $92.40. The shares closed on Tuesday at $77.78.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): As BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform, its price target increased to $100 from $90. That compares with a $91.17 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $78.32.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $355 price target. The consensus target is $325.09. The stock closed Tuesday at $282.33, down close to 3% on the day after posting disappointing results.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): Berenberg resumed coverage with a Hold rating and cut its $47 target price to $38. The consensus target is $47.59. Tuesday’s close at $35.26 was down almost 4% on the day.

Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ: NXT): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral. The firm’s $45 target price is higher than the $39.85 consensus target. Tuesday’s closing share price was $37.51, down almost 7% for the day despite the upgrade.

NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight came with a target price hike to $104 from $70. The consensus target is $92.86. The stock finished Tuesday’s session at $80.64, up almost 4% for the day on the upgrade.

Palomar Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PLMR): Keefe Bruyette raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform and its $59 target price to $64. The consensus target is $62.17. The stock closed Wednesday at $49.58, which was up over 5% after the upgrade.
PNM Resources Inc. (NYSE: PNM): Siebert Williams Shanks upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. It also lifted its $53 target price to $55, while the consensus target is $50.38. The shares closed on Tuesday at $45.19.

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN): Truist Financial started coverage with a Hold rating and a $33 price objective. The consensus target is $34.50. The shares closed on Tuesday at $29.21.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL): The Hold rating at Argus is now at Buy, and its $88 target price is above the $84.31 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $76.45.

Veris Residential Inc. (NYSE: VRE): Deutsche Bank’s upgrade to Buy from Hold came with a price target hike to $19 from $15. The consensus target is $17.50. The stock closed on Tuesday at $16.30.

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO): Citing the impact of interest rates and regional bank concerns, Zacks named this real estate investment trust as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $35.65 in the past year but closed most recently at $12.38. That is down more than 40% year to date.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NYSE: WBD): Barrington Research’s upgrade was from Market Perform to Outperform with an $18 target price. The consensus target is $20.82, and shares closed on Tuesday at $12.15, down close to 5% for the day.

Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB): Citigroup lifted its Neutral rating to Buy with a $36 target price. The consensus target is $36.73, and Wednesday’s close was at $28.65.

XP Inc. (NYSE: XP): Goldman Sachs nudged its $20 target on the Buy-rated shares to $22. The $18.94 consensus target is closer to Tuesday’s $15.96 close.

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Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albemarle, Alphabet, BorgWarner, Catalent, Charles Schwab, DuPont de Nemours, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, LXP Industrial Trust, Meta Platforms, SoFi Technologies and Tapestry.

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