The futures were trading higher, as many across Wall Street may be out the door early to kick off the long Memorial Day weekend, as the markets will be closed on Monday. The major indexes closed mixed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq the star of the day on tech strength after Nvidia posted incredible results for the quarter and delivered a blow-out forecast. On the strength of chips for artificial intelligence (AI), the stock was up huge Thursday, and other AI names followed suit.

While the tech exuberance was intoxicating, once again the debt ceiling negotiations plodded along with time running out for a deal. Treasury yields were up again as bond traders continue to handicap the final outcome for debt negotiations. The June T-bill rate remained elevated at 5.67%. The two-year paper closed the day at 4.53%, and the benchmark 10-year finished the session at 3.82%. The widening inversion between the two indicates the potential for a recession.

After a solid 2% gain on Wednesday, both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished the day lower in a big way, down 3.28% and 2.82%, respectively. While the debt ceiling concerns have spilled to the commodities markets, the potential for OPEC to cut production again in June lent some support. Natural gas closed the day down almost 5% at $2.28.

Gold also finished the day lower, down 1.2% at $1940.70, as the dollar continued its climb to a two-month high. Along with the debt issue, demand for the bullion has been poor this week. Bitcoin finished the day slightly higher at $26,467.

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 26, 2023.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP): Redburn lowered its Neutral rating to Sell with a $125 target price. The consensus target is up at $182.05, and the stock closed on Thursday at $151.08.

Caesars Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR): Susquehanna upgraded the shares to Neutral from Negative and raised its $27 price target to $39. The consensus target is higher at $69.54. Thursday’s closing share price was $41.40.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a price target hike to $14 from $10. The consensus target is $11.18. The shares closed over 3% higher on Thursday at $11 after the upgrade.
Cedar Fair L.P. (NYSE: FUN): KeyBanc Capital Markets started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $54 target price. The consensus target is $51.78. Thursday’s close was at $44.05.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH): When Citigroup downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, its $18 target price dropped to $8. The consensus target is $31.94 for now. The stock closed over 7% higher on Thursday at $6.67 after talks to sell the mobile service through Amazon were reported.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): Citing slowing growth and increased competition, Zacks selected this software stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $92.04 in the past year but closed most recently at $53.34. That is down almost 10% in the past 90 days.

Dycom Industries Inc. (NYSE: DY): Wells Fargo raised its Equal Weight rating to Overweight and its $105 price target to $120. The consensus target is $125.71. Thursday’s $100.50 close was up almost 4% for the day on the upgrade.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Daiwa Securities upgraded the shares from Underperform to Neutral with a $12 price target. The consensus target is $13.29. Thursday’s close was at $11.38.

Futu Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: FUTU): Credit Suisse upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral. Its $49 target price is lower than the $56.90 consensus target. Thursday’s close at $37.96 was down almost 3% on the day despite the upgrade.

Genius Sports Ltd. (NYSE: GENI): Lake Street initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $7 target price, the same as the consensus target. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $5.50.

Hubbell Inc. (NYSE: HUBB): Its Bull of the Day stock is set to benefit from economic megatrends for years to come, says Zacks. Shares of the industrial equipment maker hit an all-time high of $286.69 on Thursday. The stock is up about 22% year to date.

Leidos Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LDOS): Wells Fargo’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a target price hike to $120 from $105. The consensus target is $103.36, and shares closed on Thursday at $79.29.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Oppenheimer reiterated a Buy rating, but its $330 target price is shy of the $332.90 consensus figure. Thursday’s $325.92 close was up almost 4% on the day.

Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLY): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target is $45.72. The stock closed 5% higher on Thursday at $42.48 after the upgrade.
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): When Wedbush upgraded the blockbuster chip company to Outperform from Neutral, its $290 target price jumped to $490. Craig Hallum upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and has a $500 target. Baird boosted its Neutral rating to Outperform and its $300 target price to $475. The consensus target is $300.18 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $379.80, which was up 24% for the day.

PetMed Express Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS): Lake Street started coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The consensus target is $16.67. The stock closed on Thursday at $14.84.

SentinelOne Inc. (NYSE: S): Raymond James started coverage with a Strong Buy rating. Its $25 target price compares with the $22.12 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $20.13.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): The Buy rating at Rosenblatt is now at Neutral, and its target price was reduced to $170 from $188. The consensus target is $185.63. Thursday’s $147.91 close was down 17% for the day despite an earnings beat.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL): The RBC Capital Markets upgrade was to Outperform, and the analyst lifted the $55 price target to $77. The consensus target is $70.68. Thursday’s $68.13 close was almost 5% higher in the wake of huge quarterly results.

Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: VIPS): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, and its $17 target price ticked up to $18. The consensus target is $17.34. The stock closed on Thursday at $14.99.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated an Overweight rating but cut its $120 target price to $107. The consensus target is $120.78. The stock closed on Thursday at $88.14.

Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $47 price target. The consensus target is $51. The stock closed at $36.42 on Thursday.

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Even with the tsunami of interest in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity software stocks remain among the best tech ideas now. Six top stocks continue to stand out, as the companies look poised to retain strong positions in an industry that is constantly evolving, and they offer solid entry points with massive upside potential.

See which four tech companies are riding Nvidia’s wave, and why Nvidia’s CEO is concerned about China.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Antero Resources, AutoZone, Coterra Energy, Dollar General, Eli Lilly, First Horizon, Infosys, Owens Corning, Palo Alto Networks, Range Resources, Southwestern Energy, Toast, Urban Outfitters and Workday.

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