The futures traded mixed on Thursday, after a rough day across Wall Street that saw all the major indexes close the day lower. Once again, the anxiety over the debt ceiling agreement was the headwind across the day, with Wednesday night’s vote being clouded by some strong opposition from the more conservative freedom caucus. Market pundits also pointed to Friday’s jobs numbers and the pending inflation data for May that comes on June 13. Strong job numbers and continuing 4% to 5% inflation likely could push the Federal Reserve into yet another 25-basis-point hike when it meets again on June 13.

Treasury yields were lower across the curve again on Wednesday as the buyers followed through on Tuesday’s strength. Like the equity markets, bond traders and investors are keeping a close eye on the debt ceiling talks. Mixed economic news hit the tape Wednesday: April job openings were unexpectedly higher, while the Chicago purchasing managers index came in lower than expected.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude took another hit, as both closed down big on inventory builds. WTI closed well under $70 at $67.66. Top analysts across Wall Street, including those at Goldman Sachs, think that the rapid decline in benchmark pricing will force OPEC to cut production at their upcoming meeting. Natural gas closed lower as well at $2.26.

Gold rallied for the second day in a row, as the same nagging worries drifted to the bullion markets and safe-haven buyers, and it finished the day up at $1,981.50. Bitcoin was hit hard again, dropping 2.1% to finish the day at $27,117.

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, June 1, 2023.

America Movil SAB de C.V. (NYSE: AMX): Goldman Sachs started coverage on the stock with a Neutral rating and a $24 price objective. The consensus target is $21.45, and the last trade on Wednesday was for $21.26 a share.

Argenx S.E. (NASDAQ: ARGX): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $480 target price. The consensus target is lower at $466.21. Wednesday’s closing share price was $388.70.
Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR): Deutsche Bank raised its Hold rating to Buy and its $239 target price to $263. The consensus target is $235.75. The stock closed almost 3% higher on Wednesday at $167.79 in the wake of a solid earnings report.

Box Inc. (NYSE: BOX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $35 target price. The consensus target is $33.27, and Wednesday’s close was at $28.17.

Cedar Fair L.P. (NYSE: FUN): Goldman Sachs started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target is $52.00. The last trade on Wednesday came in at $44.62.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX): The Underweight rating at J.P. Morgan is now at Neutral, and the $161 target price increased to $170. That is still below the $188.12 consensus target. The stock closed on Wednesday at $150.62.

Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $128 target price. The posted consensus target is $133.93. The stock closed on Wednesday at $93.00.

Coty Inc. (NASDAQ: COTY): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and a $16 price objective. That compares with the $13.32 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing trade at $10.84 a share.

Five9 Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVN): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $100 target price. The consensus target is just $84.32. The shares closed on Wednesday at $66.11, up over 8% for the day on the coverage and positive commentary.

MasterCraft Boat Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MCFT): D.A. Davidson initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $29 target price. The consensus target is $36.00, and Wednesday’s final trade was for $26.50 a share.

Nevro Corp. (NASDAQ: NVRO): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is$41.07. Wednesday’s $27.56 close was up almost 6% for the day on the coverage and positive chatter.

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE): Mizuho started coverage with a Buy rating and a $244 price target objective. The consensus target price is higher at $258.20. The shares closed at $205.94 on Wednesday.
Q2 Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: QTWO): BTIG Research upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $36 target price. The consensus target is $29.75. The shares closed on Wednesday at $29.12, which up over 5% on the day due to the upgrade.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $900 target price compares with an $889.32 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $735.56.

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: SEAS): Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Sell rating and a $75 target price. The consensus target is $76.33. The stock closed on Wednesday at $55.76.

Sovos Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: SOVO): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $22.50 price target. The consensus target is $21.44. The stock closed on Wednesday at $18.99.

Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI): Exane BNP Paribas raised its Underperform rating to Neutral and its target price to $115 from $100. The $129.75 consensus target is not far off Wednesday’s final print of $127.18, which was up close to 2% for the day.

Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and has a $75 target price. The $67.50 consensus is lower than Wednesday’s $69.62 close, which was up over 11% on the day after reports of an activist shareholder looking for changes in the boardroom.

Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX): Roth MKM resumed its Buy rating with a $32 target price. The consensus target is $33. Wednesday’s $21.96 close was almost 7% higher on the day. The stock has traded higher since posting positive clinical results recently.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL): Baird upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. The analyst also raised the $122 target price to $135, well above the $119.88 consensus target. Wednesday’s close was at $100.20.

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway continues to add energy, and five high-yielding mega-cap sector leaders look like outstanding bets ahead of an anticipated surge in oil prices in the latter half of the year.

Social media and cryptocurrency companies join oil companies and airlines on the latest list of companies with the worst reputations.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, ChargePoint, Coinbase Global, Dollar General, Equitrans Midstream, Ford, Hasbro, Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue and Medtronic.

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