The futures were flat as we start off the trading week. This came after a big Friday rally that saw all the major indexes close higher, with the Dow Jones industrials leading the way with a strong 2% gain. Despite a jobs number that came in much hotter than expected, the unemployment rate, which was the lowest since 1969, ticked higher to 3.7% after dipping as low as 3.4% in April. The data reinforced the belief by many across Wall Street that the Federal Reserve could still raise rates this month, while others feel that despite the strength in the jobs number the Fed members will pause to gather more incoming economic statistics.
Treasury yields spiked higher on Friday after the jobs report hit, and after a strong rally last week when many were touting the “pause in June” mantra. The biggest increases were on the short end, with the two-year note jumping a whopping 15 basis points to close at 4.48%, while the 10-year paper closed up seven basis points at 3.68%. The widening inversion between the two suggests recession is still on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed the week on a strong note, each finishing up over 2%. Most traders felt that OPEC, which had an in-person meeting over the weekend, would keep production the same, which is exactly what happened. The surprise was that Saudi Arabia voluntarily cut its production by 1 million barrels per day for a month starting in July, which may be extended. Many of the OPEC delegates still feel that demand from China will increase over the second half of 2023. Natural gas also finished the day higher at $2.21.
Gold was a loser Friday, closing at $1964.30, falling on the strong jobs number but still finishing the week higher and breaking a three-week losing streak. The increase in the unemployment numbers from April makes the endgame for rates yet another wild card for bullion traders. Bitcoin rallied to close almost 1% higher Friday at $27,021.
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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 Monday, June 5, 2023.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $210 target price. The consensus target is down at $180.27, near Friday’s close at $180.38.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $230 target price. The consensus target is $231.19. Friday’s closing share price was $215.73.
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Bowlero Corp. (NYSE: BOWL): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and an $18 target price. The consensus target is $20.05. The stock closed on Friday at $11.68, which was up over 3% for the day on the initiation.
Chart Industries Inc. (NYSE: GTLS): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $138 target price. The consensus target is up at $189.18. Friday’s $119.71 close was up over 7% on the day.
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): Goldman Sachs raised its $43 target price on Buy-rated shares to $49. That is in line with the $49.01 consensus target. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Friday at $47.01 after a solid quarterly report.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included its $275 target price slashed to $178. The consensus target is $227.42. The shares closed on Friday at $163.18.
Elastic N.V. (NYSE: ESTC): Wells Fargo raised its Underweight rating to Equal Weight and its $55 target price to $67. The consensus target is $73.02, and Friday’s close at $73.54 was up almost 3% for the day.
EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR): The KeyBanc Capital Markets upgrade was from Sector Weight to Overweight with a $47 target price. The consensus target is $44.88. The shares closed over 5% higher on Friday at $43.54 after the upgrade.
FibroGen Inc. (NASDAQ: FGEN): Stifel’s upgrade stock to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $32 from $23. The consensus target is $26.17. Friday’s $18.23 close up over 5% for the day due to the upgrade.
Hibbett Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB): Estimates for the Zacks Bear of the Day stock are headed in the wrong direction, the analyst points out. Shares of this retailer have traded as high as $75.38 in the past year but closed most recently at $36.61.
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Kinsale Capital Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNSL): The Underperform rating at BMO Capital Markets is now at Outperform, and its $270 target price jumped to $389. The consensus target is $343.40. Friday’s close at $334 was up almost 7% for the day on multiple upgrades.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): Goldman Sachs trimmed its $26 target price to $23 while maintaining a Buy rating. The consensus target is $20.46. The stock closed almost 11% higher on Friday at $15.24 after its solid results for the quarter.
MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and its $280 target price exploded to $420. The consensus target is $261.60 for now. The shares erupted Friday, closing at $372.86, a 27% gain for the day, after the company posted solid earnings and an upbeat forecast.
PagerDuty Inc. (NYSE: PD): Craig Hallum downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy. Its $26 target price is well below the $34.53 consensus target, which may change. Friday’s close at $23.03 was down 17% on the day, as solid earnings were overshadowed by a cut to its revenue outlook.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $115 target price. The consensus target is $121.63. The shares closed on Friday at $109.01.
Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS): Zacks named this semiconductor stock as its Bull of the Day due to the AI frenzy. Shares most recently closed at $63.86, which is up more than 78% year to date.
SentinelOne Inc. (NYSE: S): D.A. Davidson downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy and cut its $22 target price to $13.50. That compares with a $22.16 consensus and Friday’s closing print of $13.19, which was down 36% after the company missed revenue estimates and offered a weak revenue outlook.
Surgery Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: SGRY): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. It also bumped its $42 price target to $45, which is still less than the $48.40 consensus target. Friday’s $40.35 close was up almost 6% on the upgrade and positive commentary.
Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight came with a 50% target price boost to $90. The consensus target is $72.14. The shares closed on Friday at $75.87.
Universal Health Services Inc. (NYSE: UHS): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Its price target of $163 is higher than the $154.07 consensus target. Friday’s final trade for $136.36 a share, up close to 4% on the day.
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Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV): When J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, the analyst trimmed the $41 target price to $39. The consensus target is $41.60, and shares closed on Friday at $38.65.
Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG): As Atlantic Equities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, the $39 target price dropped to $26. The consensus target is $34.00. The stock closed on Friday at $24.19.
Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL): J.P. Morgan cut its Overweight rating to Neutral and its target price to $68 from $79. The consensus target is $72.45, and Friday’s close was at $63.06.
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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Aramark, Bluebird Bio, Chevron, Chewy, CSX, C3.ai, Equitrans Midstream, Exxon Mobil, Macy’s, Micron Technology, Okta, Phillips 66 and Target.
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