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Friday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Accenture, Alphabet, Corning, Emerson Electric, FedEx, Kohl's, Plug Power and More
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The futures were mixed as we get ready to wrap up an action-packed trading week that finally saw a pause in the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking tactics. All the major indexes closed higher on Thursday, with the venerable Dow Jones Industrials leading the way, up 1.26% to 34,408. While the pause is clearly a positive for equities, the reality is that Federal Reserve Chair Powell said there would likely be two more 25-basis-point hikes that will push the Fed’s dot-plot to a 5.6% terminal rate.
Treasury yields were down again across the curve, as buyers continued to pile into the safe haven of government debt for the second day in a row. Despite an estimated $1 trillion of bonds coming to market to refill the Treasury, buyers took advantage of the highest yields since March in the past two trading days. The 10-year note finished the day at 3.73%, while the two-year short paper closed at 4.65%, keeping the inversion between the two well in place.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both surged Thursday, as bargain hunters jumped in to buy the black gold and top stocks in the sector. Brent closed up over 3.3% at $75.62, while WTI finished the day up 3.3% as well at $70.54. While Chinese demand remains a concern, the busy summer driving season should increase domestic demand. Natural gas was the big winner in the space, closing up over 9% at $2.56.
Gold closed modestly higher on the day at $1970.90 after the pause in the interest rate hikes as the bullion has shrunk to a three-month low. The still hawkish tone from the Fed despite the pause was seen as the biggest reason for the selling earlier this week. Bitcoin closed higher, breaking back through the $25,000 level in the afternoon to finish the day at $25,307. The crypto giant has dropped almost 18% since trading over the $30,000 level in April.
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, June 16, 2023.
Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN): Piper Sandler upgraded the shares to Neutral from Underweight and raised its $250 price target to $316. The consensus target is $325.11. The shares closed on Thursday at $323.69.
AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV): Jefferies started coverage with a Buy rating and a $115 target price. The consensus target is $107.67. The shares closed on Thursday at $94.54.
Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT): When Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold, it boosted its $110 target price to $145. The $114.40 consensus target is less than Thursday’s close at $117.09.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $128 target price. The consensus target is higher at $131.73. Thursday’s close was at $125.79.
Berry Global Group Inc. (NYSE: BERY): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $76 target price. The consensus target is $71.07. Thursday’s final print was $63.35 a share.
Bill Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $125 target price. The consensus target is $116.41, and the stock closed on Thursday at $114.53.
BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating. Its $920 target price is well above the $760.29 consensus target and Thursday’s $711.20 closing share price.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW): Citigroup lifted its Neutral rating to Buy and its $36 target price to $40. The consensus target is $37.27. On Thursday, shares closed at $33.85.
CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Overweight rating, but its $50 target price is less than the consensus target of $51.67. The stock closed 2% higher on Thursday at $44.47.
Denbury Inc. (NYSE: DEN): J.P. Morgan reiterated a Neutral rating with a $96 target price. The consensus target is $108.45, and the stock closed on Thursday at $88.51.
Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price trim to $186.48 from $217.80. The consensus target is $196.17. The shares closed on Thursday at $173.90.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): As Stifel upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold, its target price increased to $350 from $320. The consensus is just higher at $351.86. The stock closed on Thursday at $325.48, which was up over 6% for the day after the upgrade.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR): HSBC Securities boosted its Hold rating to Buy from and its price objective to $100 from $79. The consensus target is $103.27. The shares closed on Thursday at $88.01.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX): BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a target price of $295. The consensus target is lower at $254.36, and the stock ended Thursday trading at $236.58 a share.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): BofA Securities reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its target price to $530 from $500. The consensus target is just $489.92, and the stock closed on Thursday at $456.31.
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS): TD Cowen’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform came with a target price hike o $30 from $23. That compares with a $23.50 consensus target and Thursday’s closing share price of $23.73.
NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating and has a $235 price target. The consensus target is up at $258.20 The shares closed on Thursday at $228.62.
OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE): Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold. The analyst also bumped the $37 target price to $39, above the $37.86 consensus target. Thursday’s close was at $36.54.
24/7 Wall St.Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $21 target price. The consensus target is $18.89. The stock closed on Thursday at $10.82.
Tecnoglass Inc. (NASDAQ: TGLS): Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 target price. The consensus target is $53.40. The shares closed over 8% higher on Thursday at $48.10 on the upgrade and positive commentary across Wall Street.
Zions Bancorp N.A. (NASDAQ: ZION): Janney downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $35 target price. The consensus target is $36.35, and the stock closed on Thursday at $28.98.
With the prospects for a recession very real as stock markets hit 52-week highs, it makes sense for investors to book profits and shift capital to safer plays. Five Warren Buffett stock picks look like good ideas now for conservative investors who are nervous but want to stay in the game.
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Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Albemarle, Catalent, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Cinemark, CrowdStrike, DoorDash, Estee Lauder, Icahn Enterprises, McDonald’s, ServiceNow and Virgin Galactic.
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