The futures traded higher, after a mixed day across Wall Street on Wednesday that saw only the Nasdaq post a small gain, as the rest of the major indexes closed lower following Tuesday’s big rally. Geopolitical tensions were cited by some as reports indicated that the White House is considering new restrictions on AI chip exports to China, in addition to restrictions on leasing cloud services to Chinese AI companies. While sector gains have broadened out some, the majority of the market’s big move higher during what some think is a bull trap are almost all technology driven.

Treasury yields were lower across the curve on Wednesday, as traders measured the big backup in yields earlier in the week and were buyers on that weakness. With many portfolio managers going through the end of the quarter window dressing, there is a good chance we could see more buying on Thursday and Friday. The 10-year note closed at 3.71%, while the shorter two-year paper finished at 4.72%. The 100-basis-point spread between the two securities is the largest in 40 years.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day mixed after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced what many saw coming earlier in the week: a massive drawdown in crude oil inventories. Brent closed up 2.5% at $74.03, while WTI closed very surprisingly flat at $69.32. Natural gas closed down almost 6% at $2.60 after a big recent run.

Gold took another one to the chin on Wednesday, closing down 0.22% to $1917.90. The hawkish rhetoric from central bankers here and around the world continues to pressure the bullion as rates look destined to continue higher. After exploding higher recently, Bitcoin dropped almost 2% Wednesday to finish at $30,089.

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 29, 2023.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Needham reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its $120 target price to $150. The consensus target is just $138.64, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $129.04.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH): Wedbush started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $31 target price. That compares with a $23.67 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $27.30, which was up almost 11% for the day on the upgrade and big home sales numbers.

Boise Cascade Co. (NYSE: BCC): Wells Fargo boosted its Equal Weight rating to Overweight and its $66 target price to $100. The consensus target is $76.40. The stock closed on Wednesday at $85.97.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY): Daiwa Securities started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is up at $79.70. The shares closed at $64.09 on Wednesday.

California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT): Though Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight, it also trimmed its $58 target price to $56. The consensus target is $58.33. The stock closed on Wednesday at $51.81.

CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $215 target price. The consensus target is $207.77, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $183.14.

Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR): B. Riley Securities lowered its Buy rating to Neutral with a $47 target price. The consensus target is $45.40. The stock closed at $47.51 on Wednesday.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating. Its $530 target price towers over the $440.35 consensus target and Wednesday’s closed at $405.20.

Delek Logistics Partners L.P. (NYSE: DKL): Citigroup’s downgrade was from Neutral to Sell with a $47 target price. The consensus target is $47 as well. The stock closed on Wednesday at $55.29.

GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ: GFS): Its Bear of the Day stock has underperformed the chip market this year and the earnings outlook is trending in the wrong direction, says Zacks. Shares have traded as high as $72.50 in the past year but closed most recently at $62.97.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY): B. Riley Securities initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is up at $92.26, and the shares closed on Wednesday at $74.74.

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LECO): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight. Its $232 target price is higher than the consensus target of $183.29. The final trade on Wednesday was for $194.31 a share.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX): Truist Financial’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a price target hike to $82 from $49. The $66.67 consensus target is less than Wednesday’s closing print of $73.87, which was up over 4% for the day.

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS): Wells Fargo upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its $23 target price to $34. The consensus target is $28.40, and the stock closed near that on Wednesday at $28.14.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN): Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy. The analyst also slashed the $953 target price to $720, well below the $884.86 consensus target. The shares closed on Wednesday at $700.03.
Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. (NASDAQ: REXR): Mizuho started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $52 target price. The consensus target is higher at $66. The shares ended Wednesday’s session trading at $51.35.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Citing its new commitment to profits, stable expansion and extremely attractive valuation levels, Zacks named this software maker as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $212.17, and the $237.48 consensus target would be a 52-week high.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UBER): Daiwa Securities downgraded the stock to Outperform from Buy. However, its $42 target price increased to $51. The consensus target is $50.05. Wednesday’s close was at $44.24.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral and has a $13.20 target. The consensus target is $16.98. On Wednesday, the stock closed at $13.33, down over 4% for the day, due to the downgrade.

Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV): Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal Weight to Underweight with a $181 target price. The consensus target is $211.68. Wednesday’s close was at $195.93.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NYSE: WBA): When Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, its $46 target price dropped to $34, below the $37.50 consensus target. Wednesday’s close was at $29.08.

Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY): RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $275 target price. The consensus target is $229.87, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $222.96.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Six top Warren Buffet Berkshire Hathaway holdings pay dependable dividends and offer substantial upside potential over the next six months, so they make sense for growth and income investors looking to take profits and move to safe ground.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alibaba, Alphabet, Antero Resources, Ballard Power Systems, Coterra Energy, Frontier Communications Parent, GE HealthCare Technologies, Host Hotels & Resorts, Kellogg, SL Green Realty, Sunstone Hotel Investors and Unity Software.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.