The futures traded mixed after yet another solid day on Wall Street that saw all the major indexes close the day higher. The same positive data points continue to drive stocks higher: disinflation, as the rate of price increases has fallen from 9% to 3%, the potential for the economy to have a soft landing in lieu of recession, and the hope that the next increase in the federal funds rate, which is likely to come at the end of the July, will be the last. It should be noted that the winning streak for the venerable Dow Jones industrial average, which hit eight straight sessions on Wednesday, is the longest winning streak since 2021.

Treasury yields were modestly lower across the curve Wednesday, as buyers nibbled after a big move over the past 10 days. The benchmark 10-year note closed the day at 3.75%, while the shorter two-year paper closed at 4.77%. The inversion between the two government securities has widened back out to 102 basis points, the biggest gap since 1981.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude had another strong day to open the session, but both ended up lower. Brent closed at $79.39 and WTI at $75.26. Top strategists noted that oil traders are starting to become more positive about the Saudi production cuts that were extended through August. Natural gas closed the day flat at $2.62.

Gold finished the day modestly higher at $1,981.30. Traders cited the U.S. housing starts that dropped 8% in June as a positive for the bullion. Strength in the dollar was cited for the lackluster day. Bitcoin, which was mauled earlier this week, finished the day higher at $30,050.80.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday 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, July 20, 2023.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): Zacks makes the case for its Bull of the Day stock to keep soaring. The shares hit a 52-week high of $147.68 on Wednesday and are up more than 70% since the beginning of the year.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating but lifted its $190 target price to $210. The consensus target is $190.14. Wednesday’s closing share price was $195.76.

Bluebird Bio Inc. (NASDAQ: BLUE): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy and its $6 target price to $10. The consensus target is $6.90. The stock closed up almost 18% on Wednesday at $3.71 due to the upgrade and positive commentary.
Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: CQP): UBS upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. Its $57 price target is higher than the consensus target of $51.08 and Wednesday’s close at $50.01.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK): as J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, the analyst trimmed the $21 target price to $18. The consensus target is $18.59, and shares closed on Wednesday at $15.65.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade to Overweight from Neutral included a target price hike to $62 from $55. The consensus target is $55.88. Wednesday’s closing share price was $52.90.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) Compass Point reiterated a Buy rating and boosted the $100 target price to $145. The consensus target is much less than Wednesday’s close at $109.30, which was higher by almost 5% on the day.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating on the popular pizza chain and raised their target price to $465 from $400. The consensus is set lower at $371.90. The stock closed Wednesday at $390.67.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): UBS reiterated a Neutral rating and trimmed its $120 target price to $105. The consensus target is $115.54 for now. The shares closed almost 4% higher on Wednesday at $96.87.

Flowers Foods Inc. (NYSE: FLO): Its Bear of the Day is a cautionary tale, says Zacks. The stock has traded as high as $30.16 in the past year but closed most recently at $24.46. That is down almost 15% year to date.

Hancock Whitney Corp. (NYSE: HWC): Though Raymond James downgraded the regional banking firm to Outperform from Strong Buy, its $45 target price ticked up to $46. The consensus target is $44.83. The stock closed on Wednesday at $43.57.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY): The Neutral rating at BNP Paribas is now at Outperform. The firm’s $268 target price is less than the consensus target of $276.61. Wednesday’s close was at $241.77.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU): BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and has a $532 target price. The consensus target is just $495.04, and the shares closed on Wednesday at $499.84.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): TD Cowen reiterated a Market Perform rating and bumped its target price to $11 from $9. The consensus target is $12.67. The shares closed on Wednesday at $12.30.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating and boosted the target price in a big way, from $336 to $425. The consensus target is $352.65, and Wednesday’s close was a bit higher at $355.01.

Penske Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: PAG): Stephens cut its Overweight rating to Equal Weight and yet raised the $156 price target to $185. The consensus target is $157.80. On Wednesday, shares closed at $178.40.

PotlatchDeltic Corp. (NASDAQ: PCH): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Sector Perform from Outperform. The firm’s target price of $55 compares with a $55.38 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $53.05.

QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS): As TD Cowen downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform, it slashed its $14 target price to $8. The $5.71 consensus target is also less than Wednesday’s closing print of $10.17.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN): Gordon Haskett downgraded the shares from Hold to Underperform with a $10.50 target price. The consensus target is $8.56. The stock closed at $14.57 on Wednesday, which was down almost 15% for the day after the downgrade.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $150 price target. The consensus target is $156.88. Wednesday’s last trade was reported at $149.85.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): The BNP Paribas upgrade was to Neutral from Underperform, and the firm has a $173 target price on shares of the cloud computing company. The consensus target is up at $199.39, and shares closed at $185.84 on Wednesday.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Wells Fargo reiterated an Overweight rating but trimmed its $125 target price down to $120. The consensus target is $114.80. Wednesday’s close at $101.83 was down over 3% on the day.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO): Raymond James initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $595 target price. The consensus target is higher at $621.55. Wednesday’s final trade was for $536.95 a share.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Carnival, Citigroup, Coherent, DraftKings, Foot Locker, Leslie’s, Lumentum, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Pinterest, Shopify, Trade Desk and UnitedHealth.

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