The futures were trading higher, after an impressive snapback rally Friday turned south once again after the noon hour amid reports of a cyberattack on U.S. hospitals. All the major indexes once again closed lower. The renewed selling hit the tape despite July’s nonfarm payrolls report that came in below estimates, while the May and June numbers were revised lower. Strong earnings from Amazon were a positive for the risk-off crowd initially on Friday, as investors took advantage of the big selling last Wednesday and Thursday.

While the data and earnings are positive for sure, inflation could start to come in stronger as energy prices continue to trade higher. With the dog days of August upon us, Wall Street will likely see lower volumes as Americans get ready to wrap up the summer with final vacations and outings, as school in some parts of the country begins this week.

Treasury bonds rallied Friday, after last week’s big sell-off, and maturities across the curve saw yields fall by as much 13 basis points. The cooling jobs numbers and the massive selling last week were cited as positives for the government debt. The 10-year note closed on Friday at 4.04%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.77%. With this inversion remaining in place, recession is still not out of the question.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both had a strong Friday, closing out the best week for the energy complex since mid-April and completing a six-week winning streak for the black gold. Saudi Arabia announced it will continue its 1 million barrel per day production cut through September and indicated it could stay in place longer. Brent finished the day up 1.01% at $86, while WTI closed on Friday at $82.82, up 1.56%. Natural gas was modestly higher at $2.58.

Gold also rallied on Friday, as investors took advantage of a slow week for the bullion and the December contract closed at $1,976.80, up almost 8%. Bitcoin finished a sour week down 0.50% to close at $29,030.40.

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 Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Exane BNP Paribas raised its Underperform rating to Neutral and has a $140 target price. Rosenblatt’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price hike to $184 from $111. The consensus target is $144.28. The shares closed up over 8% at $139.57 on Friday due to stellar quarterly results.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer kept its Outperform rating and has a $280 price target. The consensus target is $250. On Friday, the shares closed up almost 6% at $243.28 in the wake of a solid quarterly report.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating and bumped its $220 target price to $230. Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed its target to $220 from $225, while Barclays reiterated an Equal Weight rating and raised its $140 target to $167. The consensus target is $196.43 for now. Friday’s $181.99 close was down almost 5% for the day, as the firm’s services strength was matched by a slowdown in hardware as revenue fell for the third straight quarter.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has an $11 target price. The consensus target is $14.95. Friday’s $7.60 close was up over 7% for the day due to solid revenues and the upgrade.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ): Needham reiterated a Buy rating and bumped the target price to $82 from $80. Truist Financial also reiterated a Buy rating, but cut its $90 target to $85. The consensus target is $86.12. The stock closed down over 13% on Friday at $63.57, despite topping estimates, because business trends concerns sent the shares tumbling.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Though Goldman Sachs reiterated a Sell rating, its $45 target price increased to $51. However, the stock closed on Friday at $87.31, which was down almost 4% for the day.

Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $101 price target to $115. The consensus target is $106.67. The shares closed on Friday at $107.53.

Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $235 target price. The consensus target is $220.32. Friday’s close was at $198.06.

Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating but lowered its target price to $48 from $55. The consensus target is $41.67. The last trade on Friday was for $31.86, which was down over 5% on the day. Last week, the company posted better than expected quarterly results and the stock spiked 20%. Looks like profit-taking.

FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC): Credit Suisse raised its Underperform rating to Neutral. The $101 target price compares with a consensus target of $117.94 and Friday’s close at $91.49.

Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Wedbush reiterated an Outperform rating but trimmed its $70 price target to $69. Baird also stayed with an Outperform rating, and its $93 target dropped to $84. Mizuho kept a Neutral rating and cut its $81 target price to $68. The consensus target is $79.63 for now. The shares were crushed on Friday, closing down over 25% at $56.77, after mixed results were posted and the outlook for the year lowered.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Truist Financial upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. Its $160 price target compares with a $142.57 consensus target and Friday’s close at $113.91.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $115 target price. The consensus target is just $90.38. The stock closed over 4% higher on Friday at $78.68 on mixed results but a big move to make the oncology and HIV franchises a showcase.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE: ICE): When Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, it lifted its $117 target price to $130. The consensus target is $132.36, and Friday’s closing print was $114.00.
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LW): Stifel raised its Hold rating to Buy. Its $115 price target is less than the consensus target of $124.57. Friday’s close was at $101.94.

MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR): Citing a growth outlook that keeps analysts negative, Zacks named this enterprise analytics software stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $475.09 in the past year but closed most recently at $376.97.

Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): TD Cowen’s downgrade to Market Perform from Outperform included a target price cut to $125 from $145. The consensus target is up at $183.68. The stock closed on Thursday at $109.95.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST): UBS reiterated a Neutral rating and trimmed its target price to $62 from $63. The consensus target is $61.85. Friday’s $55.11 close was down almost 5% for the day.

NovoCure Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVCR): SBS Securities initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $51 target price. The consensus target is up at $85.17, but the stock ended Friday’s session at $28.55.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): Zacks has selected this as its Bull of the Day stock, making a case that analysts still underestimate the King of AI and its new paradigm. Shares last closed at $446.80, which is up more than 54% in the past 90 days.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL): Evercore ISI’s downgrade to In line from Outperform came with a target price reduction to $65 from $85. The consensus target is $86.52. Friday’s close was at $62.75.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR): J.P. Morgan’s Overweight rating is now Neutral, and its $15.50 target price fell to $14.50. The consensus target is $17.71. The shares ended Friday at $13.52.

Shake Shack Inc. (NYSE: SHAK): The Raymond James upgrade was from Market Perform to Outperform with an $87 target price. The consensus target is $75.20. The closing share price on Friday trade was $78.91. That was up almost 6% on the day due to a strong earnings beat, though revenues lagged estimates.

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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included DXC Technology, Etsy, Extreme Networks, Moderna, PagSeguro Digital, Qualcomm, Roku, Ross Stores, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Southwest Airlines, Spirit AeroSystems, StoneCo and Wayfair.

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