The futures mostly traded higher Thursday, after a solid bounce-back day for the stock market, as all the major indexes finished the day higher. The catalyst for Wednesday’s rally and Thursday’s potential strong risk-on day was solid earnings from Nvidia and very solid forward guidance from the company. While the boost from the AI chip giant was very welcome, the market strength may run into a brick wall when Federal Reserve Chair Powell gives his annual speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium, where he is expected to remain vigilant on containing and lowering inflation.

Treasury yields plummeted by double digits in some cases Wednesday, as some of the highest yields in years had buyers clamoring to own the safe-haven government debt. The 10-year note yields dropped 14 basis points to close at 4.19%, with the shorter two-year paper last seen yielding 4.97%. The ongoing inversion still suggests recession at some point.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day lower, at $82.99 and $78.61, respectively. That was well off the lows of the day after the Energy Information Administration reported a 6.1 million barrel inventory draw for the week to August 18. In addition, reports indicated that the Saudis will extend their production cut through October. Natural gas closed lower at $2.48, down 3% on the day.

Gold was a big winner on the day/ The December futures contract for the precious metal closed up 1.05% at $1,946.20. Traders and analysts cited the big jump in new home sales as a positive. Sales rose 4.4% last month against estimates for a 1.6% drop, coming in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 714,000 homes, their highest level since February 2022. Bitcoin also rallied to close a stunning 2.05% higher at $26,577.20. The cryptocurrency giant had closed lower in 10 of the past 11 trading sessions before Wednesday’s rally.

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 Thursday, August 24, 2023.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Loop Capital reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and lifted its $180 target price to $200. The consensus target is just $169.29, and the shares closed trading on Wednesday at $135.18 apiece.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: AEP): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating, though its $88 price target is less than the consensus target of $96.83. Wednesday’s final trade was for $79.36 a share.
Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $280 target price. The consensus target is lower at $255.15 and below Wednesday’s $257.52 closing share price.

Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE): Zacks says that agribusiness is picking up again and it selected this stock as its Bull of the Day. The shares last closed at $51.40, and the $61.67 consensus price target would be a multiyear high.

Avery Dennison Corp. (NYSE: AVY): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy and its $184 price target to $220. The consensus target is $199.91. Wednesday’s close was at $181.29.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH): Sidoti upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral. Its $36 target price compares with a $35.33 consensus target. Wednesday’s closing print of $29.48 was up almost 5% after the upgrade.

BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE: BHP): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $68 target price. The consensus target is $64.13, and Wednesday’s last trade was for $57.03 a share.

Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF-B): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Underweight included a price target hike to $75 from $66. The consensus target is $69.06. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Wednesday at $69.20 after the upgrade.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS): Wedbush downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform. The analyst also slashed the $155 target price to $115, well below the consensus target of $149.65. On Wednesday, the shares closed at $110.36.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK): Barclays started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $96 target price. The consensus target is up at $102.13. Wednesday’s close was at $90.23.

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating but cut its target price to $72 from $82. The consensus target is $80.29. Wednesday’s closing share price was $67.99.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY): Zacks named this as its Bear of the Day stock as analysts are cutting earnings estimates on the banks again. The shares have traded as high as $20.30 in the past year but closed most recently at $10.75. That is down almost 42% in the past six months.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform rating and nudged its $225 target price to $230. The consensus target is $241.28. The stock closed on Wednesday at $226.25.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): When Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform rating, it trimmed its target price to $14 from $16. The consensus target is $16.33, and shares closed at $12.49 on Wednesday.

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL): Susquehanna reiterated a Positive rating and lifted its $60 target price to $70. The consensus target is $70.28. The stock closed almost 3% higher on Wednesday at $61.28.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating. The firm’s $515 target price is well above the consensus target of $457.56 and Wednesday’s close at $429.34.

Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC): As Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, its $44 target price dropped to $25. The consensus target is $35.80, and Wednesday’s close was at $27.16.

Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 target price. The consensus target is $35.34. The shares ended Wednesday trading at $20.67.

Southern Co. (NYSE: SO): Barclays started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $68 price target. The consensus target is $33.61. Wednesday’s close was at $14.01.

SunRun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $46 target price. The consensus target is $33.61, and Wednesday’s close was at $14.00.

Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI): Wedbush upgraded the shares from Underperform to Neutral with a $250 target price. The consensus target is up at $349.86. Wednesday’s $279.98 close was up almost 9% on the day.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN): Telsey Advisory reiterated an Outperform Perform rating and bumped its $40 target price to $41. The consensus target is $36.31. The stock closed at $34.74 on Wednesday.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $190 target price. That compares with a lower $177.64 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $157.96.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon.com, AppLovin, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Emerson Electric, Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Sea, Shopify, Target and Trip Advisor.

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