The futures are higher as we hit the midway point in the trading week. The major indexes all closed higher on a big risk-on Tuesday, as once again the focus across Wall Street will be on the impending deluge of economic data. The JOLTS report (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey), started things off, coming in lower than expected, falling to 8.8 million.
Top analysts have cited the typical end of summer trading volume, which is slowing to a snail’s pace as many across Wall Street are getting their final summer trips in. While sentiment has improved after a dreadful August, and we look to finish the month on an upswing, concerns about September, which is typically one of the worst months of the year, are growing.
Treasury yields were lower across the curve as safe-haven buyers returned in a big way on Tuesday. Yields from the two-year to the 10-year were down by double digits. The benchmark 10-year note finished trading at 4.12%, while the short two-year was last seen at 4.88%. With the inversion between the two closing in on a year in length, it is still a solid bet that we see a mild recession in 2024.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed higher on Tuesday. Analysts cited the fact that it is likely that some of the Gulf of Mexico production will be shut in due to the hurricane, which made landfall Wednesday. Top strategists also point to the explosion and fire at the Garyville, Louisiana, refinery as providing support for the black gold. Brent closed at $83.49, up over 1%, while WTI was last seen at $81.24, up 1.4%. Natural gas was lower on the day, finishing at $2.52, down 2.4%.
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Gold jumped higher after the lower JOLTS as the labor market finally is showing some signs of cooling down. The December contract finished the day just solidly higher at $1,965.50, up almost 1%. Bitcoin, which has been hammered this summer, posted the biggest day in some time, closing up close to 7% at $26,877.90. Analysts cited short covering and bargain hunting for the solid move higher.
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.
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These are the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T | T Price Prediction): Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and its target price is set at $17. The consensus target is $17.36, Tuesday’s closing share price was $14.56.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY): Truist Financial maintained a Hold rating and a $77 target price. The consensus target is $79.61. Tuesday’s $76.79 close was almost 4% higher after the retailer posted solid results.
Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE): Piper Sandler cut its Neutral rating to Underweight and its $120 target price to $112. The consensus target is $130.28. Shares closed on Tuesday at $121.99.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $195 price target. That compares with a $186.30 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing price of $154.99 a share.
Farfetch Inc. (NYSE: FTCH): When Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight, the analyst slashed the $20 price target to $5. The consensus target is $7.45. The stock closed on Tuesday at $2.86.
First Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: FBMS): D.A. Davidson’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. The consensus target is $34.85, and the stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $28.98.
Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de C.V. (NYSE: FMX): Its Bull of the Day stock is a defensive staple that has been widely outperforming this year, says Zacks. Shares of this Coca-Cola bottler last closed at $118.67 and have a consensus price target of $121.50, which would be an all-time high.
Forward Air Corp. (NASDAQ: FWRD): Although Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, its $110 price target dropped to $85. The consensus target is $89.50 for now. The shares closed on Tuesday at $74.02. The company recently announced a merger with Omni Logistics.
Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT): As Barclays upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight, its $8 target price rose to $10. The $9.28 consensus target is less than Tuesday’s $9.81 close.
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Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating. Its $400 target price is well above the consensus target of $387.17 and Tuesday’s close at $327.93.
Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: NVTS): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $9.20 target price. The consensus target is higher at $11.47. Tuesday’s $8.15 close was down over 3% for the day.
NextEra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NEP): Raymond James upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform. The consensus target is $75.93. The stock closed almost 5% higher on Tuesday at $50.87 due to the upgrade and positive commentary.
Noah Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NOAH): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral. Its $18 target price is less than the consensus target of $21.07. Tuesday’s $13.52 close was up over 13% for the day, after the upgrade.
Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): UBS’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price boost to $140 from $120. The consensus target is $115.67. Tuesday’s close at $120.56 was up over 3% on the day.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG): Jefferies resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 target price. The consensus target is up at $18.21. The shares closed on Tuesday at $8.94.
QuinStreet Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST): B. Riley Securities initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $10 target price. The consensus target is $10.13, and Tuesday’s final trade was for $9.78 a share.
Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK): The Wells Fargo upgrade to Equal Weight from Underweight included a target price hike to $317 from $290. The consensus target is $316.54. The shares were last seen trading on Tuesday at $316.43.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and has a $250 target price. The consensus target is $223.66. The stock closed at $212.08 on Tuesday.
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Tecnoglass Inc. (NYSE: TGLS): Raymond James reiterated a Strong Buy rating, but its $52 target price is less than the consensus target of $55. The shares closed over 5% higher on Tuesday at $37.09 on the positive commentary across Wall Street.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ): Citigroup’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral came with a target price bump to $40 from $39. The consensus target is $37.17. Tuesday’s close was at $34.56.
Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN): Stifel reiterated a Hold rating with a $22 target price. The consensus target is $24.77. Tuesday’s close was at $20.26.
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Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Academy Sports and Outdoors, Boston Scientific, Ciena, CrowdStrike, Emerson Electric, Kimco Realty, Nike, NovoCure and Zimmer Biomet.
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