The futures were trading lower as investors and traders returned from the long Labor Day weekend. The major indexes closed mixed on Friday, the first trading day for September. The Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 finished the day higher, while the Nasdaq closed down. Last week’s avalanche of economic data culminated with Friday’s nonfarm payrolls figure for August, which came in above expectations at 187,000, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.8%. This came after the private payroll growth slowed dramatically, rising by only 177,000, versus the huge print in July, which revised higher to 371,000 from 324,000.

Treasury yields spiked higher across the curve after the surprising jobs print on Friday brought out the sellers after a strong run by the Treasury complex last week. The benchmark 10-year note closed at 4.18%, up 9 basis points, while the two-year paper finished the session at 4.87%.

Bond traders have circled September 13th, as that is when the August consumer price index will be released. Should it come higher than expected, which is likely given the increase in the energy costs during the month, that could seal the deal for yet another interest rate increase of 25 basis points.

After the first solid week in a while, gold closed modestly higher on Friday. The December contract finished the session at $1,966.80, up 1.4%. Analysts feel that with interest rates still climbing and the dollar staying strong, the bullion could face some resistance at current trading levels. Bitcoin was hit again Friday, closing down 0.48% at $25,800.60. The cryptocurrency giant gave back all the gains from the rally started by the potential for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund after the SEC pushed back the timing for approvals for funds.

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 Tuesday, September 5, 2023.

Alamo Group Inc. (NYSE: ALG): Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $201 target price. The consensus target is $216.17. Friday’s $177.51 closing share price was up close to 4% for the day.

AppFolio Inc. (NASDAQ: APPF): D.A. Davidson upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and its $155 target price jumped to $230. The consensus target is $207.40, and Friday’s close was at $193.82.

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK): When Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, its $45 target price rose to $47. The consensus target is $45.90, and the stock closed at $38.19 on Friday.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): Oppenheimer raised its $900 target price on the Outperform-rated stock to $990. The consensus target is $902.91, and Friday’s close was at $872.52.

Builders FirstSource Inc. (NYSE: BLDR): Loop Capital started coverage with a Buy and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $172.29. The shares closed at $148.74 on Friday.

Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH): Citigroup started coverage with a Buy rating. Its $32 target price is less than the consensus target of $33.89. The stock closed on Friday at $25.33.

Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY): Guggenheim reiterated a Buy rating but cut its $40 price target to $35. The consensus target is $36.67. The stock close almost 3% higher on Friday at $24.67.

Confluent Inc. (NASDAQ: CFLT): Canaccord Genuity started coverage with a Buy rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $39.79. The shares were last seen on Friday trading at $33.25.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): TD Cowen reiterated a Market Perform rating but lifted its target price to $58 from $45. The consensus target is $57.57 for now. The stock closed on Friday at $68.19, which was up 21% on the day due to huge results and strong forward guidance.
Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG): Loop Capital’s downgrade was to Hold from Buy, and the analyst slashed the $200 target price to $140. Raymond James downgraded the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy, and its $200 price target fell to $160. The consensus target is $171.92. Friday’s $130.27 close was down almost 6% for the day after the company badly missed second-quarter earnings estimates.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL): Berenberg started coverage with a Hold rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $198.48. Friday’s close was at $182.70.

Ferguson PLC (NYSE: FERG): Raymond James started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $175 target price. The consensus target is lower at $158.54. The shares closed on Friday at $162.23.

J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) Consumer Edge Research upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $154 target price. The consensus target is $149.82. The stock closed on Friday at $142.49.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU): Oppenheimer raised its $400 target price on the Outperform-rated stock to $450. The consensus target is $421.20. Friday’s close at $404.19 was up over 6% for the day, as the company once again posted stellar quarterly results.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI): New Street’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. The analyst also raised the $1,400 price target to $1,650, above the $1.637.15 consensus target. Friday’s final trade was for $1421.64 a share.

Oxford Industries Inc. (NYSE: OXM): Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform rating but trimmed its price target to $107 from $155. The consensus target is $117.80, and shares close at $102.09 on Friday.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA): Wedbush boosted its Neutral rating to Outperform and its target price to $95 from $80. That compares with a consensus target of $92.73 and Friday’s close at $77.15.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA): Citing its shrinking dividend and fierce competition, Zacks selected this entertainment giant as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $25.93 in the past year but closed most recently at $13.65.

Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG): When Telsey Advisory reiterated a Market Perform, its $71 price target increased to $82. The consensus target is $81.40. On Friday, the close at $78.62 a share was almost a 5% gain for the day, in the wake of strong quarterly results.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER): Zacks makes the case that its Bull of the Day stock is firing on all cylinders. Shares last closed at $47.04, and its $56.19 consensus price target would be a 52-week high.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE): As J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, its $15 target price rose to $16. The consensus target is $16.46. Friday’s close was at $13.99.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 target price. The consensus target is $31.60. Friday’s $29.998 close was almost 3% higher for the day.

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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Chewy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar General, Exxon Mobil, Hostess Brands, Okta, Palantir Technologies, Shopify, 3M and Victoria’s Secret.

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