The futures traded higher on Thursday, after a mixed day across Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close higher while the Dow Jones industrials and the Russell 200 ended the session lower. The big news of the day was the consumer price index numbers for August that came in slightly higher than expected, at 3.7% versus 3.6%, and it was no surprise that higher energy prices fueled the increase. The core number for August rose 0.3%, which was also hotter than expected. Given the mild market reaction, it is a pretty good bet, and the futures show, that an increase next week in the federal funds rate is unlikely.

Treasury yields were higher across the curve after the inflation report was released, but the selling in the government complex was moderate, with the aforementioned chance of an increase in the funds rate having diminished. Futures now predict a 40% chance for an increase in November and 49% for an end-of-year hike. The 10-year note closed the day at 4.25%, while the two-year paper was last seen at 4.98%, keeping the almost year-long inversion in place.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed essentially flat on the day, after trading 2% higher on Tuesday to hit the highest level for oil in 10 months. Ongoing production cuts and the lack of support for oil and gas drilling have driven prices higher this year, and more gains could be in store, as the Saudis and OPEC have zero intentions to restore production. Brent closed at $92.14, while WTI finished at $88.78. Natural gas was slightly lower, closing at $2.71.

Gold closed slightly lower as the CPI print came in just above expectations. While the gold market has struggled some, fears over the potential for numerous black swan events next year have kept the selling pressure down. The December contract finished the day at $1,932.40, down 0.14%. Bitcoin followed through on Tuesday’s big short-squeeze move, closing up 1.34% at $26,185.10.

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, September 14, 2023.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL): TD Cowen reiterated a Market Perform rating but lowered its target price to $10. The target is $17.72, and the closing share price on Wednesday was $13.31.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): BofA Securities reiterated a Neutral rating and trimmed its $210 price target to $208. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating but lowered its target price to $216 from $222. The consensus target is $186.05. Wednesday’s close was at $174.21.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. (NASDAQ: ACRE): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $10 target price. The consensus target is $110.70. Wednesday’s close was at $10.30.

Ball Corp. (NYSE: BALL): When Credit Suisse downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform, its $65 target price dropped to $58. The consensus target is $61.14. Wednesday’s final trade was for $50.88 a share.

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL): TD Cowen started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $212 price target. The consensus target is up at $248.77. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $203.54.

Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG): TD Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $32 target price. The consensus price target is $36.21. The stock ended trading on Wednesday at $28.57.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): CapitalOne began coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $74 target price. The consensus target is $74.34. The last trade on Wednesday was reported at $62.62.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM): UBS’s upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price bump to $44 from $41. The consensus target is $49.99. The shares closed on Wednesday at $33.67.

Immunocore Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: IMCR): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and has a $75 target price. The consensus target is up at $81.35. The shares closed on Wednesday at $53.17.

J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM): TD Cowen started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $158 target price. The consensus target is $149.18. The stock closed on Wednesday at $128.40.

Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ): TD Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and an $82 target price. The consensus target is $83.80. The stock ended Wednesday trading at $71.29.

O-I Glass Inc. (NYSE: OI): Credit Suisse downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform but nudged the $21 target price to $22. The consensus target is $26.50. Wednesday’s close was at $18.03.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight came with a target price cut to $100 from $112. The $118 consensus target is higher, and Wednesday’s closing print was $111.83.

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): UBS initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $26 target price. The consensus target is $29.23. Shares closed on Wednesday at $23.25.

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE): Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral. It also raised its target to $59, well above the consensus target of $46.67. The stock closed on Wednesday at $34.37.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $167 target price. The consensus target is $154.77, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $144.36.

Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR): Redburn Atlantic’s downgrade was from Overweight to Neutral with a $33 target price. The consensus target is $47.69. On Wednesday, the closing share price was $30.56.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): UBS started coverage with a Neutral rating and a $290 target price. The consensus target is $224.29. Wednesday’s close was at $271.30.

TKO Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TKO): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $130 target price. The consensus target is $113.60. The stock closed on Wednesday at $101.21.

UMB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: UMBF): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, but its $74 target is less than the consensus target of $76.80. Wednesday’s $63.85 close was up over 3% for the day, after the upgrade.

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Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included CVS Health, DataDog, Endeavor, Enphase Energy, Extreme Networks, GitLab, Nvidia, RTX, Splunk and United Parcel Service.

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