The futures traded higher, after a risk-off Tuesday in which all the major indexes closed lower. Once again, the song remains the same, as the impending announcement from the Federal Reserve is expected to be no rate increase, and market strategists will be closely scrutinizing the accompanying text for a continued hawkish bias and the higher-for-longer messaging from Fed Chair Powell. Many feel the Fed will wait until November or even to the end of the year to put in one more rate increase before declaring this cycle of hikes over.

Treasury yields were higher across a large swath of the curve on Tuesday. Once again, sellers feel rates are going to continue higher and any rate cuts are a long time away. In fact, it could be this time next year or longer before federal funds are finally lowered. The strike at the automakers and various other economic data points all could point to weak gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. The 10-year note closed at 4.37%, nearing a high not seen since 2007. The two-year paper ended at 5.10%.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude continued their march higher Tuesday. Both the major benchmarks closed higher again on mounting supply concerns. Brent closed 0.30% higher at $94.71, while WTI closed up 0.2% at $91.66. Natural gas also had a strong day, closing up 3.85% at $2.83. After a hot summer in some parts of the country, some are calling for a bone-chilling winter.

Gold closed modestly higher again Tuesday, after the release of the U.S. housing starts, which hit a 38-month low in August, down 15% year over year and 29% from the cycle peak in April 2022. The last trade for the December contract was posted at $1,954.10. Bitcoin rallied again, closing up 1.44% at $27,150.80.

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 Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

Arm Holdings PLC (NYSE: ARM): Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on the recent huge IPO with a Neutral rating and a $50 target price. The consensus target has not been posted yet. The shares closed almost 5% lower Tuesday at $55.17.

Carnival Corp. & PLC (NYSE: CCL): When Truist Financial upgraded the shares to Hold from Sell, it also nudged its $16 target price to $17. The consensus target is $17.81. Tuesday’s close was at $15.09.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS): Evercore ISI raised its In Line rating to Outperform and its $81 target price to $83. The consensus target is $90.72, and Tuesday’s close was at $72.01.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE): Evercore ISI’s downgrade to In Line from Outperform included a target price reduction to $424 from $456. The consensus target is $454.25. The stock closed on Tuesday at $398.62.

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL): As Daiwa Securities upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral, the $50 target price jumped to $80. The consensus target is $66.36, and Tuesday’s close was at $69.89.

Globus Medical Inc. (NYSE: GMED): The Hold rating at Stifel is now at Buy with a $61 target price. The consensus target is $66.36. The shares closed over 3% higher on Tuesday at $53.30.

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $97 target price. That compares with a $108.50 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $89.58.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating. Its target price of $134 is shy of the $135 consensus target. The stock closed at $115.51 on Tuesday.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ): Goldman Sachs cut its Hold rating to Sell and its $37 target price to $32. The consensus target is up at $42.40. The stock ended Tuesday trading at $32.95.

Methanex Corp. (NASDAQ: MEOH): Raymond James’s upgrade to Outperform from Market Perform included a target price hike to $60 from $50. The consensus target is $49.64. Tuesday’s $43.45 close was up almost 6% for the day due to the upgrade.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI): Argus started coverage with a Buy rating and a $580 target price. The consensus target is $589.64. Tuesday’s close was at $538.22.

Planet Fitness Inc. (NASDAQ: PLNT): J.P. Morgan’s Overweight rating dropped to Neutral from and its $70 target price is now $52. The consensus target is $69.41 for now. The shares closed down more than 4% for the day at $46.40 after the downgrade. The longtime CEO abruptly stepped down last week.

Rackspace Technology Inc. (NYSE: RXT): Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. Its $3.50 target price compares with a consensus target of $2.79. The stock ended Tuesday at $2.01, a gain of 36% for the day due to the upgrade.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF): J.P. Morgan initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $121 target price. The consensus target is $120.89. Tuesday’s close was at $106.43.

Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. (NYSE: REXR): Wolfe Research upgraded the shares from Peer Perform to Outperform with a $70 target. The consensus target is $62.20. The stock closed on Tuesday at $51.42.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL): Truist Financial’s upgrade was to Buy from Hold, and its $115 target price increased to $137. The consensus target is $120.57. The last trade for  Tuesday came in at $98.36.

SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a target price of $15. The consensus target is $10.31. The stock closed at $8.62 on Tuesday.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE LUV): Citing slower growth, shrinking margins and other headwinds, Zacks named this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $40.38 in the past year but closed most recently at $28.91.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): TD Cowen’s downgrade to Market Perform from Outperform came with a target price cut to $107 from $117. The consensus target is $113.68. Tuesday’s final trade was for $95.29 a share.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO): BTIG Research resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $39.13. The stock closed on Tuesday at $31.84.

Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI): Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $327 target price. The consensus target is up at $349.86. Tuesday’s close was at $247.74.

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Seven top real estate investment trusts are way off the highs printed last year and offer huge total return potential, as they have paid dependable monthly dividend payments for years.

Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Adobe, Annaly Capital Management, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Carvana, DoorDash, Kimco Realty, Micron Technology, Netflix, Nike, PayPal and Zim Integrated Shipping Services.

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