The futures traded mixed Monday, after another wild week on Wall Street. The major indexes closed mixed Friday, with the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 posting gains and the Nasdaq closing modestly lower. A big surge in interest rates caused an inversion between the five-year and the 10-year Treasury notes, which spawned yet more concerns over the potential for a recession later this year, with a case of stagflation added to the cauldron. All the yields across the Treasury curve closed higher on Friday, with the five-year note jumping a stunning 20 basis points, and the benchmark 10-year note 15 basis points.
Oil prices jumped Friday as well, after unconfirmed reports of a drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil facility in Jeddah. Brent crude finished the day at $120, while West Texas Intermedia was last seen at $114. Gold also closed higher, adding to the previous week’s gains.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week 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 Monday, March 28, 2022.
Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the shares after a positive investors day. The analyst has an $80 target price, higher than the $71.17 consensus target. The final trade last Friday was posted at $57.44.
Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating for the stock, which is on the firm’s Conviction List, and raised the $105 target price to $115. That compares with a much lower and somewhat surprising consensus target of $83.17. The shares closed trading on Friday at $91.96.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the tobacco giant from Outperform to Sector Perform with a $53 price objective. The consensus target is $54.61, and Friday’s closing print was $53.62. As it is trading just shy of a 52 -week high, this may be a valuation call.
Amcor PLC (NYSE: AMCR): Truist Securities started coverage with a Hold rating and a $12 target price. The consensus target is $12.56, and the stock closed on Friday at $11.34.
Argo Blockchain PLC (NASDAQ: ARBK): Stifel started coverage with a Hold rating and an $11 target price. The consensus target is up at $22.71. Friday’s final trade was reported at $9.92.
Aris Water Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ARIS): Capital One upgraded the shares to Overweight from Neutral and boosted the $15 price target to $22. The consensus target is $19.60. Friday’s closing share price is $18.65.
Commscope Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: COMM): BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral and slashed the $12 target price to $8. The consensus target is $12.77 for now. The final Friday trade hit the tape at $7.90, down almost 6% for the day.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the shares of the popular restaurant company and has a $154 target price. The consensus target is $159.32. The stock closed on Friday at $129.80.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight and moved the target price to $440 from $355. The consensus target is $430.59. The stock closed on Friday at $436.45.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $115 price target, citing the automation solutions platform. The consensus target is $110.42. The final trade for Friday was reported at $98.51.
Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EDR): Zacks has selected this sports and entertainment company as its Bull of the Day, citing earnings strength. Shares closed most recently at $29.46 and have a consensus price target of $37.42, which would be an all-time high.
Gambling.com Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: GAMB): Stifel lowered the price target on the Buy-rated shares to $13 from $16. The consensus target is $14.67. The closing share price on Friday was $8.92.
Greif Inc. (NYSE: GEF): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Underperform and moved the $74 target price to $77. The consensus target is $67.40. The closed almost 6% higher on Friday to $65.29 a share.
Honest Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: HNST): Jefferies downgraded the Jessica Alba-backed company to Hold from Buy and slashed the $11 price objective to $5. The consensus target is $12.57 for now. The shares closed Friday at $4.68, down close to 23% after posting a big fourth-quarter loss.
KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC): Goldman Sachs raised the semiconductor capital equipment giant to Buy from Neutral and has a $430 price objective. The consensus target is $451.14. The shares closed on Friday at $366.44.
Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA): Goldman Sachs kept a Buy rating on the shares after the firm’s Vaccine Day highlights, and it has a $363 target price. The consensus target is a much lower $239.25. The shares were last seen on Friday at $165.92, down almost 8% on the day.
NU Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NU): Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating while trimming the price objective to $14 from $15. The consensus target is just $10.80. The stock closed on Friday at $7.95, which was down close to 3% for the day.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM): Stifel lowered the price target on the tobacco giant to $105 from $115. The consensus target is $110.38. Friday close was at $93.45.
Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU): Credit Suisse downgraded the insurance and financial services heavyweight to Neutral from Outperform and cut the $131 target price to $121. The consensus target is $115.77. The last trade for Friday was posted at $120.86.
Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO): UBS raised the mining giant to Neutral from Sell. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded between $59.58 and $95.67, and they have an $84.33 consensus price objective. The closing trade on Friday was posted at $79.52.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Baird maintained an Outperform rating with a $1,000 target price. The consensus for the stock is higher at $1,527.19. The shares closed at $679.53, down close to 4% on the day.
Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): Baird continues to like the stock and has an Outperform rating and a $25 price objective. The consensus target is higher at $31.20. Friday’s final trade was reported at $19.44, down close to 3% for the day.
Growth investors who are more aggressive and looking for Wall Street’s best ideas amid the current market uncertainties may want to consider five Goldman Sachs Conviction List picks. If their share prices rise even halfway to the targets, that would be outsized gains for investors.
Friday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Biogen, Devon Energy, Freeport-McMoRan, HIVE Blockchain, Hyatt Hotels, Infinera, Intuitive Surgical, KB Home, Li Auto, S&P Global and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on Carnival, Teva Pharmaceutical and more.
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