Investing

Friday's Top Upgrades and Downgrades: Amgen, Block, Dell, Exxon, GameStop, Lockheed Martin, Snowflake, Western Union, Wynn Resorts and More

The futures traded higher across the board early Friday, as we open the second quarter after a wild and volatile first three months of 2022. All three major indexes were hammered Thursday, despite the massive plunge in oil prices after the U.S. president announced a plan to make the biggest withdrawal from the strategic petroleum reserve ever, a stunning 185 million barrels. Given the fact that the United States uses almost 20 million barrels per day, that is the equivalent of about eight and a half days of supply. It was reported that a million barrels per day would be the release target.

The nonfarm payrolls data for March came in slightly lower than expected, and yields across the Treasury curve were lower for the second day in a row, as institutional accounts appeared to be adding positions to rebalance for the second quarter. Investors cheered the start of April, as historically it is one of the best months for the stock market.

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 across Wall Street on Friday, April 1, 2022.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the biotech giant and has a $285 price target. The consensus target is $248.49. The stock closed on Thursday at $241.82.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK): Wolfe Research downgraded the shares from Outperform to Peer Perform with a $55 price target. The consensus target is $66.31. Thursday’s closing trade was recorded at $49.63, which was down over 4% for the day.

Block Inc. (NYSE: SQ) CLSA started coverage with a Buy rating and a $180 target price. The consensus target is $182.76. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $135.60, down over 3% for the day.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): J.P. Morgan upgraded the bank to Overweight from Neutral and moved the $108 price target to $115. The consensus target is $106.35. The last trade for Thursday was reported at $90.43.

Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED): Goldman Sachs raised its target price for the utility to $83 from $65 while maintaining a Sell rating on the shares. The consensus target is $81. The stock closed well above both levels Thursday at $94.68.


Core & Main Inc. (NYSE: CNM): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating on the stock, despite the company posting some stellar results. The $31 price target compares with the $31.50 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $24.19.

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