The Fed’s Next Move and Afternoon Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Blackstone, Ford, Rite Aid and More
Thursday’s additional top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Blackstone, Ford, Rite Aid and more.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Markets bounced on Thursday afternoon, with all of the major averages reversing course for the day in the last hour of trading. This came after the Federal Reserve released its minutes from its Wednesday meeting in regards to policy.
The main takeaway from the meeting is that the Fed appears to be more hawkish in its stance in curbing inflation. However, the main tool that it will use is raising interest rates. In fact, within the minutes from the meeting several participants in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) noted that they would have preferred a 50 basis point increase as opposed to the 25 basis point increase we most recently saw.
While an increase in the range of 50 basis points has not been seen in a long time, economists at Bank of America suggest that it could be in the immediate future—as soon as June. With that in mind, rising interest rates do make a stock-picker’s market and analysts will have a big say in that.
24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Thursday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day were on Eli Lilly, Lululemon, Merck, Rivian, and many more.
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN | AN Price Prediction): JPMorgan upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and cut the price target to $130 from $140. The 52-week trading range is $88.32 to $133.48, and shares were trading near $100 apiece on Thursday.
[nativounit]
Berry Corp. (NASDAQ: BRY): Piper Sandler upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and raised the price target to $14 from $11. The stock traded near $11 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $4.72 to $11.86.
Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX): Exane BNP Paribas downgraded to a Neutral rating from Outperform with a $135 price target. Shares were trading near $116 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $75.60 to $149.78.
CMC Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCMP): CL King downgraded to a Neutral rating from Buy. The stock traded near $178 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $119.19 to $198.42.
Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): Evercore ISI upgraded to an Outperform rating from In Line and raised the price target to $140 from $75. The stock traded near $105 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $64.79 to $283.38.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F): Barclays downgraded to an Equal Weight rating from Overweight and cut the price target to $17 from $23. Shares were trading near $15. The 52-week range is $11.14 to $25.87.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB): Wolfe Research downgraded to a Peer Perform rating from Outperform and cut the price target to $47 from $59. Shares were trading near $40 on Thursday. The 52-week range is $34.35 to $50.64.
Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR): Piper Sandler upgraded to an Overweight rating from Neutral and raised the price target to $54 from $38. The 52-week trading range is $14.91 to $43.20, and shares were trading near $41 apiece on Thursday.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD): Deutsche Bank downgraded to a Sell rating from Hold and cut the price target to $1 from $16. The stock traded near $7 on Thursday. The 52-week trading range is $6.11 to $23.02.
[wallst_email_signup]
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
