The futures traded modestly lower on Monday, after investors saw all the huge gains from last Thursday evaporate on Friday. It was a very grim way to end April, which traditionally is one of the best months of the year for the stock market. Wall Street talking heads cited Amazon posting disappointing numbers, and while Apple’s quarter was stellar, its forward guidance was quite weak, citing Chinese lockdowns and the resulting supply-chain headwinds. This week, the Federal Reserve likely will deploy the first half-percentage point rate hike since 2000, and it also could begin to reverse the large-scale asset purchases used to help stabilize markets during the COVID-19 crisis.
The major indexes were down big on Friday, and the S&P 500 ended the month down 8.8%, the worst month for the venerable index since March of 2020. Both the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 posted 52-week lows, and both are officially in bear market territory, meaning a 20% or more drop from highs.
The oil market was mixed with Brent crude up but West Texas Intermediate closing lower. Natural gas continued its moonshot higher, closing at $7.28, up a stunning 5.7%. Yields were marginally higher across the Treasury curve, while gold closed slightly higher.
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, May 2, 2022.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the technology favorite despite the so-so numbers and guidance. The analyst has a $3,700 price target, while the consensus target is up at $4,032.39. The shares were last seen on Friday at $2,485.63, which was down a stunning 14% for the day.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): Goldman Sachs stuck with a Neutral rating on the technology giant, citing the weak forward guidance as a chief reason for the caution. The firm’s $157 price target is lower than the $192.70 consensus figure. Friday’s closing print of $157.65 was down almost 4% on the day.
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