Friday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Costco, Freeport-McMoRan, GE, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Schlumberger, Warner Bros Discovery and More

Investing

Published: June 3, 2022 8:58 am

Last Updated: June 3, 2022 9:07 am

The futures traded higher after the nonfarm payrolls data for May came in higher than Wall Street expected. The 390,000 jobs added topped the anticipated 325,00. The major indexes closed higher Thursday, after a rough start when Microsoft cut earnings and revenue guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter, citing unfavorable current foreign exchange movement. That was countered by some very positive reports from other technology leaders and a slew of additional readings on the economy that, while still less than stellar, were not as weak as many had expected.

The biggest positive for beleaguered U.S. consumers was a Financial Times report that Saudi Arabia was ready to ramp up production that would replace any loss from Russia due to European Union sanctions. That positive was short-lived as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a massive 5.1 million barrel inventory draw, which once again had the price of Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude moving toward the $120 a barrel mark. Natural gas closed modestly lower, while gold and Bitcoin both traded higher.

Yields were flat to down across the Treasury curve, as most market participants held their cards in front of the aforementioned nonfarm payrolls report.

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 Friday, June 3, 2022.

Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): UBS downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and lowered the $300 target price to $260. The consensus target is $285.37. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $251.29.

Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: COLD): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and bumped the $28 price target up to $30. The consensus target is $31.20. The stock closed over 4% higher on Thursday at $28.82.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN): B. Riley Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and the $65 target price rose to $67. The consensus target is $76.42. The stock closed on Thursday at $50.68.