The futures were lower Thursday, after the Federal Reserve announcement that the federal funds rate will be increased by 75 basis points, which sends a clear signal that inflation is a huge priority. The last time the Federal Reserve raised rates this much was in November 1994, when the central bank was able to orchestrate a soft landing by tightening monetary policy ahead of rising inflation. The problem this time, and everybody across Wall Street knows it (and finally Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted it) is that current soaring inflation is way ahead of the Fed and is coming in at 40-year highs.

The major indexes closed higher after the announcement in the afternoon. Treasury yields across the curve were lower as buyers stepped in for the first time since last week, as both the five-year and 10-year notes hit 52-week high yields on Tuesday. Gold closed higher, while cryptocurrencies once again were down. Though Bitcoin was flat, it was down a sharp 6% Thursday morning.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed lower after the big rate hike, but natural gas ended the session higher, after being walloped Tuesday when Freeport LNG, the nation’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, said its plant that shut down last week due to an explosion probably will not return to full operations until near the end of this year.

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 Thursday, June 16, 2022.

Armstrong Worldwide Industries Inc. (NYSE: AWI): Loop Capital upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has set a $95 target price. The consensus target is $105.70. The last trade for Wednesday was reported at $79.40.

Bragg Gaming Group Inc. (NASDAQ: BRAG): Maxim Group started coverage with a Buy rating and a $12 target price. Shares have traded as high as $12.60 in the past year but closed most recently at $5.05.

Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT): Zacks has picked this stock as its Bull of the Day. The analyst points out that chemicals were a hot trade but now the earnings are catching up. Shares last closed at $67.60, and the consensus price target of $85.80 would be an all-time high.

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Goldman Sachs lowered its $80 price target on the Neutral-rated shares to $70. The consensus target is $149.17 The stock closed almost 7% higher on Wednesday at $55.01.