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Wednesday's Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Airbnb, CSX, McDonald's, Merck, Microsoft, MGM Resorts, Nike, Oracle, Union Pacific and More

The futures were trading higher Wednesday, after another wild back-and-forth day on Wall Street. When Tuesday’s final bell rang, the Dow Jones industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed much lower, after the consumer confidence report came in very weak, falling to the lowest levels since February of 2021.

An early rally that faded by mid-morning was chalked up to reports that China has shortened the quarantine period for visitors coming to the country, and Beijing reported zero new COVID-19 cases for the first time since February. Another positive data point was that some major U.S. banks raised their dividends after posting positive stress-test data.

Oil was higher on reports that French President Macron informed President Biden that he was informed that the United Arab Emirates is “at maximum” output and neighboring Saudi Arabia probably can add only about 150,000 barrels a day, which will do nothing to lower soaring prices at the pump.

Yields across the Treasury curve were up once again, as the five-year note yield continues to trade higher than the 10-year security. The 30-year benchmark bond closed at 3.33%, and the 30-year mortgage was seen at 5.83%. Both gold and Bitcoin closed lower.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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 Wednesday, June 29, 2022.

Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB): Baird maintained an Outperform rating with a $155 target price and noted the company is holding on to market share. The consensus target is up at $176.84. The shares closed almost 4% lower on Tuesday at $97.53.

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV): Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the shares from Underperform to Neutral with an $86 target price. The consensus target is $89.20. The final trade Tuesday was reported at $76.84.

Cogent Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: COGT): Guggenheim started coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 target. The consensus target is higher at $20.14. The stock closed on Tuesday at $8.90.


Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ): Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the spirits heavyweight, which is on the firm’s Conviction List of top picks. Its $275 target price compares with the $271.95 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $245.52.

CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX): Credit Suisse Started coverage of the railroad leader with an Outperform rating and a $35 target price. The consensus target is $39.04. Tuesday’s close was at $29.14.

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