The futures were trading lower Wednesday, after the consumer price index report for June came in even higher than expected at 9.1%. The major indexes and most sectors finished the trading session on Tuesday down big, as investors prepared for the inflation report. With second-quarter earnings starting to ramp up and with the big banks due to report before the week is out, there is a degree of anxiety across Wall Street, as any earnings miss or lowering of guidance could trigger a wave of selling of the offending company.

Once again, buyers returned to the safe-haven Treasury market. Yields were down across the board, with the 10-year and two-year note inversion remaining in place, as well as ringing the recession alarm bells in a big way. The 10-year note closed at a 2.96% yield, while the two-year note closed at 3.05%. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond closed at a 3.14% yield.

The good news for consumers Tuesday came in the form of plunging oil prices, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude down 7.4% and 8.2%, respectively, the lowest level in three months. Natural gas also took a breather, closing down almost 3%. Gold closed flat on Tuesday, while Bitcoin dropped another 2.5% to close under $20,000.

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 Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

Aarons Co. Inc. (NYSE: AAN): Truist Financial resumed coverage with a Hold rating and a $16 target. The consensus target is higher at $26.33. The stock closed Tuesday at $14.88.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the shares and has a $50 price target. The consensus target is $54.26. Tuesday’s last trade was reported at $34.06.

Cardlytics Inc. (NASDAQ: CDLX) Craig Hallum downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and chopped the $50 price target to $20. The consensus target is $59.50. The stock was last seen Tuesday at $15.63.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO): Rosenblatt started coverage of the technology giant with a Neutral rating and a $48 target. It was selected as the Bear of the Day stock at Zacks as well. The consensus price target is $54.30, and the stock was last seen Tuesday trading at $42.86.