The futures traded higher Monday, to start the first trading week of the fourth quarter. Many are more than happy to see the end of the third quarter, which had big up and down moves and ended on a decidedly negative note. All the major indexes closed lower Friday, each one exiting September down more than 8%. The Nasdaq was down 10.5%, after yet another early rally attempt failed. All three are trading in bear market territory, down over 20% for the year.

Red-hot eurozone inflation readings, growing nervousness over third-quarter earnings and guidance, and some high-profile earnings misses were cited as reasons for the continued selling. Add into the mix that institutional accounts had quarter-end books to square up, and it was another dreadful day.

Yields were flat across the Treasury curve, after last week’s massive buying spree drove rates down for all maturities. The 10-year yield closed at 3.75%, after touching the 4% mark just last Wednesday. With the two-year note closing at 4.17%, the inversion remains in place. As we have noted, bond market traders consider it a recession indicator. Last week’s final gross domestic product reading of −0.6% confirmed that we are in a recession now.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both ended lower Friday. The financial media noted that in some states, noticeably in the deep south, the price for a gallon of gasoline indeed fallen below the $3 mark for the first time since last winter. The black gold was surging higher Monday morning after OPEC announced it is considering the largest production output cut since 2020. Natural gas also closed lower Friday, while gold and Bitcoin ended modestly 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, October 3, 2022.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating on the legacy biotech giant with a $290 price target. The consensus target is $253.12. The stock closed on Friday at $225.40.

CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $100 target price. The consensus target is $102.19. The stock ended Friday’s session at $66.02.

Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC): Argus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $90 target price. The consensus for the stock is up at $104.47. Friday’ close was at $77.81.

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL): Jefferies lifted its Hold rating to Buy with a $240 price target. The consensus target is $273.50. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Friday at $196.80.