The futures traded higher on Friday, after a massive across-the-board rally that saw all the major indexes soar higher Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the big winner, closing up a stunning 7.35%, which comes as no surprise after the damage inflicted on the top stocks in the sector after third-quarter earnings.

Thursday’s rally was a result of the October consumer price index numbers, which while still very high, came in below Wall Street estimates. The year-over-year number was 7.7% versus 7.9% estimates, while the core CPI increased by 0.27%, the smallest monthly increase since September 2021. Top economists speculated this gives the Federal Reserve some latitude to drop the December rate increase to 50 basis points after four consecutive 75-basis-point increases this year.

Another component of the rally was interest rates dropping dramatically across the Treasury yield curve as buyers jumped to grab bonds. Yields dropped by a stunning 34 basis points on the five-year note and 32 basis points on the benchmark 10-year note, which closed at 3.83%, after trading at 4.33% less than a month ago. The bond market is closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both traded higher on the day, with Brent closing back in on the $95 level. Natural gas also took part in the move higher, closing up almost 5% at $6.16. The lower inflation numbers offered a tailwind for the energy sector as well. Gold continued its push higher, up 2.85% to close at $1,755, while Bitcoin tacked on a nearly 13% gain to $17,855, after hitting the lowest level since 2020 earlier this week.

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, November 11, 2022.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Raymond James raised its Market Perform rating to Outperform and hiked the $183 target price to $200. The consensus target is $92.52. The last trade Thursday came in at $73.62 a share.

AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV): Raymond James upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform with a $100 target price. The consensus target is $98.33. The shares closed almost 14% higher on Thursday at $92.50 on the upgrade and the market rally.

Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX): Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating with an $80 target price. The consensus target is $69.97. Thursday’s close at $47.44 was up 14% on basically nothing new except the rally.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): UBS’s downgrade was from Neutral to Sell with a $38 target. The consensus target is $49.03, and the stock closed on Thursday at $44.15.
AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ: APP): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating but cut its $56 target price to $33. The consensus target is $43.24. Thursday’s close was at $16.28.

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): Mizuho’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut to $170 from $220. The consensus target is $216.59. Thursday’s close at $171.73 was up over 8% despite mixed results.

Bentley Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BSY): The Hold rating at Goldman Sachs rose to Buy, and the firm’s $38 price target is now $44. The consensus target is $44.60, and Thursday’s close at $38.58 was a one-day gain of 12% after earnings beat estimates.

Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ: BMBL): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating but cut its $36 target price to $30. The consensus target is $31.78. The shares closed on Thursday at $23.03, which was up 10% on the day despite lackluster earnings.

Cano Health Inc. (NASDAQ: CANO): Cowen cut its Outperform rating to Market Perform and chopped its $10 price target to $3. The consensus target is $8.26 for now. The stock closed on Thursday at $2.17, down 35% after posting dreadful results for the quarter, despite revenue up 33% year over year.

Fiverr International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FVRR): Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating while dropping its $42 target price to $33. The consensus target is $41.44. Thursday’s close at $35.95 was up 17% for the day after upside earnings results were posted.

Fresenius Medical AG & Co. (NYSE: FMS): This dialysis care provider is the Zacks Bear of the Day stock. Profit estimates are moving in the wrong direction, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $35.04 in the past year but closed most recently at $14.77. That is down about 54% from six months ago.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI): Credit Suisse downgraded the shares to Neutral from Outperform. The analyst also trimmed the $10 price target to $7, while the consensus target is $8. Thursday’s close was at $6.80.

Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): Stifel reiterated a Hold rating and lowered its $85 target price to $60. The consensus target is up at $88.27. The shares ended Thursday at $49.25, a gain of close to 9% on the red-hot rally.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW): Loop Capital’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $200 from $183. The consensus target is $217.75. The stock closed almost 8% higher on Thursday at $163.46.

Redfin Corp. (NASDAQ: RDFN): Compass Point lowered its Neutral rating to Sell and slashed its $9 target price to $2.25. The consensus target is $7.83 for now. Thursday’s $4.31 close was up 31% on the day after the company reported layoffs.

RingCentral Inc. (NYSE: RNG): Truist Financial lowered its $80 price target to $60 but reiterated a Buy rating. The consensus target is $81.04. The $36.89 close on Thursday was up 30% in the wake of solid quarterly results.
Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): Truist Financial maintained a Buy rating on the EV stock and has a $65 target price. The consensus target is $51.71. Shares closed on Thursday 17% higher at $32.96 after posting a positive forward outlook.

Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating and trimmed its $28 target price to $24. The consensus target is $42.69. Thursday’s close was at $33.73, a 9% gain for the day on the market strength.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $200 target price. The consensus target is up at $220.18. Shares were last seen up 10% on Thursday at $156.30, after announcing layoffs.

Silvergate Capital Corp. (NYSE: SI): BofA Securities cut its Buy rating to Neutral, and its price target fell from $72 all the way to $37. The consensus target is $88.91 for now. The last trade for Thursday was recorded at $32.62, which was down almost 6% due to the downgrade.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR): Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform. It also trimmed its $21 price target to $17, well below the $22.24 consensus target and Thursday’s close at  $22.90, which was up almost 20% on the day following solid quarterly results.

TechTarget Inc. (NASDAQ: TTGT): Craig Hallum’s downgrade was to Hold from Buy. Its $85 target price tumbled to $45. The consensus is $85.38 for now. The $45.60 close on Thursday was down almost 10% despite in-line earnings estimates.

TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX): the Gordon Haskett upgrade was from Hold to Buy with an $80 target price. The consensus target is $77.09. The stock closed almost 6% higher on Thursday at $73.97.

Upstart Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST): BofA Securities downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform, and its $34 price target was chopped to $15. The consensus target is $19.50. The stock closed Thursday at $21.70, up over 22% on the day despite third-quarter results that missed estimates.

Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS): UBS’s upgrade was to Neutral from Sell. It also lifted its $9 price target to $12, which is less than the $14.50 consensus target. The stock closed on Thursday at $11.34.

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Five top companies pay dependable dividends and are in a sector that is expected to continue to have strength in 2023. These stocks are favored by Goldman Sachs and across Wall Street.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Affirm, Coinbase Global, Dominion Energy, GoodRx, Kroger, Nasdaq, Plug Power, PubMatic, Tyson Foods and Walt Disney.

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