The futures traded higher Wednesday, after the stock market was able to finally sustain a rally on Tuesday. The S&P 500 bounced off the 3,800 support level, and all the major indexes closed positive despite ending way off the earlier highs of the day.
In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan adjusted the cap on its 10-year government debt. While not technically a rate hike, it signals that after years of ultra-loose monetary policy and low rates, the Japanese central bank may be thinking about reworking its policy stance. With that noted, it remains to be seen just exactly how the bank will proceed in 2023.
The stock market managed to rally despite interest rates once again surging across the Treasury curve. The 10-year and 30-year yields both were once again up over 10 basis points. Despite the rise in the 10-year, the inversion with the two-year note stayed firmly in place. The 10-year closed at 3.68% and the two-year at 4.26%. Bond traders see the inversion as a harbinger of a potential recession.
Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished modestly higher on the day, and once again the biggest casualty in the energy patch was natural gas, which closed down over 7% on the day at $5.41. Gold and Bitcoin both had strong sessions, with the cryptocurrency up almost 3% as it closes back in on $17,000.
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, December 21, 2022.
Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT): Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and lowered its $106 target price to $75. The consensus target is $102.50, and the final trade on Tuesday was recorded at $65.07.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): J.P. Morgan reiterated an Overweight rating but trimmed its target price to $190 from $200. The consensus target is $176.45. The stock closed on Tuesday at $132.30.
Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAM): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted its $61 target price to $66. The consensus target is $80.08. Tuesday’s close at $41.59 was up close to 4% for the day on the upgrade.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX): Truist Securities raised its $50 price target on the Buy-rated shares to $54. The consensus target is $49.32. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $45.84.
Capri Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: CPRI): Raymond James initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $65 target price. The consensus target is $63.55. The stock closed on Tuesday at $55.42.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, which is one of the firm’s top ideas for 2023. The $260 target price compares with the $226.71 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $235.14.
Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $60 target price. The consensus target is $62.29. The stock closed on Tuesday at $49.27.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with a Neutral rating but lowered its $550 price objective to $520. The consensus target is $551.60. The stock closed on Tuesday at $457.82.
Cytokinetics Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTK): Truist Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $60 target price. The consensus target is $62.36. The stock closed on Tuesday at $44.46.
Fabrinet (NYSE: FN): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and raised its $126 target price to $156. That compares with the $130.10 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $130.02, which was up over 4% on the day.
Generac Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GNRC): When Baird downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform, it trimmed its $122 target price to $119. The consensus target is up at $151.75. Tuesday’s close was at $90.93.
Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN): Stifel started coverage with a Hold rating and a $17 target price. The consensus target is higher at $24.50. The last trade on Tuesday was for $15.37 a share.
Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS): Citing the weak November retail sales report, Zacks named this stock as its Bear of the Day. Shares have traded as high as $105.73 in the past year but closed most recently at $54.79.
Hostess Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: TWNK): Morgan Stanley downgraded the snack heavyweight to Equal Weight from Overweight. It also cut its $30 target price to $25, below the $29.80 consensus target. The stock closed on Tuesday at $22.77.
JELD-WEN Holding Inc. (NYSE: JELD): J.P. Morgan raised its Underweight rating to Neutral with a $9.50 target price. The consensus target is $10.54. The last trade Tuesday was posted at $9.65.
Kinsale Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KNSL): Compass Point’s upgrade was from Neutral to Buy with a $330 target price. The consensus target is $313. Tuesday’s close was at $273.06.
Lumentum Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE): J.P. Morgan’s downgraded to Neutral from Overweight included a target price cut to $64 from $83. The consensus target is $76.31, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $50.45.
Merit Medical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MMSI): Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and trimmed its $73 target price to $72. The consensus target is $75.25. The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $69.32.
MKS Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: MKSI): KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight, but its $100 price objective is less than the $106.88 consensus target. The stock closed 4% higher on Tuesday at $84.07 on the upgrade.
Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $22 target price. The consensus target is higher at $46.22. The stock closed on Tuesday at $21.40, down almost 3% for the day.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD): Zacks named this as its Bull of the Day stock, with the analyst pointing to the recent pullback and rising earnings estimates. The shares last closed at $103.20, which is about 36% higher than 90 days ago.
Tapestry Inc. (NYSE: TPR): Raymond James started coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $44 target price. The consensus target is $35.71. The closing trade on Tuesday was for $35.95 a share.
24/7 Wall St.Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $60 target price. The consensus target is $61.70. The stock closed almost 6% higher on Tuesday at $46.59 after the upgrade.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): Credit Suisse resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and slid its $160 target price up to $170. The consensus target is $160.89. The stock closed Tuesday’s session at $144.05.
Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME): As Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, it lifted its $7.70 target price to $11. The consensus target is $12.67, and the stock closed at $7.08 on Tuesday.
A top Wall Street strategist believes five well-known, lower-cap top tech and internet stocks could see a huge “January effect” tailwind in the new year, bouncing back after being hammered in the past year.
Tuesday’s early top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AT&T, Baxter International, Centene, Darden Restaurants, Lennar, L3 Harris Technologies, MGM Resorts International, Nvidia and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Analyst calls seen later in the day were on BJ’s Wholesale Club, Boston Scientific, Conagra Brands, NetApp, Norfolk Southern, Spirit Airlines, Stitch Fix, Target, Union Pacific and more.
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