The futures traded higher on Valentine’s Day, after a big Monday to start the trading week in which all the major indexes finished the day higher. The big data release Tuesday is the January consumer price index (CPI) numbers, and while the year-over-year results were higher at 6.4% (versus 6.2%) and the year-over-year core numbers were above estimates at 5.6% (versus 5.5%), the month-over-month numbers came in as expected. The move higher will clearly give the Federal Reserve all the ammo needed for another 25-basis-point increase in March.
J.P. Morgan recently said that the current rally is likely to be the high point for this year, while Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, who made a strong bearish call last year, feels that lows for stocks will come in the spring, noting that risk-reward for investors now is “as poor as it has been.”
Treasury yields closed lower on Monday, as the bond market waited for the aforementioned CPI. Worried investors have been flocking to the safety of higher yields in the short maturities. The two-year paper closed Monday at 4.52%, while the 10-year note closed at 3.72%, maintaining the widest inversion since 1981.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed slightly lower on Monday. This came after a big week last week in which the crude benchmarks surged 8.5% higher, the largest advance for the two since early in October. Natural gas had another rough day Monday, falling almost 3% and trading at levels not seen since September of 2021. Gold and Bitcoin both finished Monday lower.
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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 Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP | AAP Price Prediction): Roth MKM downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut its $180 price target to $140. The consensus target is $165.16, and the stock closed on Monday at $152.19.
AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB): Credit Suisse’s upgrade to Outperform from Neutral included a target price boost from $32.00 to $43.50. The consensus target is $38.80. Monday’s close was at $40.39.
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Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN): Though Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating on the biotechnology giant, it lowered its $280 target price to $260. The consensus target is $261.03. Monday’s final trade was for $243.66 a share.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): Baird cut its Overweight rating to Neutral and its $290 target price to $230. The consensus target is $252, and Monday’s closing share price was $248.15.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF): Scotiabank’s downgrade was to Sector Perform from Sector Outperform, and its $118 price target is now $100. The consensus target is $110.63. The stock closed over 4% lower on Monday at $86.85.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: CHK): The Zacks Bear of the Day stock has a volatile recent history and a weakening outlook, says the analyst. Shares have traded as high as $107.31 in the past year but closed most recently at $83.47, which is down more than 11% year to date.
Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $72 target price, which is well above the consensus target. The shares closed Monday’s session at $56.40.
Fastly Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLY): When BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Underperform, it raised its $10.50 target price to $16. The consensus target for now is $10.45. The shares closed on Monday at $12.60, which was up 27% on the rare double upgrade.
Five Below Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE): Roth MKM’s upgrade was to Buy from Neutral. It also boosted its $180 target price to $240, well above the $202.87 consensus target. The shares ended Monday trading at $207.01.
Globus Medical Inc. (NYSE: GMED): BofA Securities downgraded the shares to Underperform from Buy and slashed its $83 target price to $63. That compares with the $74 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $59.43.
Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $95 target price. The $89.19 consensus is somewhat closer to Monday’s closing price of $80.08 a share.
Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS): As Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Hold from Sell, the analyst lifted the $43 target price to $56. The consensus target is $56.41. Monday’s close at $56.56 was up close to 3% on the day.
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Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $65 target price. The consensus target is $62.18. The last trade on Monday was for $39.77 a share.
Newmont Corp. (NYSE: NEM): The Exane BNP Paribas upgrade was from Neutral to Outperform with a $60 target price. The consensus target is $73.18. Monday’s close was at $48.30.
Okta Inc. (NASDAQ: OKTA): BofA Securities initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $64 target price. The consensus target is $81.53. The shares closed on Monday at $75.56.
Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR): The Underweight rating at Piper Sandler was lifted to Neutral, and its $133 target price rose $138. The shares have a consensus target of $139.71 and the most recent close was at $108.43.
Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL): BofA Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy and its $130 price target to $145. The consensus target is $129.26. The stock closed almost 4% higher on Monday at $122.88.
Sprout Social Inc. (NASDAQ: SPT): Cantor Fitzgerald’s downgrade was from Overweight to Neutral with a $53 target. The consensus target is $72.36. The shares closed on Monday at $60.95.
Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated an Overweight rating and bumped its $26 price target to $30. The consensus target is $24.47. The stock’s close on Monday at $23.94 was up 5% for the day.
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA): Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating with a $15 target price. The consensus target is $12.63, and shares closed Monday at $10.74.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $135 price target. The consensus target is $131.97. The stock closed on Monday at $107.66.
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Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ: WFRD): Making the case for this oilfield services provider as an industry standout, Zacks named it the Bull of the Day stock. Shares closed on Monday at a 52-week high of $69.44, and the $75.75 consensus price target signals about 9% additional upside.
Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG): Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform from In Line. The analyst also raised the $34 target price to $41, above the $40.88 consensus target. The shares closed almost 5% higher on Monday at $44.15 on the upgrade.
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM): The Barclays downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight came with a price target reduction from $26.50 to $15.00. The consensus target is up at $29.71. Monday’s $20.97 close was down almost 7% for the day on the downgrade.
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With dark clouds on the economic horizon, seven Warren Buffett stock picks appear to be well positioned in the current higher interest rate environment and likely to hold up better than others should the market retest the lows printed back in October.
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AbbVie, Affirm, Bloom Energy, FREYR Battery, International Flavors & Fragrances, Interpublic Group of Companies, Lyft, Micron Technology, Nutrien, Seagate Technology, Tapestry, VFC, Walmart and Western Digital.
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