The futures traded lower on Fat Tuesday, as we begin a holiday-shortened trading week. This also follows last week’s roller-coaster ride that once again was heavily influenced by inflation data showing that, while overall numbers are declining, prices are still increasing and consumers who were once cash rich are now turning to credit cards for purchases.
The inflation data from January is likely to be mirrored in February and probably will give the Federal Reserve all its needs to justify an additional increase of 25 basis points in March, May and July, before a likely pause to see if the biggest jump in the federal funds rate since the early 1980s has cut the rampant inflation.
Treasury yields were modestly lower Friday, after a big week of selling and after the surprising inflation and manufacturing data had pushed yields to their highest level since late last year The 10-year note finished the week at 3.83%, the highest level since late December. With the two-year paper closing Friday at 4.62%, keeping the widest inversion in place since 1981, most on Wall Street still see the discrepancy as a sign of impending recession.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both hit hard Friday, with both benchmarks closing down over 2% even though Chinese and European oil demand and imports are expected to hit an all-time high in 2023. Natural gas closed Friday down close to 5% at $2.28. Gold and Bitcoin both closed modestly higher on the day.
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 21, 2023.
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted its $30 price target to $36. The consensus target is $31.90, and Friday’s closing share price was $29.38.
Axon Enterprise Inc. (NASDAQ: AXON): Raymond James downgraded the shares from Strong Buy to Outperform with a $223 target price. The consensus target is $199.82, and Friday’s close was at $189.26.
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, though its $370 target price is well above the $309.39 consensus target. Friday’s close was at $329.04.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOS): Evercore ISI lowered its Outperform rating to In Line and cut its $25 target price to $20. The consensus target is 20.49. Friday’s close was at $20.11.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO): DZ Bank’s upgrade was from Hold to Buy with a $58 target price. The consensus target is $56.37, and Friday’s final trade was at $50.77.
Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $155 price objective. The consensus target is lower at $138.85. The stock closed on Friday at $153.63.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and its target price set at $68. The consensus target is $68.53. Friday’s closing share price was $60.12.
Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Compass Point raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $100 target price. The consensus target is just $63.96, and the shares closed on Friday at $65.20.
Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG): Capital One started coverage with an Overweight rating and a $105 target price. The consensus target is $104.82. The shares ended Friday trading at $79.99, down 3% for the day.
DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG): BTIG Research’s upgrade was from Neutral to Buy with a $24 target price. The consensus target is $20.78. Friday’s final trade was reported at $20.54.
EPAM Systems Inc. (NYSE: EPAM): Cowen’s downgrade to Market Perform from Outperform included a target price cut to $370 from $390. The consensus target is up at $413.80. The stock finished Friday at $338.21 a share.
GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC): Mizuho started coverage with a Buy rating and has a $90 target price. That is well above the post-IPO high of $73.95 and Friday’s close at $73.17, which was up over 3% on the day.
Generac Inc. (NYSE: GNRC): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $135 target price. The consensus target is $156.05. The shares ended trading on Friday at $126.77.
MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Bernstein initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $282 target price. The consensus target is $258.56, and the stock closed on Friday at $213.13.
Monster Beverage Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $121 target price. The consensus target is $108.38. Friday’s close was at $104.18.
Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU): BofA Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Underperform and boosted its $45 target price all the way to $85. The consensus target is $66.37, and shares closed on Friday at $71.56.
TechnipFMC PLC (NYSE: FTI): Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. Its $18 target price is higher than the consensus target of $14.60. The stock was last seen on Friday trading at $14.01.
Texas Roadhouse Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH): Stifel’s downgrade to Hold from Buy came with a target price trim to $105 from $110. The consensus target is $105.67, and shares closed on Friday at $104.32. As they are trading just shy of a 52-week high, this looks like a valuation call.
Toast Inc. (NYSE: TOST): When SMBC Nikko downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy, the analyst also cut the $26 price target to $23. The consensus target is $24.41. The last trade on Friday came in at $19.48.
24/7 Wall St.Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX): Credit Suisse started covering the stock with an Outperform rating and a $105 target price. That compares with a $98.93 consensus target and Friday’s closing print of $85.40.
XP Inc. (NASDAQ: XP): As Credit Suisse downgraded the shares to Underperform from Neutral, it sliced its $27 price target to $15. The consensus target is $27.07 for now. Friday’s close at $12.91 was down 19% for the day after the company missed earnings and revenue estimates.
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral. Its prior $17.60 target price is now $30.40, above the $28.07 consensus target. The stock closed over 4% higher on Friday at $22.16.
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Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Analog Devices, Baker Hughes, Coinbase Global, Devon Energy, Electronic Arts, Expedia, Fastly, Marathon Oil, Nvidia, Roku, Shopify, Tripadvisor and Twilio.
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