The futures were trading higher, as the second quarter got underway with a big rally for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 on Monday. The two indexes followed through from last week’s strong finish for the first quarter, while the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 both finished the day lower. Wall Street cheered the ongoing rally, but many feel that is likely close to being over as corporations are in buyback blackouts due to earnings season and commodity trading advisors selling could be huge as we move into the busy first-quarter earnings season.
Treasury yields were lower across the board Monday, as buyers stepped up in a big way after sellers had pushed yields higher last week. Many feel that the surprise move by OPEC will cement yet another interest rate hike when the Federal Reserve meets early next month. The benchmark 10-year note closed at 3.43%, while the two-year paper closed at 3.97%. The 54-basis-point inversion suggests recession is on the way.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were the big stories Monday, with each closing up well over 6%, after OPEC shocked the world over the weekend by announcing production cuts that were confirmed on Monday. The cartel will cut oil production by an additional 1.16M barrels per day. Saudi Arabia will lead the charge by cutting 500,000 barrels per day. Some across Wall Street feel that the production cut could lift benchmark prices by as much as $10.
Gold also had a solid day Monday, after some profit-taking late last week. The bullion closed up to 1% at $1,985. Bitcoin was lower to start the week and the quarter, trading down 1.5% to close at $27,760.
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, April 4, 2023.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and lifted its $57 target price to $60. The consensus target is $61.83. The shares closed on Monday at $52.53.
Alaska Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK): Raymond James raised its Outperform rating to Strong Buy, and its $60 target price increased to $68. The consensus target is $62.05. Monday’s close was at $42.10.
Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: AESI): Raymond James started coverage after the recent initial public offering with a Strong Buy rating and a $25 target price. Citigroup initiated it with a Buy rating and a $23 target, while Goldman Sachs also started it with a Buy rating, but its target is $22. The shares closed Monday at $17.84, which was up close to 5% for the day on the coverage and the strong energy sector.
Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Overweight rating and trimmed its $35 target price to $32. The consensus target is $29.74. Monday’s close was at $20.16.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX): Citing rising earnings expectations, Zacks named this footwear maker as its Bull of the Day stock. The shares last closed at $128.67 apiece, and the consensus target of $151.22 would be a new 52-week high.
Edison International (NYSE: EIX): Ladenburg Thalmann started coverage on the legacy utility company with a Sell Rating and a $66 target price. The consensus target of $71 is higher and near Monday’s close at $70.54.
Enfusion Inc. (NASDAQ: ENFN): Piper Sandler initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and an $11 target price. The consensus target is $12.30. The shares were closed on Monday at $10.37.
Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH): Morgan Stanley started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $268 target price. The consensus target is $294. The stock closed on Monday at $202.60.
Expro Group Holdings N.V. (NYSE: XPRO): Goldman Sachs resumed coverage with a Buy rating, but its $24 target price is less than the $26.25 consensus figure. The shares ended Monday trading at $19.21, which was up close to 5% for the day.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Though Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Underweight from Equal Weight, the analyst also bumped the $194 target price to $200. The consensus target is $206.02. The stock closed on Monday at $208.49.
FormFactor Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM): Citigroup cut its Buy rating to Neutral but also lifted its $25 target price to $33. The consensus target is $34.20. Monday’s last trade was for $31.26 a share.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): Bernstein’s upgrade to Market Perform from Underperform included a target price boost from $20 to $30. The consensus target is $28.01. Monday’s close was at $32.89.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M): J.P. Morgan upgraded the legendary retailer to Overweight from Neutral. Its $28 target price rose to $29, well above the $23.21 consensus target. The stock closed on Monday at $18.81, which was up over 7% on the day after the upgrade.
Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE: MLM): The Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs rose to Buy, and its $420 target price is now $428. The consensus target is $422.24. Monday’s close was at $355.85.
Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK): The Goldman Sachs downgrade was from Buy to Neutral with a $94 target price. The consensus target is $98.76. The shares closed on Monday at $83.10.
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX): As BofA Securities downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral, it lowered its $119 target price to $105. The consensus target is $122.59. The shares closed on Monday at $111.33.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG): Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight. Its $35 target price dropped to $15, well below the $23.52 consensus target. The stock closed over 5% lower on Monday at $11.12 due to the downgrade.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX): Citigroup lifted its Sell rating to Neutral and its price objective from $125 to $142. The consensus target is $149.40. Monday’s close was at $142.68.
Silk Road Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: SILK): Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has a $50 target. The consensus target is $56.50.The shares closed on Monday at $40.20.
SL Green Realty Inc. (NYSE: SLG): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. Its $30 target price compares with the $31.50 consensus target and the most recent close at $23.76.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and raised its $200 target price to $225. The consensus target is $197.61. The shares closed Monday down over 6% to $194.77 after delivery numbers were posted.
U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SLCA): Barclays upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and has a $17 target price. The consensus target is $19.50. The stock closed up over 10% on Monday at $13.18 after the upgrade.
Vulcan Materials Co. (NYSE: VMC): Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and lifted the target price on the company to $212 from $188. The consensus target is $209.17. The shares closed Monday’s session at $172.92.
Wolfspeed Inc. (NYSE: WOLF): Citigroup’s downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price cut from $95 all way to $66. The consensus target is $90.82, and Monday’s closing print of $62.34 was down 4% for the day on the downgrade.
Yeti Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YETI): Growth has clearly stalled in recent quarters, says Zacks about its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $61.63 in the past year but closed most recently at $40.08, which is down about 3% year to date.
Given the surprise OPEC production cut, investors can get some great value with the mega-cap dividend-paying integrated majors, and seven of them offer big and dependable dividends.
Has a new wave of gold miner consolidation begun?
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included BlackBerry, Cardinal Health, Comstock Resources, Howmet Aerospace, JD.com, Pacific Biosciences of California, Restaurant Brands, Tenaris and Wendy’s.
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