The futures were trading mixed after a lousy start to the trading week across Wall Street. All the major indexes finished lower, with the exception of the Russell 2000, as traders sitting on gains are looking to finish off the quarter nicely higher. They likely will, with the Nasdaq up just shy of 30% so far this year and the S&P 500 up almost 14%. Tech stocks have seen the best first half of the year since 1999.
The laggard so far has been the venerable Dow Jones industrial average, which is up less than 2% so far this year. With corporate buybacks on hold for second-quarter earnings, the market still very overbought and the prospect of more rate hikes (perhaps another one July), we may be in store for a volatile week in front of the 4th of July holiday.
Treasury yields were flat to modestly lower, as some buyers followed through on last week’s gains. Bond traders remain concerned that despite 500 basis points of increases in the federal funds rates, inflation remains stubbornly high and sticky. The potential for a commercial real estate meltdown also keeps a bid under the safe-haven government debt. The 10-year note finished the day at 3.72%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.73%, keeping the inversion between the two bonds at 40-year highs.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished slightly higher. The biggest story across the energy complex Monday was OPEC’s estimates that oil demand could surge a stunning 23% by 2045. This despite more renewables, and a seemingly consistent push to add solar and wind projects. Natural gas followed through on Friday’s gains up 1.6% at $2.77.
Gold followed through on Friday’s gains, as buyers pushed the bullion higher to close at $1,934. Bitcoin, which was on fire last week, finished the day modestly lower as some profit-takers moved in on the cryptocurrency giant. It closed at $30,369 after jumping over 15% last 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 Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP): Citing a decade low after a big earnings guide lower, Zacks selected this as its Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $212.25 in the past year but closed most recently at $67.29.
Alliant Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: LNT): BofA Securities upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and boosted its $55 price objective to $58. The consensus target is $56.50. Monday’s closing share price was $52.97.
Alnylam Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating and has a $249 target price. The consensus target is $249.95, and the stock closed on Monday at $191.35.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Though UBS downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it also lifted its $123 target price to $132. The consensus target is $132.03. Monday’s $118.34 close was down over 3% on the day.
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered its $109 target price to $90. The consensus target is $116.30. Monday’s close was at $82.94.
Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $324 target price. That compares with a $335.59 consensus target and Monday’s closing print of $281.58.
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Underweight rating and a $31 target price. The consensus target is $38.88. Monday’s close was at $34.47.
Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL): Gordon Haskett upgraded the popular retailer to Buy from Accumulate, yet lowered its target price to $175. The consensus target is $213.09. The shares closed on Monday at $156.61.
Celanese Corp. (NYSE: CE): BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and trimmed the $133 target price to $119. The consensus target is $124.17. The last trade for Monday was posted at $111.08.
Century Communities Inc. (NYSE: CCS): B. Riley Securities upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and has an $82 target price. The consensus target is $63.33. The shares closed on Monday at $71.64.
24/7 Wall St.Cheesecake Factory Inc. (NASDAQ: CAKE): Wells Fargo started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $33 target price. The consensus target is $37.27. Monday’s close was at $32.41.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: CHK): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $112 target price. The consensus target is $107.22. The shares closed on Monday at $81.46.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY): Zacks named this stock as its Bull of the Day, citing earnings momentum and a possible breakout. The stock closed most recently at $42.66, and the $56.50 consensus price target would be a multiyear high.
Enovis Corp. (NASDAQ: ENOV): Needham started coverage with a Buy rating and a $70 target price. The consensus target is $66.80. The stock closed almost 3% higher on Monday at $61.50.
Green Brick Partners Inc. (NYSE: GRBK): B. Riley Securities downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a $62 target price. The consensus target is $44.00. The stock closed on Monday at $53.12.
Mercury Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY): J.P. Morgan’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a bit price target cut to $37 from $56. The consensus target is $50.56 for now. Monday’s $31.50 close was down almost 10% for the day on the downgrade.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU): Stifel stuck with a Hold rating but raised its target price to $65 from $55. The consensus target is $72.55. The stock closed on Monday at $65.45.
MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB): Capital One started coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $396 target price. The consensus target is $384.14. The shares closed on Monday at $379.98.
Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST): Gordon Haskett downgraded the stock to Accumulate from Buy. Its $120 target price compares with a consensus target of $119.42 and the most recent close at $107.61.
Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW): The BMO Capital Markets upgrade to Outperform from Markets Perform included a target price bump to $275 from $269. The consensus target is $256.89. The stock closed on Monday at $251.71.
Sotera Health Co. (NASDAQ: SHC) KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Overweight from Sector Weight and has a $24 target price. The consensus target is $19. The shares closed over 2% higher on Monday at $18.42 after the upgrade.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): The Goldman Sachs downgrade to Neutral from Buy included a target price hike to $248 from $185. The consensus target is $197.13. Monday’s close at $241.05 was down 6% for the day on the downgrade.
TG Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX): Jefferies resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $40 target price. The consensus target is $30.06. The stock closed on Monday at $22.87.
This week, Micron Technology is among companies expected to lift their dividends, showing that they are doing well and have the earnings and cash flow strength to increase their payouts.
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Academy Sports and Outdoors, Accenture, Clorox, Fiserv, Moderna, Planet Fitness, Sarepta Therapeutics, Tesla, Under Armour, Ventas, Viatris, Wayfair and Welltower.
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