The futures were higher, after both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower Wednesday, while the Dow Jones industrials closed higher for the 13th straight session. The last and the only time the Dow rose for 13 straight trading sessions was in January 1987, and then nine months later the market crashed on Black Monday in October of that year.

The Federal Reserve increased rates as expected by 25 basis points and again. We will be data watching between now and mid-September to see if the latest increase in the federal funds rate to 5.25% to 5.50% is indeed the last. Some across Wall Street have stated they feel the rate could go as high as 6% before the year is out. One thing is likely; the Fed’s higher-for-longer messaging to the markets is likely going nowhere anytime soon.

Treasury yields were lower across the curve as buyers replaced the sellers that had sent yields to their highest levels in a month. Only the short T-bill maturities yields crept higher. The rate increase was cited as the Fed raised rates to their highest level in 22 years. The 10-year note finished the day at 3.86%, while the two-year paper closed at 4.84%. Again, the almost 100-basis-point spread and inversion between the two signals recession, a signal that has rarely if ever been wrong.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were lower Wednesday, after solid gains early in the week kept the black gold up 2% on the week. Top industry strategists continue to see strong demand, and that combined with OPEC and Saudi production cuts, as well as slowing U.S. shale production, could push prices significantly higher later this year. Natural gas closed Wednesday almost 3% lower at $2.65.

Gold finished the day higher at $1,975.50, as analysts cited the federal funds increase, in addition to U.S. new home sales that came in below expectations. J.P. Morgan in a very bullish report sees gold at a record high over the next 12 to 18 months. Bitcoin finished slightly higher at $29,395.70.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each weekday 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 Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, July 27, 2023.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its $145 target price to $160. The consensus target is just $135.56, and Wednesday’s closing share price was $129.65.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating, and its $360 target price compares with a $337.64 consensus target. Wednesday’s closing print was $263.58.
Dycom Industries Inc. (NYSE: DY) B. Riley Securities cut its Buy rating to Neutral and its $134 target price to $111. The consensus target is $129.38. Wednesday’s close was at $100.09.
Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY): Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating, and its $360 target price shot up to $525. The consensus target is $470.69. Wednesday’s close was at $451.17.

Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $150 target price compares with a $114.61 consensus target and Wednesday’s close at $96.13.

FAT Brands Inc. (NYSE: FAT): Loop Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $15 target price. The shares closed on Wednesday at $7.14, up over 4% for the day due to the initiation.

GATX Corp. (NASDAQ: GATX): Though TD Cowen downgraded the shares to Market Perform from Outperform, its target price rose to $137 from $135. The consensus target is $138.40, and the stock closed on Wednesday at $128.1. As it is trading close to a 52-week high, this is likely a valuation call.

Independent Bank Group Inc. (NASDAQ: IBTX): Piper Sandler cut its Overweight rating to Neutral, yet the target price increased to $44 from $40. The consensus target is $43.40. Wednesday’s final trade was for $45.34 a share.

Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM): Guggenheim started coverage with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. The consensus target is $39.42. The shares closed on Wednesday at $20.46.

Lulu’s Fashion Lounge Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLU): Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and reduced the $3.75 target price to $2.40. The consensus target is $3.26. The stock closed almost 6% lower on Wednesday at $2.42 after the downgrade.

Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating. Its $410 target price is well above the $340.44 consensus target. The closing share price on Wednesday was $335.22, down close to 5% on the day, as earnings were solid but some metrics came in lighter than expected.

MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR): TD Cowen initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $520 target price. That compares with a $395 consensus target and Wednesday’s closing print of $442.30.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): HSBC Securities upgraded the shares to Hold from Reduce and has a $40 target price. The consensus target is $42.48. The stock closed Wednesday at $20.63. up almost 3% for the day.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP): Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised its $60 target price to $74. The consensus target is $75.35. The stock closed on Wednesday at $77.47.

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (NYSE: OHI): Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight. The $31.27 consensus target is below Wednesday’s close at $32.78.

PAR Technology Corp. (NYSE: PAR): Lake Street started coverage with a Buy rating and a $39 target. The consensus price objective is $40.20. The stock closed on Wednesday at $33.26.

RTX Corp. (NYSE: RTX): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade to Equal Weight from Overweight came with a target price reduction to $95 from $110. The $109.34 consensus target is higher, and Wednesday’s closing print was $85.24.

Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW): Zacks named this stock as its Bull of the Day, citing fresh 2023 highs after a recent earnings report. The shares closed most recently at $280.90, almost 23% higher than 90 days ago.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT): Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold and has a $180 target price. The consensus target is $170.34. Wednesday’s close was at $145.28.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS): Though Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating, the analyst also reduced the target price to $105 from $110. The consensus target is $102.84. The stock closed on Wednesday at $85.35.

WW International Inc. (NASDAQ: WW): As Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, its $5 target price jumped to $13. The consensus target is $9.70 for now. The shares closed almost 17% higher on Wednesday to $11.54 on the upgrade and meme stock buying.

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Seven big-dividend stocks offer growth if the market continues higher, but also a degree of safety if the AI-driven bubble bursts and market declines and volatility return, as J.P. Morgan warns in a new report.

Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included C3.ai, Datadog, Electronic Arts, Goldman Sachs, Meta Platforms, Mobileye Global, Monster Beverage, Progressive, Qualcomm, SoFi Technologies, Trade Desk, Walmart, Walt Disney and ZScaler.

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