The futures were trading lower as investors and traders returned from the long Labor Day weekend. The major indexes closed mixed on Friday, the first trading day for September. The Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 finished the day higher, while the Nasdaq closed down. Last week’s avalanche of economic data culminated with Friday’s nonfarm payrolls figure for August, which came in above expectations at 187,000, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.8%. This came after the private payroll growth slowed dramatically, rising by only 177,000, versus the huge print in July, which revised higher to 371,000 from 324,000.
Treasury yields spiked higher across the curve after the surprising jobs print on Friday brought out the sellers after a strong run by the Treasury complex last week. The benchmark 10-year note closed at 4.18%, up 9 basis points, while the two-year paper finished the session at 4.87%.
Bond traders have circled September 13th, as that is when the August consumer price index will be released. Should it come higher than expected, which is likely given the increase in the energy costs during the month, that could seal the deal for yet another interest rate increase of 25 basis points.
After the first solid week in a while, gold closed modestly higher on Friday. The December contract finished the session at $1,966.80, up 1.4%. Analysts feel that with interest rates still climbing and the dollar staying strong, the bullion could face some resistance at current trading levels. Bitcoin was hit again Friday, closing down 0.48% at $25,800.60. The cryptocurrency giant gave back all the gains from the rally started by the potential for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund after the SEC pushed back the timing for approvals for funds.
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 analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
Alamo Group Inc. (NYSE: ALG): Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $201 target price. The consensus target is $216.17. Friday’s $177.51 closing share price was up close to 4% for the day.
AppFolio Inc. (NASDAQ: APPF): D.A. Davidson upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, and its $155 target price jumped to $230. The consensus target is $207.40, and Friday’s close was at $193.82.
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK): When Citigroup upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral, its $45 target price rose to $47. The consensus target is $45.90, and the stock closed at $38.19 on Friday.
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