Investing

7 Sizzling Stocks Highlight Tuesday's Wall Street Top Upgrades and Downgrades

Lee Jackson, Paul Ausick

Published: January 9, 2024 8:10 am

Stock futures traded lower again on Tuesday. Despite a sluggish start to 2024 trading, stocks rebounded Monday to kick off the first whole trading week of the year, with all the major indices finishing the session higher. A strong showing by the Nasdaq, which closed up 2.2% at 14,843.77, led the charge, while the S&P 500 posted a gain of 1.41% and closed at 4,763.54. A last-minute deal in Washington on 2024 spending provided some of the tailwinds for stocks, despite Dallas Federal Reserve Governor Lorie Logan saying that more rate hikes are not off the table as financial conditions have eased to start the year.

Bonds

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After a big move higher last week, Treasury yields edged higher again to start the week. The 10-year benchmark note closed at 4.03%, while the two-year paper was final at 4.37%. While many feel that the chances for a recession have diminished for 2024, the inversion between the two bonds suggests the possibility remains.

Commodities

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Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were the big losers on the day, which helped to propel stocks higher after Saudi Arabia cut light crude prices to Asia to start the week. This comes after demand concerns continue to haunt the sector. WTI was last seen at $70.85, while Brent closed at $76.12, down 3.35%. Natural gas closed at $2.93, down 1.71%.

Gold finished modestly higher on Monday, with the February contract closing at $2,034.50. The ongoing escalation of the Middle East war and the overall concerns over the possibility that hostilities could increase have kept a bid under the bullion as it has hit all-time highs recently. Bitcoin was up a stunning 7% as investors bid the cryptocurrency higher again, hoping for an exchange-traded fund that could be announced soon. The final trade came in at $46,989.30.

Here are the top Wall Street stock upgrades and downgrades for January 9, 2024.

Upgrades

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CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) from Equal-Weight to Overweight with a price target increase from $203 to $304 at Morgan Stanley.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY) from Neutral to Overweight at Piper Sandler. No price target was given.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) from Hold to Buy, with the $140 price target raised to $190, at Deutsche Bank.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) from Sell to Neutral with a price target of $13 at Moffett Nathanson.

Downgrades

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JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) from Neutral to Underperform at BofA Securities, which also cut its $6 price target to $3. (The world’s best airlines, according to passengers.)

LoanDepot Inc. (NYSE: LDI) from Neutral to Sell with a price target of $3 at Goldman Sachs.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) from Buy to Hold at HSBC Securities. No price target was given.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $500 at Citigroup.

Other Calls

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Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) reiterated at Buy with a price target of $25 and added to the Conviction List at Needham.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on more than a dozen stocks Tuesday morning. Here are the top five:

• Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) at Market Perform with a $134 price target.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) at Outperform with a $200 price target.
• DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) at Outperform with a $43 price target.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) at Outperform with a $160 price target.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) at Outperform with a $566 price target.