The futures moved higher Tuesday, after a rocky start to the trading week on Monday when all the major indexes ended the day lower. Growing unrest in China over zero-Covid lockdowns was one major factor sending stocks lower, despite reasonably positive online sales numbers over the holiday weekend and on Cyber Monday. Some attributed the risk-off move in the markets to an overbought consolidation move by fund managers looking to take advantage of the recent moves higher in the markets over the past month.
Treasury yields were flat to modestly higher across the curve, as bond traders await Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s address Wednesday at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. This will be one of the final speaking engagements before the Fed goes into its quiet period in front of the December meeting. It is expected that the committee will increase rates by 50 basis points at the final meeting for 2022.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude fell to the lowest levels since 2021 on Monday, before reversing midday with WTI 1.25% higher and Brent closing down 50 basis points. Concerns over the China lockdowns and the impending December 5 European Union ban on Russian crude imports loomed large. Natural gas ended the day down 4%. Gold and Bitcoin also closed lower.
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, November 29, 2022.
Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI): Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and has a $95 target price. The consensus target is $92.58. The stock closed almost 2% higher on Monday at $74.72.
Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (NYSE: AMG): The Jefferies upgrade to Buy from Hold included a target price hike to $192 from $149. The consensus target is $161.21. Monday’s close was at $155.11.
Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (NYSE: BUD): J.P. Morgan raised its Underweight rating to Overweight and hiked its $45 target price to $70. The consensus target is $56.69. Monday’s $58.17 close was a gain of almost 3% for the day.
AppLovin Corp. (NYSE: APP): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade was to Equal Weight from Overweight. It also cut its $35 target price to $20, below the $29.06 consensus target. Shares closed almost 4% lower on Monday at $13.48 after the downgrade.
Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): The Equal Weight rating at Barclays dropped to Underweight, and the $13 target price was lowered to $10. The consensus target is $14.71. The stock closed on Monday at $12.41.
BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Equal Weight from Underweight included a target price hike to $45 from $35. The consensus target is $46.01. Monday’s close was at $41.53.
Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET): J.P. Morgan resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $42 price objective. The consensus target is higher at $69.04. The shares ended Monday trading at $45.56.
Coherent Corp. (NASDAQ: COHR): Deutsche Bank’s upgrade to Buy from Hold included a price target raise to $50 from $45. The consensus target is $60.93. The stock closed on Monday at $38.74.
Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG): BofA Securities downgraded the shares from Neutral to Underperform with a $143 target price. The consensus target is $183.90. The stock ended Monday almost 4% lower to $143.73 on the downgrade.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA): Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed its $154 target price to $150. The consensus target is $148.50. Monday’s closing share price was $128.35.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR): Although J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, it also raised its $147 price target to $190. The consensus target is $158.89. The stock closed Monday at $165.62, which was down almost 4% on the day.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT): Everyone still needs cybersecurity, and the Zacks Bull of the Day is still posting good growth, says the analyst. Shares last closed at $52.08, and the $65.00 consensus price target represents almost 25% upside potential.
Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $20.66 target price. The consensus target is up at $38.13. Monday’s close was at $17.04.
24/7 Wall St.Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLCO): J.P. Morgan’s upgrade was to Overweight from Neutral. It also raised its $7 target price to $10, which is less than the 52-week high. The stock closed on Monday at $7.24, up close to 10% on the upgrade.
Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO): Jefferies resumed coverage with a Hold rating and an $11.27 target price. The stock has traded as high as $41.42 in the past year but closed on Monday at $10.12.
PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI): As Barclays upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight, it also lifted its $130 target price to $145. The consensus target is $156.38. The stock closed on Monday at $133.68.
Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: PLTK): Morgan Stanley’s downgrade was to Equal Weight from Overweight. Its $20 target price fell to $12, less than the $16 consensus target. After the downgrade, the stock closed almost 4% lower on Monday at $9.00.
Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX): Truist Financial lowered its $45 target price to $37 but maintained its Neutral rating. The consensus target is $39.96. Monday’s $30.88 close was down 3% on the day.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating but lowered its $200 target price to $185. The consensus target is up at $216.56, and shares closed most recently at $153.69.
SciPlay Corp. (NASDAQ: SCPL): Truist Financial cut its Buy rating to Hold and trimmed its $17 target price to $15. The consensus target is $16.23. The stock closed on Monday at $15.20.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $40 target price. The consensus target is $40.65. The shares closed on Monday at $38.03, after posting impressive Black Friday numbers.
StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE): The upgrade at Evercore ISI was to Outperform from In line, and the firm raised its $10 target price to $16. The consensus target is $11.15. The stock ended Monday’s session trading at $10.58.
Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS): Stifel reiterated a Buy rating with a $445 target price. The consensus target is $405.36. The stock closed on Monday at $329.12.
24/7 Wall St.Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO): The Jefferies downgrade was to Hold from Buy, and the analyst chopped the $110 target price to $50. The consensus target price is $85.18. Monday’s close at $46.77 was down almost 4% on the day.
Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U): Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an Equal Weight rating and a $27.50 target price. The consensus target is $36.66. Monday’s final trade was reported at $35.51.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM): Morgan Stanley cut its Equal Weight rating to Underweight and slashed its $150 price target to $100. The consensus target is 131.61. The stock closed on Monday at $116.49, which was down almost 5% after the downgrade.
As pocketbooks are being squeezed by inflation, six top consumer stocks have reasonable upside potential and come with very dependable dividends. With even moderate appreciation in their share prices, investors should be looking at double-digit total return potential.
Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included Activision Blizzard, Amazon.com, Bilibili, Coupa Software, Deere, DraftKings, JD.com, Lufax, Meta Platforms, Redfin, Tyson Foods, Visa, Upstart and Wynn Resorts.
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