The futures traded lower on Fat Tuesday, as we begin a holiday-shortened trading week. This also follows last week’s roller-coaster ride that once again was heavily influenced by inflation data showing that, while overall numbers are declining, prices are still increasing and consumers who were once cash rich are now turning to credit cards for purchases.
The inflation data from January is likely to be mirrored in February and probably will give the Federal Reserve all its needs to justify an additional increase of 25 basis points in March, May and July, before a likely pause to see if the biggest jump in the federal funds rate since the early 1980s has cut the rampant inflation.
Treasury yields were modestly lower Friday, after a big week of selling and after the surprising inflation and manufacturing data had pushed yields to their highest level since late last year The 10-year note finished the week at 3.83%, the highest level since late December. With the two-year paper closing Friday at 4.62%, keeping the widest inversion in place since 1981, most on Wall Street still see the discrepancy as a sign of impending recession.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were both hit hard Friday, with both benchmarks closing down over 2% even though Chinese and European oil demand and imports are expected to hit an all-time high in 2023. Natural gas closed Friday down close to 5% at $2.28. Gold and Bitcoin both closed modestly higher on the day.
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, February 21, 2023.
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA): RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted its $30 price target to $36. The consensus target is $31.90, and Friday’s closing share price was $29.38.
Axon Enterprise Inc. (NASDAQ: AXON): Raymond James downgraded the shares from Strong Buy to Outperform with a $223 target price. The consensus target is $199.82, and Friday’s close was at $189.26.
Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, though its $370 target price is well above the $309.39 consensus target. Friday’s close was at $329.04.
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