The futures were trading lower after another day of selling across Wall Street on Wednesday. All the major indexes again finished the day lower. Top strategists cited five straight weeks of gains for the S&P 500 as one of the reasons for the headwinds for stocks this week. In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s semi-annual presentation to Congress continued sending signals that more rate hikes are on the way, as almost all of the voting members have cited the need for a higher federal funds rate. Currently, it looks as though the terminal rate will top out at 5.6% later this year with two additional 25-basis-point hikes.
Treasury yields were modestly lower across the curve as the buyers stepped in once again to take advantage of some of the highest yields since March. Most of the chatter Wednesday focused on the two-year and 10-year bond inversion, which we have highlighted since it started last year. When the yield is higher on the short two-year note than on the 10-year note, the yields are inverted. The current spread of 100 basis points is the widest in four decades. The two-year note closed Wednesday at 4.72%, while the 10-year finished at 3.72%.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude both closed the day higher, following through on some of last week’s strength. Strength in the Venezuela economy and falling Canadian production were cited as tailwinds for the energy complex. Brent closed the session at $77.14, up over 1.6%, while WTI closed at $72.56, up 1.9% on the day. Natural gas also closed higher at $2.59, which was up close to 4%.
Gold finished the day lower again at $1,944.50, as sellers continued to consolidate 2023 gains. Bitcoin exploded almost 6% higher to close at $30,051, the highest close for the cryptocurrency since late April.
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 Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the software giant to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted its $500 target price to $570. The consensus target is $531.76. The shares closed on Wednesday at $475.77.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $150 target price. The consensus target is $136.45. Wednesday’s close was at $125.43.
Avantor Inc. (NYSE: AVTR): RBC Capital Markets started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $27 price target. The consensus target is $25.00. The shares closed on Wednesday at $19.78.
Avidbank Holdings Inc. (AVBH): D.A. Davidson started coverage on the over-the-counter traded stock with a Buy rating and a $24 target price. The consensus target is $19.50. Wednesday’s close was at $15.98.
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