The futures were lower on Tuesday, after a solid start to the trading week. All the major indexes closed higher on Monday, and the song remains the same as all eyes across Wall Street remain laser-focused on the debt limit ceiling negotiations. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are supposed to meet again Tuesday, and reports of positive weekend discussions among staffers indicate that some progress has been made. With most of the S&P 500 earnings having wrapped up (the big retailers will report this week for the unofficial end to the season), the debt ceiling and regional bank weakness remain the main talking points.
Treasury yields were modestly higher on Monday, as the sellers returned to start off the week. Bond traders also continue to closely monitor the debt ceiling negotiations. Reports that redirecting unspent Covid funds and faster permitting for big investment projects are said to be positives, while clean energy tax credits, student loans and entitlement program work requirements are said to be among the differences. The 10-year yield ended Monday at 3.50% while the two-year paper closed at 4.01%, keeping the year-long inversion in place.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude started the week off on a positive note, with both of the oil benchmarks closing the day almost 2% higher. A massive deal in the energy master limited partnership sector, and reports that natural gas drilling has sunk to levels not seen since 2016, were cited as positives. Natural gas closed Monday at $2.38, up almost 5% for the day.
Gold finished the day flat at $2,020, after trading lower last week. Bitcoin rallied on Monday, closing up 1.7% at $27,387 after a dreadful week last week.
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, May 16, 2023.
Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB): Baird raised its Neutral rating to Outperform and its $222 price target to $288. The consensus target is $258.90 The stock closed 4% higher on Monday at $198.43. The company recently crushed earnings estimates for the quarter.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL): Loop Capital’s downgraded was from Buy to Hold with a $125 target price. The consensus target is $130.15. The shares ended trading on Monday at $116.51.
AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB): As BofA Securities upgraded it from Neutral to Buy, its target price increased to $212 from $199. The consensus target is $187.40. The shares closed on Monday at $177.91.
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