The futures traded modestly higher after a dreadful risk-off day for the stock market. All the major indexes finished the day lower, with the S&P 500 leading the way, down 1.16%. Attention now is focused once again on the Federal Reserve, which wraps up its two-day meeting and likely will raise interest rates 25 basis points for the 10th straight time since March of 2022. Another huge headwind facing stocks is the debt ceiling issue, as tax receipts at the Treasury were lower than expected, and Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that the country may run out of cash as early as June 1.
Treasury yields plummeted on Tuesday, as worried buyers rushed into the safe haven of the government securities. The federal funds rate increase and the debt limit issues were also cited by bond traders as the impetus behind the buying. Those issues, combined with yet another bank failure, have investors worried about the Fed’s fight with inflation, which still remains stubbornly high. The 10-year note closed at 3.44%, while the short two-year paper finished the day at 3.99%, a large 15-basis-point drop.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were also big losers on Tuesday, both benchmarks closing down well over 5%. Analysts cited weak Chinese economic purchasing managers data for April, which came in lower than expected, as a major concern. Natural gas also traded lower, closing at $2.22, down over 4%.
Gold was one of the only winners Tuesday, as traders and investors gobbled up the bullion in front of the Fed’s announcement. Closing in on all-time highs, gold finished the day at $2,018, up a big 1.75%. Bitcoin joined gold in the winners’ circle, finishing the day up 2.11% at $28,667.
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 Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY): Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and nudged its $20 target price up to $21.50. The consensus target is $21.78. The final trade on Tuesday was reported at $18.88 a share.
Capri Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: CPRI): Barclays downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight with a price target of $46. The consensus target is $59.31. The stock closed almost 4% lower on Tuesday at $39.79.
Centerspace (NYSE: CSR): Colliers Securities raised its Neutral rating to Buy with a $70 target price. The consensus target is $64.57, and Tuesday’s close was at $56.67.
Chegg Inc. (NASDAQ: CHGG): As Jefferies downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, it slashed the target price in half, from $25 to $11. The consensus target is $20.79 for now. The stock was destroyed Tuesday, closing down almost 50% at $9.08 after announcing that ChatGPT is hurting growth and forcing target cuts.
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