The futures were lower on Wednesday after yet another rollercoaster trading day in which all the major indexes finished the day higher. The big catalyst was Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s appearance at the Economic Club of Washington. He noted that, while the 2% inflation target remains in place, the disinflationary pressures had begun and were subsiding, though they had a long way to go. That initially sparked a rally, which soon faded, but it roared back in the afternoon despite Powell indicating that more rate hikes were on the way.
Treasury yields were up across the curve, but nothing like we what saw on Monday and last Friday, when the sellers came in big. Powell’s measured tone and some selling exhaustion slowed the pace Tuesday. The 10-year note closed at 3.67%, up from a 3.39% yield a week ago. The two-year yield also bolted higher and closed Tuesday at 4.47%, so the highest inversion in over 40 years remains in place. Such inversions had signaled recession in the past.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were the big winners Tuesday, as both of the energy complex benchmarks closed the day strongly, the former up 3.9% and the latter 4.7% higher. Industry analysts cited production interruptions from the horrific earthquake in Turkey. That combined with more indications of a China reopening also fueled the solid move. Natural gas joined in, closing up 6%, after being battered since the start of the year.
Gold and Bitcoin finished the day on the plus side as well, with the cryptocurrency jumping 1.9% on Tuesday, back over the $23,000 level. Gold analysts have continued to cite the massive buying of bullion by central banks around the world as a reason for the continued strength.
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 7, 2023.
Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM): Loop Capital initiated coverage of the shares with a Hold rating and a $91 target price. The consensus target is $99.25, and the stock closed on Tuesday at $88.16 a share.
Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Jefferies reiterated an Outperform rating with a $62 price objective. The consensus target is $53.73. Tuesday’s closing share price was $53.24.
BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC): Piper Sandler’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a target price cut to $12 from $16. The consensus target is $14.29 for now. The shares closed on Tuesday at $11.50, which was down almost 4% due to the downgrade.
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
