Investing
The futures were crushed as shell-shocked investors return to the scene of the crime after the markets closed down big-time across the board Friday, completing the fourth straight week of stock market losses. All the major indexes were pounded, and with investors anticipating a minimum of a 75-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate on Wednesday, we could be in for more turbulence this week.
The big culprit Friday was a stunning drop by FedEx, which was hammered, down over 20%, its biggest one-day loss ever. FedEx withdrew its full-year guidance and updated its outlook for the global economy. Essentially, the shipping firm expects a global recession in the months and years to come. That combined with lousy results from tech giant Adobe got the selling party started.
Interest rates were mixed across the Treasury curve, with some buyers coming in for the short and intermediate maturities. We saw some selling of the benchmark 30-year bond, which closed at a 3.52% yield. The omnipresent two-year and 10-year note inversion stayed well in play, with the former closing at a 3.87% yield and the latter at 3.45%. The bond market views the inversion as a harbinger of recession.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both closed modestly higher on Friday, while natural gas, which has been very volatile over the past week, closed down over 6% and finished the day at $7.80. Gold finished Friday higher, while Bitcoin again ended the day lower.
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 Monday, September 19, 2022.
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE): Stifel kept a Buy rating on the tech giant but slashed the $500 target price to $375. The consensus target is $459.46 for now. The stock closed down over 3% on Friday at $299.50 earnings results that beat estimates, but many across Wall Street felt that the company wildly overpaid for Figma, the software tool designer.
Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE: ARW): Wells Fargo’s downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight included a price target cut to $87 from $125. The consensus target is higher at $131.83. The last trade Friday was reported at $96.11.
Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN): Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating with a $107 price target. The consensus target is $99.91. The stock closed over 4% lower on Friday at $74.00.
CyberArk Software Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYBR): MKM Partners started coverage with a Buy rating and a $190 target. That compares with a $178.95 consensus target and Friday’s last trade at $151.19 a share.