Monday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Biogen, Bloom Energy, ConocoPhillips, DraftKings, Humana, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Newmont, Playtika, Williams-Sonoma and More

The futures are trading flat as we kick off the first full trading week for the third quarter after a holiday-shortened one start to the month. The major indices closed lower across the board, with the exception of the small-cap Russell 2000 following through on the risk-off move Thursday. With the June jobs report Friday coming in just below expectations after the huge ADP report, all eyes now turn to the consumer price index data for June. While the futures market is pricing in an 89% chance for an increase in the fed-funds rate, an inline or higher inflation print on Wednesday will cement a jump.

Treasury yields were mixed Friday after a huge move higher following the ADP report, which saw the 2-year paper jump over the 5% mark. The big jump brought out the buyers, and the shorter maturity closed Friday at 4.95. With the 10-year benchmark note closing at 4.04%, the inversion has tightened once again but still indicates a recession is in the cards for later this year.

Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate both finished the day and the week higher, and it marks the first time in a while that the two benchmarks have closed higher for 2 weeks in a row. The tailwind remains the extension of the Saudi production cut and another cut from the Russians. Natural gas also closed Friday flat at $2.57.

Gold had a strong Friday finishing the week up almost 1% at $1930.30. This comes after weeks of selling as the dollar firmed and prospects for higher interest rates weighed on the bullion. Bitcoin also rocked 1.16% higher on Friday, finishing a solid week for the crypto by closing at $30,245.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new 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, July 10, 2023.

Alamo Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALG) Raymond James initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $215 target price objective. The consensus target on Wall Street is posted at $215.80. The last trade Friday was reported at $180.13.

Biogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on the biotech leader and has a $360 target price. That compares with a lower $335.93 consensus and Friday’s closing trade of $275.07.

Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE: BE) RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating for the company and a $24 target price. The Wall Street consensus is set at $26.66. Friday’s last trade was posted at $16.69 up almost 8% on the upgraded and positive commentary.

Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN) Citigroup downgraded the theme park giant to Neutral from Buy and cut the target price to $41 from $50 The consensus across Wall Street is set at $51.82. The last trade on Friday came in at $39.24.

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