What to Expect From the Fed: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Comcast, Huntington Bancshares, Starbucks and More
Markets turned lower to start the week, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each down nearly 1%, and the Dow Jones industrials almost as much. All this comes ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week.
The most recent prints in the producer price index (PPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) suggest inflation is slowing but still increasing. As a result, analysts and economists expect the Fed to shift course and raise rates by 50 basis points, as opposed to the 75-basis-point rate hikes we have seen from the past few meetings.
Even Fed Chair Jerome Powell seems to be sharing this sentiment. In a recent speech in Washington, D.C., Powell confirmed this, “Monetary policy affects the economy and inflation with uncertain lags, and the full effects of our rapid tightening so far are yet to be felt. Thus, it makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down.”
Be on the lookout for the Fed to announce its rate increase on December 14.
Here, 24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Monday. We have included the latest call on each stock, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus targets among analysts. Note that analyst calls seen earlier in the day included Broadcom, Dollar General, DoorDash, Lennar, PayPal, Zscaler and more.
Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $55 price target. The 52-week trading range is $38.19 to $61.55. Shares changed hands near $47 apiece on Monday.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA): Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised its $30 price target to $38. The stock has traded as high as $53.32 a share in the past year but was last seen at around $35. That is down nearly 29% year to date.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA): Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and an $89 price target. The stock has traded as high as $102.09 in the past year but was last seen near $67. That is down over 19% year to date.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ): BTIG Research’s upgrade was from Neutral to Buy with a $460 price target. The shares traded near $384 on Monday. The 52-week range is $299.41 to $567.57.
First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC): As Morgan Stanley cut its Equal Weight rating to Underweight, it lowered its $109 price target to $102. The shares traded near $122 on Monday. The 52-week range is $106.86 to $217.27.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN): Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to Overweight from Equal Weight included a price target hike to $19 from $16. The 52-week trading range is $11.67 to $17.79. Shares changed hands near $15 apiece on Monday.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (NYSE: IMO): J.P. Morgan lowered its Neutral rating to Underweight. The stock traded near $55 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $31.71 to $58.99.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM): The Hold rating at Truist rose to Buy, and the $40 price target is now $55. The stock traded near $38 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $26.41 to $49.00.
Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR): J.P. Morgan upgraded the shares from Neutral to Overweight with a $56 price target. The stock was last seen trading near $46, in a 52-week range of $23.50 to $51.29.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX): Deutsche Bank downgraded it to Hold from Buy, but the analyst raised the $100 price target to $106. Shares have traded as high as $117.80 in the past year but were changing hands near $104 on Monday.
SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB): The Morgan Stanley downgrade to Underweight from Equal Weight came with a price target cut to $186 from $253. Shares traded near $215 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $204.37 to $752.68.
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