April’s Tight Labor Market Numbers: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Coupang, Hanesbrands, United Airlines and More

Markets turned lower to close out the week despite a fairly strong showing from April’s employment report. The Nasdaq led the charge lower, down nearly 2%, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrials in hot pursuit, each down over 1%.

As for the report, April’s unemployment came in at 3.6%, compared with the 3.5% consensus. Although this missed slightly, the unemployment rate is still near pre-pandemic lows. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 428,000, versus the 380,000 consensus estimate.

The big push on nonfarm payrolls was primarily from the services sector, as more companies are hiring back employees as consumer demand is increasing. Going into the summer months is helping with the seasonal unemployment as well. At the same time, the leisure and hospitality industry saw a sizable increase in the report.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Friday. 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 were on Amazon, Costco, eBay, Etsy, Virgin Galactic and many more.

Amarin Corp. PLC (NASDAQ: AMRN): J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral. The 52-week trading range is $1.26 to $5.97, and shares traded near $1.30 apiece on Friday.

Ardely Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX): Cantor Fitzgerald’s downgrade to Neutral from Overweight included a price target cut to $1 from $7. The 52-week trading range is $0.58 to $8.24, and shares were trading near $0.80 on Friday.

Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to Sector Perform from Outperform and cut the $100 price target to $81. The 52-week trading range is $73.30 to $98.09, and shares traded near $73 apiece on Friday.

Boot Barn Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BOOT): Piper Sandler’s upgrade was to Overweight from Neutral, and it raised the $109 price target to $121. The stock traded near $96 on Friday. The 52-week trading range is $66.58 to $134.50.

Coupang Inc. (NYSE: CPNG): J.P. Morgan lowered its Overweight rating to Neutral with a $58 price target. The 52-week trading range is $11.77 to $46.00, and shares were trading near $12 on Friday.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI): Stifel’s downgrade to Hold from Buy and included a price target cut to $13 from $26. The stock traded near $12 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $12.30 to $22.82.

iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT): J.P. Morgan downgraded it to Underweight from Neutral and cut the $65 price target to $45. The stock traded near $50 on Friday. The 52-week trading range is $48.36 to $106.65.

LendingTree Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE): Northland Capital downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform with a $90 price target. Shares were trading near $75. The 52-week range is $71.27 to $228.81.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL): Wolfe Research cut its Underperform rating to Peer Perform. The 52-week trading range is $30.54 to $60.59, and shares traded near $47 apiece on Friday.

Vimeo Inc. (NASDAQ: VMEO): When Piper Sandler downgraded the shares to Neutral from Overweight it also lowered the $18 price target to $10. Shares traded near $10 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $9.15 to $57.00.

One top analyst has resumed coverage on some of the top energy master limited partnerships. Shares of five with the highest dividend yields still look very attractive for growth and income investors, despite the big run higher over the past year.

Commodity prices have moderated somewhat from last year’s high, but some iron ore, copper and gold miners are still paying huge dividends.

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