Do CPI and PPI Signal More Rate Hikes? Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade AIG, Lyft and More

Markets were somewhat mixed on Wednesday after a strong recovery in the previous trading session. The Dow Jones industrials were pushed higher by 0.3%, while the S&P 500 was holding flat and the Nasdaq was lagging, down 0.3%.

Fresh inflation numbers are coming out this week and the produce price index (PPI) was the first out of the gate. Overall, the PPI increased more than expected in September, but underlying goods prices were relatively unchanged for the first time in over two years. Month over month, the PPI increased 0.4% in September, and the year-over-year gain was 8.5%. Core PPI gains were 5.6%.

With numbers like this, the sentiment surrounding the consumer price index (CPI), due on Thursday, does not appear sanguine. Ultimately, the PPI and CPI inflation numbers play into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, and at the rate inflation is slowing, investors could be in for a long winter of interest rate hikes.

Here, 24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Wednesday. 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 Apple, Boeing, Netflix, PepsiCo, Snap and more.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL): Keefe Bruyette’s upgrade to Outperform rating Market Perform included a price target hike to $158 from $136. Shares have traded as high as $144.46 in the past year but were near $134 on Wednesday, which is up about 13% year to date.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG): Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the $57 price target to $64. Shares traded near $49 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $47.05 to $65.73.

Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI): Bernstein cut its Market Perform rating to Underperform. Shares were last seen trading near $12. The 52-week range is $12.40 to $89.80.

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK): Credit Suisse downgraded the shares to Underperform from Outperform and slashed the $25 price target to $9. B. Riley Securities reiterated a Buy rating but cut its price target to $17 from $23. Shares traded near $10 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $9.73 to $23.15.

DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU): The Underperform rating at Wedbush rose to Neutral with a $55 price target. The stock was last seen trading near $44, in a 52-week range of $43.35 to $288.50.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB): The Atlantic Equities upgrade was from Neutral to Overweight with a $135 price target. The shares traded near $114 on Wednesday. The 52-week range is $108.74 to $145.79.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT): Gordon Haskett upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and has a $24 price target. The 52-week trading range is $10.82 to $57.68. Shares changed hands near $12 apiece on Wednesday.

Skillz Inc. (NYSE: SKLZ): BTIG Research’s Neutral rating dropped to Sell, and its price target is $0.65. The 52-week trading range is $0.90 to $13.13, and the share price was near $1 on Wednesday.

Given the teetering market and a sputtering economy, the best ideas for nervous investors now are the safest. Eight Goldman Sachs Conviction List stock picks are dividend-paying blue chips with reasonable upside potential.

See which powerful people in the financial world believe the market could drop another 20%.

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