Thursday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Affirm, Bloom Energy, Carlyle, LyondellBasell, Microsoft, Target, Tesla, Twilio\u00a0and More

The futures traded lower Thursday after yet another back and forth day on Wall Street that ended with all the major indexes and the transports down big. One of the biggest issues continuing to confront Wall Street is the ongoing and spiraling inflation. Friday’s consumer price index numbers for May could be a huge market mover. In addition, it was reported that the Federal Reserve’s gross domestic product tracker for the second quarter was cut to 0.9% from the 1.3% print just a week ago, which signals that the economy is already on the brink of recession. That comes when many market pundits are saying that if there is a recession, it would not show up until next year.

Sellers returned to the Treasury market after a one-day reprieve, as yields moved higher across the curve. One sign that rising rates are stalling the economy is that mortgage demand fell to the lowest level in 22 years, amid the rising rates and slowing home sales.

Another very ominous sign for beleaguered consumers is that both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed over $122 Wednesday. Natural gas actually was lower on the day, after a big run closing at $8.68, but still at the highest level since 2008. Gold also closed modestly higher, while Bitcoin closed down almost 3%

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 Thursday, June 9, 2022.

Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $15 price target. The consensus target is $42.41 for now. The stock closed over 4% lower on Wednesday at $23.33.

Avnet Inc. (NASDAQ: AVT): A recent blowout report has this stock experiencing a solid post-earnings drift higher, says Zacks, which named the electronic components distributor as the Bull of the Day. Shares last closed at $48.40, and the $50.25 consensus target would be a 52-week high.

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE): Piper Sandler resumed coverage with a Neutral rating and a $20 target price. The consensus target is $25.33. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Wednesday at $18.68.

ALSO READ: $150 per Barrel Oil May Happen Soon: 7 Big-Dividend Energy Stocks to Buy Now

Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CG): JMP Securities started coverage on the private equity giant with a Market Outperform rating and a $60 target price. The consensus target is $62.18. The stock closed Wednesday at $38.58.

Chart Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: GTLS): Barclays downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and has a $189 target price. The consensus target is $203.21. The shares were last seen trading at $186.46 on Wednesday.

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