Wednesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: AutoZone, Etsy, Luminar, Nike, Norwegian Cruise, PayPal, Western Digital, Weyerhaeuser and More

The futures traded higher Wednesday. After a two-month wait, all of Wall Street expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 75 basis points. The horrific core inflation numbers last week sealed the deal. While the Fed does not meet again until early November, it is probably a given it will raise rates then and in December as well.

The major indexes closed lower Tuesday, as bond yields soared to some of the highest levels in 15 years. Toss in some red-hot inflation numbers out of Germany and Japan, and talk of the Fed’s terminal rate going higher for longer, and the risk-off crowd started hitting bids right from the open.

The aforementioned Treasury yields were up across the curve Tuesday, with the five-year and 10-year notes and the benchmark 30-year bond all trading at 52-week highs. The continued flattening of the curve and the two-year note closing at 3.97% keeps the dreaded inversion with the 10-year front and center. The inversion is considered a recession indicator.

Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude were down on the news that even more oil will be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next month or so. The SPR is now at the lowest level in decades. Some energy strategists warn that once the drawdowns end, we could be in for a severe shortage. Natural gas closed flat, while both gold and Bitcoin ended the session lower.

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 Wednesday, September 21, 2022

America Movil SAB de C.V. (NYSE: AMX): UBS upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral but trimmed the $20.50 price target to $20.40. The consensus target is higher at $22.08. The stock closed over 4% higher on Tuesday at $17.42.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO): Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating and has a $2,334 target price. The consensus target is $2,292.89. The shares closed on Tuesday at $2,131.47.

AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ): Stifel lowered its $62 price target to $54 while keeping a Buy rating. The consensus target is $53. The stock closed almost 3% lower on Tuesday at $39.33.

Brigham Minerals Inc. (NYSE: MNRL): Citing its solid growth and expanding margins, Zacks selected this holder of mineral and royalty interests as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $26.52, and the $37.29 price target would be an all-time high.

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