In the movie “Groundhog Day,” Bill Murray keeps living the same day over and over. So are investors. The futures were modestly lower Tuesday after all the major indexes were sledgehammered Monday, all closing down more than 2%. The Nasdaq once again took the biggest loss, hammered down 3.62% and now trading in bear market territory, or down 20%, as oil skyrocketed to highs not seen since 2008. Gasoline prices surged to levels not seen since then as well. There was some retreat from the highs as Germany pushed back on an energy ban on Russia, but the momentum is swinging toward a total ban, which will cripple the Russian economy. Brent crude closed the day at $124 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate finished at $119.
Gold continued its strong move higher, as those seeking a viable hedge against the current geopolitical fallout keep buying. The sellers returned to the Treasury bond markets and yields rose marginally higher across the curve. While a third round of talks between the two countries took place Monday, and the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Turkey on Thursday, hopes for a ceasefire remain muted.
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 Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE: ADS): Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to Perform from Outperform. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $55.63 to $102.28 and closed Monday’s session at $55.09, down almost 10% on basically no news.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and slid the $22.20 target price up to $24.20. The consensus price target is $21.81 The stock closed above both levels on Friday at $25.55.
Ares Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: ARCC): Hovde Group started coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $22.50 target price. The consensus target is $23.08. The final trade for Monday was filled at $20.95, which was down over 4% for the day.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Goldman Sachs cut its target price to $220 from $250 while keeping a Sell rating. The consensus target is $290.24, and the final Monday trade came in at $199.09, down almost 4% on the day.
Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL): The BofA Securities upgrade to Buy from Neutral included a target price boost to $108 from $103. The consensus target price is $104. Monday’s closing share price was $89.69.
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