Wednesday Afternoon Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alcoa, BHP, Netflix and More

Markets bounced back on Wednesday, after staring down what was the worst trading day since last March on Tuesday. This was in large part precipitated by a spike in U.S. Treasury yields that receded Wednesday as markets recovered. Big tech was hurt the worst on Tuesday, as it directly contrasts to Treasury yields.

Analysts seem to be split on where the tech sector could go from here. Some are arguing that earnings can improve to justify these increased valuations, while others think the price has to fall to match up with the P/E multiples.

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing some big analyst calls seen on Wednesday. We have included the latest analyst 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 Boeing, Conagra Brands, Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, Nike and more.

Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA): Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating and raised the price target to $62 from $51. Shares were trading near $50 on Wednesday, and the consensus price target is $54.12.

BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE: BHP): RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Sector Perform from Outperform. Shares were last seen trading around $53. They have a consensus price target of $62.05.

IronNet Inc. (NYSE: IRNT): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $27 price target. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $9.36 to $47.50, while the current share price is around $23.

Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: KC): Nomura lowered its Buy rating to Neutral and cut the price target to $33 from $45. The 52-week range is $46.42 to $105.95, and the share price is near $102.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX): Benchmark reiterated a Sell rating but raised its price target to $493 from $448. Shares were last seen trading near $602 apiece. The consensus price target is $616.05.

Sea Ltd. (NYSE: SE): DZ Bank started coverage with a Buy rating and a $400 price target. The consensus price target is $365.41, and the share price is roughly $317.

Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: VIPS): New Street downgraded it to Neutral from Buy. Shares were trading around $11, and the analysts’ consensus target is $22.68.

With the prospect for rising interest rates, Jefferies is positive on the banking industry and has five top dividend-paying stocks rated Buy that really are value plays when compared to the very overbought and pricey stock market as a whole.

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