Thursday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Blackstone, CarMax, Coinbase, Expedia, Lennar, Livent, Oracle, Salesforce, Southwest Airlines and More

The futures traded lower after the December consumer price index numbers came in pretty much in line with expectations. On Wednesday, all the major indexes closed higher in front of the data. With the CPI report out of the way, the discussion over the end-of-the-month federal rate increase will continue, while the main focus will return to earnings for the fourth quarter, as the big banks are set to begin reporting Friday. The rest of the S&P deluge will begin in earnest on Monday.

Treasury yields were lower Wednesday, after a big spike higher earlier in the week. Some analysts pointed to the continued “higher-for-longer” and pivot pushback from Federal Reserve officials that spurred the buying interest across the curve. The 10-year note ended at a 3.55% yield, while the two-year short paper was flat at 4.22%. The inversion between the two securities is a sign to the bond market of an impending recession.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both finished the day over 3% higher, as an ongoing recovery in Chinese demand countered a large build in U.S. commercial crude stocks. Natural gas was also a winner Wednesday, closing up almost 2% at $3.70. Gold and Bitcoin both finished modestly higher as well.

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, January 12, 2023.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY): Analysts are cutting estimates again on this digital bank, says Zacks, which named it the Bear of the Day stock. Shares have traded as high as $53.83 in the past year but closed most recently at $27.23 and the consensus target is $30.30.

Aspen Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN): Berenberg started covering the stock with a Hold rating and a $210 target price. The consensus target is $259.40. The stock closed on Wednesday at $206.11 a share.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK): Berenberg started coverage with a Buy rating and a $230 target price. The consensus target is $228.18, and shares closed on Wednesday at $199.93.

Bill.com Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BILL): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $105 price target. The consensus target is higher at $174.54. The shares most recently closed at $102.40.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX): As Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight, it lifted its price target to $95. The consensus target is $94.37. The stock closed over 3% higher on Wednesday at $83.11.

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