Wednesday’s Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: APA, Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson, Match, Medtronic, Netflix, Walmart and More

The futures were lower Wednesday, after the prior day’s follow-through rally. All the major indexes closed higher, behind the same strength that drove stocks higher on Monday. Solid earnings from some big blue-chip companies combined with an easing of European worries as U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss did an abrupt about-face on the fiscal policies she had initially pitched. However, the policy messaging from the Federal Reserve remains the same, very hawkish, and the very grim year-over-year inflation numbers from last week almost assure the market of yet another 75-basis-point move early next month.

Interest rates were mixed, with only the 30-year long-bond yield moving higher. The 10-year closed at 4%, which is still the highest the debt has traded since June of 2008. The inversion with the two-year note remains in place, as the final trade for Tuesday was posted at 4.43%. The inversion suggests recession potential.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude closed mixed, as both rallied from intraday lows, but top sector analysts have noted that if Russia follows through on oil price caps, a large amount of supply will come out of the market. That, combined with OPEC moves, could spike prices higher. Natural gas also rallied late in the day, after being down 5% earlier in the day, while gold closed flat and Bitcoin ended 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. October 19, 2022.

APA Corp. (NASDAQ: APA): Goldman Sachs raised its target price on the Neutral-rated energy giant to $46 from $38. The consensus target is $54.08. Tuesday’s close was at $38.02.

Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP): This stock was named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks, which cited a pending turnaround in earnings. Shares most recently closed at $55.39. The consensus price target of $75.13 represents more than 35% upside.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW): Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $96 target price. That compares with a higher $113.79 consensus target and Tuesday’s closing trade of $86.26.

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Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD): Tudor Pickering Holt downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy and has a $29 target price. The consensus target is $31.64. The stock closed most recently at $25.50.

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