Here Are Thursday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Alphabet, BlackRock, Etsy, Flex, Lululemon Athletica, Meta Platforms, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, and More Quick Read – A 0.3% June PPI drop lifted all major indices, but escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities near the Strait…
Hormuz threaten to reverse those inflation gains. – JPMorgan raised BLK to Overweight with a $1,364 target, while Truist cut LULU to Sell and dropped the price target to $94. – Capital One upgraded both OKTA to Overweight with a $171 target and Palo Alto Networks to Overweight with a $421 target on the same day. – Pre-Market Stock Futures: Futures are trading mixed after a solid mid-week session that saw all of the major indices finish the day higher. Another positive inflation print helped stocks along, as the Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks wholesale costs, plummeted 0.3% in June, largely due to falling gasoline prices
While that was encouraging, it’s a good bet the number moves back higher in July, as energy prices have spiked amid the escalation of attacks between the United States and Iran. It’s important to remember the trailing and forward price-to-earnings ratios for the S&P 500; both are well above historical averages. The Nasdaq once again led the way on Wednesday, closing up 0.62% at 26,269, while the S&P 500 finished the session at 7,527, up 0.38%.
The small-cap Russell 2000 closed at 2,975, up 0.37%, while the Dow Jones Industrials closed at 52,658, higher by 0.29%. Treasury Bonds: After the positive PPI number, bond buyers returned once again to grab rich coupons on U.S. debt, and yields across the curve were lower for all of the maturities. When the closing bell rang, the 30-year-long bond was last seen at 5.09%, while the benchmark 10-year note was quoted at 4.55%.