Stocks are indicated for a slightly lower open on Friday, June 21, following declines for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Thursday. After reaching fresh intraday highs to start the day, the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq finished lower by 0.25% and 0.79%, respectively. However, the Dow bucked the trend, climbing 0.77%.
One of the key culprits for the roll over on Thursday was the ugly reversal in Club name Nvidia as profits were taken in AI winners and momentum briefly lost steam. Despite this, Melius Research upped its price target on the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker to $160 a share from $125.
In other news, Nike was upgraded to a buy-equivalent rating at Oppenheimer with a price target of $120 a share, implying more than 25% upside from Thursday’s close. Analysts believe that many of the footwear and apparel giant’s challenges and expectations are now priced into the stock, and it could rally gradually.
Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi raised his price target on Club holding Apple to $240 a share from $195 on AI monetization opportunities, implying more than 14% upside from Thursday’s close. This comes after Sacconaghi upgraded the iPhone maker to a buy-equivalent rating in late April.
On the flip side, Northrop Grumman was downgraded to a hold-equivalent rating at Bernstein as key catalysts for the defense stock are taking longer than expected to play out. Their new price target is $477 a share, down from $535.
DA Davidson started coverage of Club name Palo Alto Networks with a buy rating and price target of $380 a share. The firm also added the cybersecurity stock to its “Best of Breed Bison” list, citing the company’s successful platformization strategy.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a buy-equivalent rating, citing expectations for higher copper and gold prices benefiting the miner. They also upgraded Alcoa to a buy-equivalent rating on aluminum pricing.
Snowflake’s price target at Wells Fargo was lowered to $200 a share from $225, though analysts kept their buy rating on the data-analytics stock. CarMax shares edged higher after reporting a slight earnings beat on softer revenues, while JPMorgan lowered its price target on Kroger shares.
Overall, it’s shaping up to be an eventful day in the stock market with plenty of interesting developments to watch. Stay tuned for more updates as the day unfolds.
