The Road to Recovery: Analysts Upgrade or Downgrade Expedia, Ginkgo Bioworks, Visa and More

Markets gave back their gains from earlier this week early on Wednesday. Each of the major indexes was down at least 1%, with the Nasdaq leading the charge lower with a 2% drop. However, that’s not to say that a recovery is not already underway.

Recent economic reports have seen some strength within the U.S. economy, after a tumultuous few weeks. Overall, consumer spending and manufacturing production are holding up fairly well. Retail sales grew just less than 1% in April and were revised to a 1.4% increase in March. At the same time, industrial production increased 1.1% for April, more than doubling analyst expectations.

Still, the Federal Reserve is staring down the barrel of inflation, and the only solution seems to be continuing its policy of raising interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted recently to The Wall Street Journal that there could be two or more 50-basis-point rate hikes coming down the pipe. Powell acknowledged “there could be some pain involved in restoring price stability.”

24/7 Wall St. is reviewing additional analyst calls seen on Wednesday. We have included the latest 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 Home Depot, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Starbucks and more.

AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV): The RBC Capital Markets upgrade was to Outperform from Sector Perform, and it raised the $95 price target to $100. The 52-week trading range is $52.03 to $115.95, and shares traded near $86 apiece on Wednesday.

Canadian National Railway Co. (NYSE: CNI): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform. The stock traded near $115 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $110.66 to $137.19.

Carrier Global Corp. (NYSE: CARR): BofA Securities lowered its Buy rating to Neutral. The 52-week trading range is $36.23 to $58.89, and shares were trading near $39 on Wednesday.

Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ: CLLS): Robert Baird upgraded the shares from Neutral to Outperform with a $10 price target. The 52-week trading range is $2.85 to $16.86, and shares traded near $3.50 apiece on Wednesday.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX): Wolfe Research’s downgrade to Peer Perform from Outperform included a price target cut to $14 from $30. Shares were trading near $12, in a 52-week range is $10.39 to $30.36.

Expedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE): Redburn upgraded it to Buy from Neutral. The 52-week trading range is $121.50 to $217.72, and shares traded near $122 apiece on Wednesday.

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DNA): BofA Securities downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform with a $3 price target. The stock traded near $2.60 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $2.09 to $15.86.

U.S. Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD): Berenberg started coverage with a Buy rating and a $53 price target. The 52-week trading range is $30.02 to $40.51, and shares were trading near $34 on Wednesday.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $282 price target. The stock traded near $204 on Wednesday, in a 52-week range of $186.67 to $252.67.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL): When Credit Suisse upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral, it also raised the $92 price target to $100. The stock traded near $89 on Wednesday. The 52-week trading range is $71.34 to $99.43.

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Morgan Stanley sees two tech giants as ready to soar, and find out which shipping companies are now delivering huge dividends.

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