To the surprise of few, the Federal Reserve opted against raising interest rates following the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, but even that news was not enough to give stocks some upside Wednesday.
With investors still displaying a preference for safer assets, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each lost 0.17% while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.18%.
However, while the broader market dipped, it wasn’t red ink across the board. Some positive chatter helped lift the fates of several stocks, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X).
J C Penney Company Inc (JCP)
JCP stock and rival department store operators rallied by just more than 4% Wednesday on some bullish analyst commentary, and JCPenney in particular also got a boost out of a quick comment from its CEO.
In a note out Wednesday, Cleveland Research analyst Matthew Delly said he sees improving trends at JCP rival Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS).
Amid a spate of lowered guidance and missed earnings, the department store space is one of the worst performers in the broader retail group this year. However, JCP has been a bright spot, gaining more than 25% year-to-date.
Further encouraging the bulls was a quick comment from CEO Marvin Ellison, who said that the company’s “sales through Memorial Day were positive.”
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF)
ANF shares rose nearly 3% following Deutsche Bank’s upgrade of Abercrombie shares to “hold” from “sell.”
In a note out Wednesday, Deutsche Bank analyst Tiffany Kanaga said ANF’s wounded shares reflect the company’s international struggles as well as challenges faced in the U.S. Shares of ANF are down nearly 30% year-to-date.
The response wasn’t overly exuberant, as Deutsche Bank maintained a $20 price target on ANF, implying limited upside from where shares of ANF closed today. Shares also gave up some of their gains along with the rest of the market following the Fed’s announcement.
United States Steel Corporation (X)
Shares of steelmaker United States Steel Corporation climbed nearly 8% after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch raised its rating on X stock to “neural” from “underperform.”
The bank also put an $18 price target on shares of X, implying just less than 10% upside from the previous day’s closing price. Bank of America’s previous price target on X was $10.
Shares of X have more than doubled this year, and recently past through resistance at their 50-day moving average, which they’re now trying to use as support for a new up leg.
Fellow steelmaker AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) also enjoyed an upgrade from Credit Suisse, sending shares up more than 7%.
As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
