Even as the market tumbled to a fresh 2022 low this week, some stocks were able to curb the negative trend. The S & P 500 was on track to post its sixth losing week in seven, reaching a new bear market low, jittery investors respond to inflationary concerns and rising rates. The index is down about 1% week to date and was also headed for its first three-quarter losing streak since 2009. The personal consumption expenditures price index, an inflation gauge the Fed keeps its eye on, showed inflation was higher than anticipated in August. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year rate briefly broke above the key 4% level. Still, a few names managed to break out this week, with analysts expecting strong gains going forward for some of them. Pharmaceutical company Biogen is the best performer this week, jumping 32.4% after announcing what analysts call “best-case scenario” results from a phase of its Alzheimer’s drug trial. However, analysts see little upside from current levels, with the average analyst price target implying a gain of only 1.4%. On top of that, less than half of analysts covering Biogen rate it a buy. Charles River Laboratories International , another pharmaceutical company, has also outperformed this week, gaining about 7%. Jefferies on Thursday upgraded the stock to buy from hold and increased its price target to $240, implying upside of 26% from Thursday’s close. Analysts in general are bullish on the stock, with the average price target implying upside of 35.7%. Roughly 70% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. Casino and hotel giant Wynn Resorts also made the cut, rising more than 6% this week. Analysts expect the stock to go up 34%, though only a third of analysts rate it a buy, FactSet data shows. The resort chain in recent weeks has seen shares rise in recent weeks, after China announced it would allow tour groups from the mainland to travel to gambling hub Macao. Energy stocks Marathon Petroleum , Valero Energy and Phillips 66 were also among this week’s top performers advancing more than 8%, roughly 7% and about 6%, respectively. Marathon has buy ratings from 75% of analysts covering them, with the average price target implying upside of about 24%. Valero and Phillips 66 also have buy ratings from a majority of analysts. Streaming giant Netflix is also on the list, as shares gained about 5% this week. About 61% of analysts rate the stock a buy, but the average price target implies upside of just 5.1%. Atlantic Equities is more bullish on the stock however. The firm upgraded Netflix to overweight on Wednesday, noting it could rally 26% with its new ad-supported tier. The ad-supported option, which was announced in April and is set to launch in November, comes as the company aims to not repeat the first period of subscriber loss in a decade that was reported earlier this year. Elsewhere, reinsurance firm Everest Re Group is up more than 5% week to date, and analysts on average see gains of 20.4% going forward. It is among the companies that become a focus of investors during natural disasters like Hurricane Ian this week. About three-quarters of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
