Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina downgraded Alcoa to Hold from Buy and lowered his price target for the shares to $23 from $29. The stock in after-hours trading is down 21c to $23.20. The shares are inexpensive on some metrics following yesterday's Q2 results, but that alone is not reason enough to buy them, LaFemina tells investors in a research note after Thursday's closing bell. The company is not generating free cash flow, not returning large-scale capital to shareholders, and is leveraged to commodities with relatively poor fundamentals, contends the analyst. As such, he sees a lack of positive catalysts for the shares.

Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.  HIGHER - Vista... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Morgan Stanley upgraded Alcoa to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $36.50, up from $28.50. The analyst now sees a more balanced risk/reward for Alcoa shares given the company's continued progress on cost saving measures, reduced uncertainty on the path to resolving bauxite mining issues in Western Australia, and potentially more Inflation Reduction Act benefits to come. The operational concerns that persisted throughout 2023 have largely been de-risked, the analyst tells investors in a research note.