$TX

Latin American steel stocks diverged on Friday, with Gerdau rising 0.98% to US$5.15, CSN falling 7.97% to US$1.27, and Ternium gaining 0.50% to US$57.90. The SLX steel ETF rose 0.31% to US$108.97. Gerdau benefits from Brazilian tariffs on long steel, while CSN struggles with flat-steel imports. Ternium's performance reflects Mexican auto demand and nearshoring.

CSN's NY-traded shares fell 3.17% to $1.22, while Gerdau's US shares rose 0.40% to $4.97. Ternium's Mexican-listed shares gained 0.03% to $58.00. Brazil's steel tariffs and Mexico's import taxes shield domestic producers like Gerdau and Usiminas from cheap imports, while CSN faces more competition.

Ternium, an Italian-Argentine steelmaker, plans to take Usiminas, Brazil's largest flat-steel maker, private. Usiminas shares rose over 7% on the news. Ternium still needs minority shareholder approval. Neither company has issued a formal statement. Usiminas is strategic for Brazilian industry, supplying flat steel to car makers and appliance factories.

Analysts downgraded five companies: Teradyne (TER) to Neutral with a $420 target, Ternium (TX) to Hold with a $55 target, Health Catalyst (HCAT) to Hold with a $1.8 target, DoubleVerify (DV) to Neutral with a $13.6 target, and Limbach (LMB) to Underweight with a $50 target. Stocks closed at $383.15, $54.21, $1.63, $13.31, and $42.75 respectively.

Analysts upgraded five companies: Baird raised Parsons (PSN) to Outperform with a $57 target; Keybanc upgraded InnovAge (INNV) to Overweight with a $13 target; Rothschild upgraded Equifax (EFX) to Buy with a $235 target; JPMorgan upgraded TIC Solutions (TIC) to Neutral with an $11 target; Morgan Stanley upgraded Ternium (TX) to Overweight with a $65 target.

Analysts upgraded Equifax (EFX) to Buy with a $235 target, Parsons (PSN) to Outperform with a $57 target, Taylor Devices (TAYD) to Buy with a $70 target, Ternium (TX) to Overweight with a $65 target, and O-I Glass (OI) to Buy with a $9 target. Teradyne (TER) was downgraded to Neutral, Ternium (TX) to Hold, Limbach (LMB) to Underweight, DoubleVerify (DV) to Neutral, and Weibo (WB) to Neutral. Nvidia (NVDA) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $340 target, Micron (MU) with Outperform and $1

Morgan Stanley upgraded Ternium to overweight, raising its price target to $65 from $55, citing potential U.S. tariff reductions on Mexican steel. The bank expects this to boost Ternium's profitability and shares. Ternium's stock has risen 42% year to date and gained over 1% post-upgrade. Analysts are generally bullish on the stock.

Analysts updated price targets for several companies. Baird raised Ross Stores (ROST) target to $270, Parsons (PSN) to $57, and Deere (DE) to $640. BTIG cut Walmart (WMT) target to $140. HSBC raised Ternium (TX) target to $55. Rothschild & Co increased Equifax (EFX) target to $235. Other changes include Envoy Medical (COCH), MDxHealth (MDXH), Hometrust Bancshares (HTB), and Haemonetics (HAE).

Wall Street analyst research calls include upgrades for Equifax (EFX), O-I Glass (OI), Portland General Electric (POR), Taylor Devices (TAYD), and Ternium (TX), with downgrades for Bowman Consulting (BWMN), Limbach Holdings (LMB), Teradyne (TER), Frontline (FRO), and Weibo (WB). Initiations include Broadcom (AVGO), Hubbell (HUBB), Marvell Technology (MRVL), NVIDIA (NVDA), and SpaceX (SPCX). Markets saw mixed performance with tech and small-cap indices declining, while oil and crypto prices rose.

Latin American steel equities edged lower on Aug. 14, 2026, as investors consolidated tariff-driven gains. The SLX steel-producers ETF fell 0.50% to $107.96. CSN ADR dropped 1.63% to $0.8853, Gerdau fell 1.25% to $4.74, and Ternium slipped 0.87% to $53.81. No single new catalyst was cited; focus remained on China import tariffs and anti-dumping measures.