The topsy-turvy stock market in 2022 has kept investors on their toes, and even Wall Street professionals have had a tough time trying to figure out which way the market's winds are blowing. At various times during the year, it appeared that the worst was behind the market, only for analysts to discover that there was even more downside than they anticipated. That has played a key role in the steep declines in major stock benchmarks during the year.

As markets tried to recover on Thursday morning, shares of Netflix (NFLX 4.17%) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) were among the winners in early trading. However, Wall Street has very different views on what the future could bring for these two companies, and analysts are showing a clear preference for one over the other. Read on to learn more of the details behind Wall Street's thinking and whether investors in these companies should feel comfortable with their holdings.

Netflix gets a big rating boost

Shares of Netflix rose about 4% early Thursday. The streaming video pioneer got favorable comments from a financial institution that had previously been extremely pessimistic about the company's prospects.

Analysts at CFRA made the rare move of upgrading their rating on Netflix stock all the way from sell to buy, skipping the usual intermediate step of neutral along the way. CFRA also increased its price target on Netflix stock by $85 per share, making the new target $310.

Competition has hit the streaming video industry hard, forcing even the largest companies to take steps to shore up their competitive positions. Netflix, however, is one of the few streaming video providers that is already profitable, and its global availability to customers around the world is something that most of its rivals can only look forward to replicating at some point.

As CFRA sees it, Netflix should be able to keep subscribers on board by continuing to release new original content. Meanwhile, with the new advertising-supported subscription tier coming out, Netflix hopes to keep churn levels low while still clamping down on account-sharing practices that have taken away some of its revenue.

CFRA made a good call in anticipating the decline in Netflix's stock, which has fallen more than 50% in 2022. Now, Netflix shareholders hope that the stock research institution's positive call will be just as successful.

One analyst expects Bed Bath & Beyond to disappear

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond rose 4% in Thursday morning trading, shaking off negative comments from a stock analyst. Yet the beleaguered home goods retailer's stock has still lost a huge portion of its value in 2022, and many fear that the analyst's comments could prove to be true.

Loop Capital hasn't had many good things to say about Bed Bath & Beyond's business lately, and on Wednesday, a stock analyst from Loop made a dire prediction about the company. Citing the retailer's lack of relevance in a fast-evolving retail marketplace, Loop expects that Bed Bath & Beyond will be gone by this time in 2023.

Unfortunately, a lot of things happening at Bed Bath & Beyond support a bearish view. Financially, elevated debt levels have created a conundrum for the company, particularly as rising interest rates have made it increasingly difficult to put together a viable debt restructuring strategy. Operationally, supply chain problems and poor merchandise choices have led to bloated inventories, and Bed Bath & Beyond had to make a CEO change recently. All of these things could hold back the company from its full potential.

Bed Bath & Beyond has already survived longer than many thought it would, so Loop might not get its timing right either. Nevertheless, if the home goods retailer wants to be around for the long run, it has to ramp up its efforts to get back to full strength quickly.