Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Carnival (CCL) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays with analyst Felicia Hendrix saying the company's challenges in Europe, which could continue into next year, make it difficult to justify the sane Overweight rating that is on peers Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH). 2. Caterpillar (CAT) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities. 3. Grainger (GWW) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities. 4. AnaptysBio (ANAB) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse and to Hold from Buy at Stifel. 5. Sealed Air (SEE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill with analyst George Staphos citing the company's announcement that its board terminated William Stiehl as Chief Financial Officer for cause relating to the process by which the company selected its independent audit firm. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

TD Cowen analyst Matt Elkott raised the firm's price target on Caterpillar to $340 from $338 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its model to reflect the 1Q beat partly offset by a slightly more tempered outlook for the remainder of the year.

Stifel downgraded Caterpillar to Hold from Buy with a price target of $350, up from $293, after the company reported Q1 results. The firm noted that Q1 sales were "modestly" below expectations, though EBIT and EPS were ahead of consensus estimates. Results also reflected weaker end user sales, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

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

Still does not expect significant change in machine dealer inventory compared to 2023. Still expects 2024 full-year adjusted operating profit margin to be in the top half of the updated target range relative to the expected corresponding level of sales and revenues. Still expects 2024 full-year ME&T free cash flow to be in the top half of the updated target range. Still anticipates another year of services growth.

Sees Q2 dealer inventories of machines down year-over-year. Expects Q2 price realization to remain favorable vs, last year. Sees Q2 adjusted operating profit margin similar to 2Q23. Guidance taken from Q1 investor presentation slides.

Reports Q1 revenue $15.8B, consensus $16.04B. "I'm pleased with our team's performance that resulted in higher adjusted operating profit margin, record adjusted profit per share and strong ME&T free cash flow. Our strong balance sheet and ME&T free cash flow allowed us to deploy a record $5.1 billion of cash for share repurchases and dividends in the first quarter," said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "We continue to execute our strategy for long-term profitable growth."

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.

W.W. Grainger's board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $2.05 per share, an increase of 10% from the most recent company dividend of $1.86 per share. The dividend is payable on June 1, to shareholders of record on May 13. In addition, the board approved the repurchase of up to 5M shares of the company's outstanding common stock, replacing the company's existing repurchase authorization. The new repurchase authorization has no expiration date. "2024 is on track to be our 53rd consecutive year of increased dividends, upholding Grainger's long-standing commitment to our shareholders. This increase, together with our updated share repurchase authorization, reinforces our ability to continue investing in the business while also returning excess cash to shareholders," said D.G. Macpherson, Grainger CEO.