Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
PINTEREST BOOSTED TO BUY AT DEUTSCHE BANK: Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley upgraded Pinterest (PINS) to Buy from Hold and raised his price target for the shares to $40 from $26. The analyst raised his estimates meaningfully following Thursday night's Q2 results on more confidence that the company can scale its ad business, in the U.S. and internationally, faster than expected. Pinterest is executing across more vectors of growth than just about any company in our coverage, Walmsley told investors in a research note. He sees "significant upside potential" to estimates and the stock.
SURVEYMONKEY RAISED TO BUY AT UBS: UBS analyst Eric Sheridan upgraded SurveyMonkey (SVMK) to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to $24 from $18. The company's execution points towards "strong" compounding growth, Sheridan said. SurveyMonkey's business model continues to demonstrate pricing power, increased customer spend and higher customer retention, adds the analyst. He believes investors should find this dynamic "very compelling." Following "another positive" earnings report and "robust" management commentary, Sheridan has confidence that the company will maintain 20%-plus revenue growth over the next five years.
KROGER BOOSTED TO BUY AT PIVOTAL RESEARCH: Pivotal Research analyst Ajay Jain upgraded Kroger (KR) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of $26. Despite a lack of near-term catalysts, Kroger shares are "simply mispriced at this time," Jain told investors in a research note. The analyst sees parallels to when Kroger was "similarly oversold" two years ago based on the "massive disruption" caused by the Amazon (AMZN)/Whole Foods developments. He believes the "extreme disappointment" with the recent Q1 results has created a buying opportunity into Kroger.
MGM CUT TO NEUTRAL AT BOFA: BofA/Merrill analyst Shaun Kelley downgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $31. The analyst views the risk/reward as more balanced at current share levels. Potential catalysts from the ramp of MGM Cotai in Macau, real estate optionality and the MGM 2020 Plan are balanced by rising cyclical risks, convention competition, and the company's high operating leverage, Kelley told investors in a research note.
SPROUTS FARMERS DOWNGRADED AT BMO, JPMORGAN: BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) to Underperform from Market Perform and lowered her price target for the shares to $15 from $23. The outlook for small and regional grocers is becoming "increasingly challenging in a rapidly changing" digital food retail landscape, Bania said. In this backdrop, the analyst sees limited options for Sprouts to turn around comps "absent continued earnings and valuation downside." The analyst is also concerned about the company's "high-margin" vitamin and supplements strategy in an "increasingly digital and price-transparent industry."
Additionally, JPMorgan analyst Ken Goldman downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market to Neutral from Overweight and lowered his price target for the shares to $19 from $22. Tough the shares are "arguably inexpensive," there is not enough "sustainable" same-store sales growth to maintain a positive stance, Goldman said. He thinks it will take time for Sprouts' comps to improve. The analyst says he left the earnings call "disappointed not to hear more about the turnaround plan."
SPARTANNASH, UNITED NATURAL CUT AT BMO: In addition to downgrading Sprouts Farmers Market, BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania downgraded SpartanNash (SPTN) to Underperform from Market Perform, lowering her price target for the shares to $8 from $13, and downgraded United Natural Foods to Underperform from Market Perform, lowering her price target for the shares to $5 from $10.
+6.265 (+22.13%)
SurveyMonkey
+1.84 (+11.13%)
Kroger
+0.72 (+3.35%)
MGM Resorts
-0.69 (-2.35%)
Sprouts Farmers Market
-0.34 (-1.87%)
SpartanNash
-2.22 (-19.19%)
United Natural Foods
-1.54 (-16.48%)