Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
JPMORGAN RAISES XEROX TO NEUTRAL: JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster upgraded Xerox (XRX) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $38, up from $31. The analyst thinks the stock is trading close to fair value, but sees "catalysts to the upside and downside in the very near term." Xerox's bid for HP Inc. (HPQ) could conceivably lead HP to make a counter-bid for Xerox at a premium to where Xerox stock is currently trading, Coster tells investors. On the other hand, Xerox could successfully acquire HP and its stock could price in cost synergies, ahead of the deal closing, adds the analyst. However, looking further out, he believes Xerox's future "remains uncertain."
GOLDMAN CLOSES OUT SELL CALL ON CROWDSTRIKE: Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini upgraded Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $55, down from $66. The shares closed Monday down $1.01 to $46.20. The analyst, who continues to view CrowdStrike as a leading next-generation endpoint security vendor, sees a more balanced risk/reward with the stock down 23% since her October 11 downgrade to Sell.
JPMORGAN UPS TEVA, SAYS SELL AMNEAL: JPMorgan analyst Christopher Schott upgraded Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) to Neutral from Underweight with an unchanged price target of $8. The analyst, who remains "fairly bearish" on the company's longer term setup, cites valuation for the upgrade with the stock down 55% year-to-date. Further, Teva's near-to-mid-term fundamentals are stabilizing, unlike some of its peers, Schott tells investors. As such, the analyst sees a "decidedly less-negative" setup today than several months ago. Schott also simultaneously downgraded Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX) to Underweight from Neutral without a price target. While some of the challenges facing the company appear fixable, like supply penalties and plant utilization, many appear fundamental, a function of the evolving dynamics in the U.S. generics market, Schott said. He believes fixing these will likely take time and resources. At this point, major pipeline successes would be needed to turn Amneal's story around, which appear increasingly unlikely in the near-term, contends the analyst.
JMP SAY BOX SHARES FAIRLY VALUED: JMP Securities analyst Erik Suppiger downgraded Box (BOX) to Market Perform from Outperform. The analyst attributes the rating change to concerns that after the challenging October quarter, the pipeline of the company's business has slowed. While his earnings forecasts are moving higher to reflect the company's cost-cutting actions, Suppiger adds that with enterprise value to expected 2021 revenue at a 3.2-times multiple, Box shares are "fairly valued".
APPLIED MATERIALS TARGETS HIKED: Stifel analyst Patrick Ho raised his price target for Applied Materials (AMAT) to $67 from $57 and maintains a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company's Q4 results. Large-cap names, like Applied Materials, deserve higher multiples, particularly when compared to other industrial names, Ho tells investors.
Wells Fargo analyst Joe Quatrochi raised his price target for Applied Materials to $62 from $58 ahead of the company's Q4 earnings report, saying shares already largely reflect an expectation of continued foundry/logic spending strength in Q4 and potential upside to the current Q1 consensus revenue estimate.
Cowen analyst Krish Sankar raised his price target on Applied Materials to $65 from $55 ahead of earnings on Thursday. The analyst noted the stock's upward move since its last earnings report citing the strength in foundry/logic capital spending, along with positive results and commentary from customers and peers.
Crowdstrike
+1.39 (+3.01%)
Teva
+0.03 (+0.32%)
Amneal Pharmaceuticals
+0.05 (+1.89%)
Xerox
-0.28 (-0.73%)
HP Inc.
-0.31 (-1.58%)
Applied Materials
+0.21 (+0.37%)