AMD upgrade, DraftKings downgrade and Life Storage initiation among today's top calls on Wall Street Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to learn which companies the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.
Research analysts at Wall Street's largest banks issue recommendations on whether a stock should be bought, held, or sold. The Fly's team of financial market experts scours hundreds of research notes daily to uncover the best trading ideas. Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
Top 5 Upgrades:
- Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon upgraded AMD (AMD) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $150. With the combination of continued stellar execution, increasingly bankable earnings power, and a recent sizeable pullback making valuation downright attractive the analyst is, for the first time in almost a decade, pulling the trigger and upgrading the stock to Outperform.
- JMP Securities analyst Trevor Walsh upgraded OKTA (OKTA) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $260 price target after assuming coverage of the name. The analyst is positive on the company's "strong success" in the Customer Identity and Access Management market as well as its planned expansion into the Privileged Access Management and Identity Governance and Administration markets, creating a "powerful identity platform" addressing a total addressable market of $80B.
- Raymond James analyst Andrew Cooper upgraded Quidel (QDEL) to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $130, down from $155. Cooper finds the combination of Quidel and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (OCDX) too severely undervalued not to adjust his view more positively, telling investors in a research note that he expects the deal to close and sees "extremely" limited downside, including for the Ortho business that maintains 93% recurring revenues.
- Cowen analyst Gary Taylor upgraded Privia Health (PRVA) to Outperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of $35. The analyst believes the company's growth trajectory, sales momentum, positive free cash flow and "strong" balance sheet are attractive at current valuations.
- RBC Capital analyst Sabahat Khan upgraded Ritchie Bros. (RBA) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a lower price target of $60, down from $69. While the company's fourth quarter earnings missed consensus estimates, the operating backdrop and outlook - including the higher SG&A and interest expense guidance - are better reflected in earnings estimates, the analyst told investors in a research note.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- Wells Fargo analyst Daniel Politzer downgraded DraftKings (DKNG) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $19, down from $41. The analyst noted that his downgrade is company specific and reflects his growing concern on DraftKings' path to profitability given its fast-growing operating expenses. Meanwhile, Roth Capital analyst Edward Engel upgraded DraftKings to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $19, down from $23.
- MP Securities analyst Trevor Walsh downgraded Splunk (SPLK) to Market Perform from Outperform with no price target after assuming coverage of the name. The analyst cited continued challenges around pricing, management turnover, and shifting demand within the SIEM and IT Operations Analytics markets, which he believes "creates uncertainty" around Splunk's future growth prospects.
- Bank of America analyst Mihir Bhatia downgraded Rocket Companies (RKT) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $11, down from $21, as he remains cautious on mortgage originators given the "challenging rate backdrop."
- Credit Suisse analyst Jamie Cook downgraded Allison Transmission (ALSN) to Neutral from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $48. The analyst sees more limited upside with the shares up 12% year-to-date.
- Piper Sandler analyst Charles Neivert downgraded Celanese (CE) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $140, down from $180. The analyst sees a "sizeable element" of risk and uncertainty from the DuPont (DD) transaction.
Top 5 Coverage Initiations:
- JPMorgan analyst Michael Mueller initiated coverage of Life Storage (LSI) with a Neutral rating and $142 price target. The analyst's estimates for 2022 and 2023 are toward the bottom of the Street range and he is concerned around the optics of decelerating - albeit still quite strong - core growth.
- Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari initiated coverage of Credo Technology (CRDO) with a Buy rating and $23 price target, implying 55% potential upside. The analyst believes Credo has differentiated intellectual property and is constructive on its ability to gain share in multiple product categories. Cowen, Stifel, Needham, Bank of America, Mizuho, and Craig-Hallum also started coverage of the name with Buy-equivalent ratings.
- Lake Street analyst Ben Klieve initiated coverage of MGP Ingredients (MGPI) with a Buy rating and $100 price target. The analyst views the stock as a "compelling investment" for those looking for undervalued, branded spirit opportunities in a high multiple category and those seeking to capitalize on the plant-based protein movement without the risk of directly investing in specific brands.
- Noble Capital analyst Michael Kupinski initiated coverage of Codere Online (CDRO) with an Outperform rating and $10 price target. The international online casino and sportsbook company that operates in both Europe and Latin America maintains a partnership with its parent company, Codere Group, that gives it a strong brand and he believes the company has "compelling growth prospects" in the emerging online gambling market in Latin America, Kupinski told investors.
- DA Davidson analyst Tom White initiated coverage of Brivo (CPTK) with a Buy rating and $13 price target pending the closure of its merger with Crown PropTech Acquisitions.
Symbols:
AMD OKTA QDEL PRVA RBA DKNG SPLK RKT ALSN CE LSI CRDO MGPI CDRO CPTKCrown PropTech Acquisitions
DD Keywords: analyst, analyst calls, upgrades, downgrades, initiations, research, wall street