Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly:
OPCO DOWNGRADES COMCAST TO PERFORM: Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan downgraded Comcast (CMCSA) to Perform from Outperform and removed his $42 price target after the company won the auction for Sky (SKYAY). Comcast is acquiring Sky for 14 times EBITDA, or double its own multiple, Horan noted. The analyst expects Comcast to use Sky's over-the-top platforms and see good cross-selling opportunities. However, he believes Comcast needs to invest in U.S. wireless and over-the-top capabilities and "ultimately consolidate" the U.S. cable industry in order to "protect its franchise here." He sees increased competitive pressures for Comcast from new technologies. Comcast is down over 7.3% to $35.12 in late morning trading.
NUTANIX DOWNGRADED TO NEGATIVE AT SUSQUEHANNA: Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini downgraded Nutanix (NTNX) to Negative from Neutral and reduced his price target on shares to $33 from $55. The analyst believes Nutanix's OEM relationships are likely to become "less impactful over time," and also cited increasing competition as a headwind. Hosseini specifically said not to count out Microsoft (MSFT), noted that VMware (VMW) continues to add new features for vSAN while tightening integration with AWS, and expects an IPO from Dell in the coming months. Nutanix is down over 8.8% to $42.36 in late morning trading.
DA DAVIDSON UPGRADES AVON TO BUY: DA Davidson analyst Linda Bolton Weiser upgraded Avon Products (AVP) to Buy from Hold and raised her price target to $3.50 from $1.75. The analyst cites the increased "sense of urgency" under the new CEO Jan Zijderveld displayed in his first analyst meeting, demonstrating his greater engagement in the company's operations, hiring of executives with sales experience, and "establishing a culture of accountability".
UBS STARTS CAESARS WITH A SELL: UBS analyst Robin Farley started Caesars Entertainment (CZR) with a Sell rating and $9 price target. The company, with essentially no revenue growth in the last year and EBITDA growth coming through reduction in marketing expenses, faces a challenging environment, Farley said. With the competitive environment in Las Vegas becoming more challenging, it may be difficult to cut much more marketing expense, putting EBITDA growth at risk, the analyst contended. Caesars is down over 2.5% to $10.52 in late morning trading.
JEFFERIES ADDS BIO-RAD TO FRANCHISE PICKS LIST: Jefferies analyst Brandon Couillard raised his price target for Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO) to $420 from $355 and added the shares to his firm's Franchise Picks List. The analyst sees "substantial hidden value" in Bio-Rad's droplet digital PCR franchise that he believes is underappreciated by investors. ddPCR is a disruptive technology that can grow at 20%-plus annually, capable of driving a sustained organic growth acceleration for the company thru 2021, Couillard said. Further, he believes base Bio-Rad business trades at only 6.3 times estimated 2020 EBITDA, or a 60% discount to peers. The analyst kept a Buy rating on the shares. Bio-Rad shares are up 3.6% to $309.20 in late morning trading.
Comcast
-2.84 (-7.49%)
Comcast
+ (+0.00%)
Use CMCSA, CMCSK
+ (+0.00%)
Avon Products
-0.025 (-1.03%)
Caesars
-0.25 (-2.32%)
Bio-Rad
+9.56 (+3.20%)
Nutanix
-3.82 (-8.21%)
Microsoft
-0.87 (-0.76%)
Acquired by AVGO
+1.08 (+0.71%)