Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
MORGAN STANLEY CUTS VERIZON TO EQUAL WEIGHT: Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded Verizon (VZ) to Equal Weight from Overweight, as he contended that the stock's 11% year-to-date advance prices in the company's good news, including its $4B free cash flow improvement this year. While Verizon has actively marketed itself as the first carrier to 5G, this may spur higher spending than currently estimated by consensus, said Flannery. He believes carriers could spend up to $40B on wireless spectrum over the next three years, with Verizon alone spending up to $18B, the analyst added. Additionally, he sees risk of an increased competitive environment. Flannery maintained a $58 price target on Verizon shares. In late morning trading, Verizon shares were down over 2.1% to $57.60.
KEEFE BRUYETTE CUTS BANK OF AMERICA, MORGAN STANLEY TO MARKET PERFORM: Keefe Bruyette analyst Brian Kleinhanzl downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered his price target for the shares to $29 from $34. Kleinhanzl also downgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered his price target for the shares to $45 from $56. In both downgrades, Kleinhanzl cited a lack of catalysts in 2019.
OPCO SAYS TESLA POISED TO EXCEED CASH GENERATION EXPECTATIONS: Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch believes that with Tesla's (TSLA) shares hovering around its March 2019 convertible note conversion price of $359.87, they are poised to break higher exiting 2018 and through the first part of 2019. After a drama-filled fall that concluded with a settlement with SEC and a new board chair, the analyst thinks Tesla is enjoying improving fundamentals based on increasingly efficient manufacturing, strong ASPs leading to better than expected cash flow, as well as slow and disappointing competition entering the market for EV/PHEVs. Further, Rusch believes as Tesla delivers steady cash flow, a new group of investors will begin taking positions, helping drive shares higher. The analyst reiterated an Outperform rating and $418 price target on the shares.
NEEDHAM CUTS ROKU PRICE TARGET TO $45: Needham analyst Laura Martin lowered her price target on Roku (ROKU) to $45 from $85, reducing her FY19 user addition forecasts by 20% or 1M to 5M as a result of "rising political tensions with China" that may "negatively impact Chinese-made TV sales in the U.S." Martin estimates up to 45% of Roku's total user additions in FY18 coming from Chinese-made TVs, also lowering her FY19 EPS view to (32c) from 3c. Longer term, the analyst kept her Buy rating on Roku, citing the scale potential of its active 32M user base, lengthening engagement from the current three hour per day per household viewing, and the increasing number of its users without a linear TV bundle being reached by advertisers.
CANTOR UPGRADES CORCEPT TO OVERWEIGHT: Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Charles Duncan upgraded Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) to Overweight from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to $29 from $17. The stock rallied 32% yesterday to $17.17 as a result of the United States Patent and Trademark Office granting a new utility patent for Korlym, Duncan tells investors in a research note. The analyst says the claims of this patent appear broad, including treatment of Cushing's and hormone-sensitive cancers by concomitant administration of Korlym and CYP3A inhibitors such as ketoconazole and others. The key impact of this extended intellectual property is that it creates an additional hurdle for attempts to genericize Korlym, said Duncan. Further, he believes that by decreasing potential for Korlym genericization at the end of the 30-month stay, execution on Relacorilant's Phase 3 trial may not be "rushed," thereby enhancing probability of success. The analyst thinks the new patent bodes well for the group of Korlym. In late morning trading, Corcept Therapeuctics shares were higher by 7.3% to $18.42.
Verizon
-1.33 (-2.26%)
Bank of America
-0.01 (-0.04%)
Morgan Stanley
+0.38 (+0.94%)
Tesla
+1.37 (+0.37%)
Roku
-0.16 (-0.45%)
Corcept Therapeutics
+1.56 (+9.09%)