Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
FORD BOOSTED TO BUY AT BOFA: BofA Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy upgraded Ford Motor Company (F) to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to $14 from $13. Ford's earnings are starting to hit a "sustainable inflection" due to favorable product cadence in the North America market and its restructuring efforts, Murphy told investors in a research note. He believes the company's turnaround story will start getting more credit from investors and that improved execution may allow Ford's multiple to recover over time.
ANTHEM, CENTENE, UNITEDHEALTH UPGRADED AT CITI: Citi analyst Ralph Giacobbe upgraded Anthem (ANTM), Centene (CNC), and UnitedHealth (UNH) to Buy from Neutral while maintaining Buy ratings on Cigna (CI) and Humana (HUM). The magnitude of the selloff in managed care stocks on fears of Medicare for All has been "extreme and overdone," Giacobbe told investors in a research note. The analyst sees favorable risk/rewards in the sector and does not subscribe to the view of a continued "overhang" and "uncertainty." Instead, Giacobbe expects a share recovery as "more realistic views prevail and investors become more numb to the low-likelihood headlines and political rhetoric of single payor."
ENTEGRIS, UNIVERSAL DISPLAY CUT TO NEUTRAL AT CITI: Citi analyst Atif Malik downgraded both Entegris (ENTG) and Universal Display (OLED) to Neutral from Buy. The analyst said he expects consumable stocks tied to overall wafer or display starts to "slow down" in the second half of 2019. His top picks in Semiconductor Capital Equipment remain Lam Research (LRCX) and Applied Materials (AMAT), which he noted have high exposure to the memory end market. Assuming no recession, Malik believes the group bottomed in Q1 as year-over-year memory supply growth peaked.
GOGO BOOSTED TO OUTPERFORM AT WILLIAM BLAIR: William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma upgraded Gogo (GOGO) to Outperform from Market Perform following Delta Air Lines' (DAL) announcement it will begin trialing free Wi-Fi on select Gogo-equipped aircraft. The decision by Delta to publicly announce this "ambitious" project is a large vote of confidence not only for Gogo's technology, but also for its newfound financial stability, DiPalma said. He pointed out that Delta is Gogo's largest customer, representing 30% of its revenue. The analyst thinks Delta's free Wi-Fi rollout will be the catalyst that causes investor sentiment on Gogo "to hit an inflection point." DiPalma projects that Gogo shares by 2021 will appreciate to a range of $10 to $15, which corresponds to a free cash flow yield of 4% to 6%.
PINTEREST INITIATED AT NOMURA, ARGUS: Nomura Instinet analyst Mark Kelley started Pinterest (PINS) with a Buy rating and $34 price target. The analyst calls Pinterest the fastest growing company in his coverage universe.
Meanwhile, Argus analyst Jasper Hellweg initiated Pinterest with a Hold rating, saying the while the company generates strong revenue growth with opportunities as a host of content in global advertising, its international expansion may be difficult. Following a post-IPO stock price rally of 51%, the analyst also believes that shares are "fully valued" at current levels and could face some selling pressure when the post-IPO lockup period expires in October.
Ford
+0.005 (+0.05%)
Ticker changed to ELV
-3.06 (-1.15%)
Centene
-1.55 (-2.83%)
UnitedHealth
-0.84 (-0.35%)
Entegris
-0.74 (-1.86%)
Universal Display
-4.75 (-2.83%)
Gogo
+0.11 (+2.13%)
Delta Air Lines
-1.32 (-2.33%)
-0.12 (-0.42%)