Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
UNITED CONTINENTAL BOOSTED TO BUY AT GOLDMAN: Goldman Sachs analyst Catherine O'Brien upgraded United Continental Holdings (UAL) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $108. The analyst sees a better risk/reward for the shares relative to Spirit Airlines (SAVE), a stock she downgraded this morning to Neutral from Buy. There is downside risk to the consensus earnings forecasts for Spirit while United's estimates have appropriately incorporated tougher second half 2019 comparables, O'Brien told investors in a research note. She also believes that "several recent risk factors" to United's outlook have been priced in at current levels. Further, United is likely over the next 12 to 36 months to sign a new contract with improved economics with its co-brand credit card partner Chase, contended O'Brien.
AMD UPGRADED TO EQUAL WEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY: Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore upgraded AMD (AMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight and raised his price target for the shares to $28 from $17. Stating that he still remains concerned that consensus forecasts for AMD in the second half of 2019 are too high, Moore acknowledged that "being cautious on the stock has obviously been the wrong call." Given that Intel's (INTC) comeback is "at best deferred" and Nvidia's (NVDA) investment in ray tracing will have a longer-term payoff, Moore told investors that he now thinks the 2018-19 opportunity sets the table for a period of sustained profits for AMD. He also said he expects AMD to announce a cloud gaming partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) at the E3 event next week.
CLOUDERA DOWNGRADED TWO NOTCHES AT NEEDHAM: Needham analyst Jack Andrews issued a double-downgrade for Cloudera (CLDR) to Hold from Strong Buy despite the stock falling to a 52-week low, saying its Q1 results were a "true thesis changer." The analyst noted that the soft quarter was highlighted by a "visible uptick" in customer churn while also pointing to the departure of the company CEO, its retraction of near-term financial model, and a "lack of clarity regarding a major new product launch." Andrews added that while potential buyers may start to examine Cloudera assets, he also believes that the risk around continued high churn is too high and believes that it may take the company "several quarters to rebuild credibility.
Cloudera was also downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi, to Hold from Buy at Stifel, and to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.
WHIRLPOOL BOOSTED TO OVERWEIGHT AT KEYBANC: KeyBanc analyst Ken Zener upgraded Whirlpool (WHR) to Overweight from Sector Weight, with a $150 price target. While he readily admits "obvious upside catalysts are lacking," the analyst believes that his U.S.-centric thesis, coupled with already reduced expectations for North America volume, a long-term European margin recovery only now starting, and a lot of negative sentiment and news flow, is priced in the stock. Overall, Zener thinks Whirlpool remains a U.S. story, with Europe offering upside in time and with Asia the largest unknown variable given tariffs and/or other issues. Brazil remains a "black hole" of demand recovery, but at stable margins, he added.
CANADIAN CANNABIS INITIATED AT STIFEL: Stifel analyst W. Andrew Carter initiated coverage of Canopy Growth (CGC) with a Buy rating and C$55 price target, Aurora Cannabis (ACB) with a Hold rating and C$10 price target, Cronos Group (CRON) with a Hold rating and C$18 price target, and Tilray (TLRY) with a Hold rating and $37 price target. The analyst is bullish on the growth prospects for the cannabis industry, especially through the Canadian Licensed Producers, or LPs. Carter sees these four companies as holding a lead in the legal Canadian market, and believes they represent the "best investable opportunities in a global cannabis industry" that the firm sees reaching $200B in value. The analyst called Canopy Growth the best opportunity, citing "definitive category leadership, C$4B cash on hand offering significant optionality, and the best position to attack the $100B U.S. opportunity."
United Airlines
+0.77 (+0.94%)
Spirit Airlines
-0.89 (-1.76%)
AMD
+1.65 (+5.59%)
Intel
+0.04 (+0.09%)
Nvidia
+1.31 (+0.93%)
Cloudera
-3.64 (-41.32%)
Whirlpool
+1.14 (+0.91%)
Canopy Growth
+0.14 (+0.34%)
Aurora Cannabis
-0.2 (-2.59%)
Cronos Group
-0.28 (-1.75%)
Tilray
-0.53 (-1.49%)