Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
SEAWORLD BOOSTED TO BUY AT GOLDMAN SACHS: Goldman Sachs analyst Christopher Prykull upgraded SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to $39 from $31. The company's ongoing revenue optimization efforts are still being underappreciated by the market, Prykull told investors in a research note. Further, SeaWorld's announced cost cuts will support its earnings near-term while a "budding capital allocation story" will further enhance shareholder value, added the analyst. Meanwhile, according to Prykull, the shares trade at a discount to amusement park peers. He sees a favorable risk/reward for SeaWorld.
CARNIVAL CUT TO EQUAL WEIGHT AT BARCLAYS: Barclays analyst Felicia Hendrix downgraded Carnival (CCL) to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered her price target for the shares to $55 from $69. The company's challenges in Europe, which could continue into next year, make it difficult to justify the sane Overweight rating that is on peers Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), Hendrix told investors in a research note. She believes the two peers "face stronger growth catalysts" than Carnival. As such, Carnival shares will continue to underperform, said Hendrix.
ANAPTYSBIO DOWNGRADED AT TWO FIRMS: Stifel analyst Derek Archila downgraded AnaptysBio (ANAB) to Hold from Buy as he is less confident etokimab will be meaningfully differentiated from Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron's (REGN) Dupixent after the latter companies reported results from their Phase 2 study for REGN3500, an antiIL-33 antibody, in asthma. REGN3500 did numerically worse than Dupixent as a monotherapy and the combination of REGN3500/Dupixent did not confer a benefit over Dupixent alone, noted Archila. He lowered his view on the odds of success for etokimab to 50% from 55% and also cut his market share assumptions following the competitors' data. Archila cut his price target on AnaptysBio shares to $74 from $124.
Credit Suisse analyst Martin Auster also downgraded AnaptysBio to Neutral from Outperform and lowered his price target to $79 from $137 after the company said the principal investigator of the etokimab atopic dermatitis Phase 2a trial stated that topical corticosteroids were utilized as a rescue therapy in the study in controlled amounts, among a "small" number of patients," and that use was "immaterial" and "on a limited basis." Auster also noted that management said the use of rescue medications is "unlikely" to have impacted the efficacy as reported, but reduced his assumed probability of success for etokimab in AD to 35% from 55% and in asthma to 40% from 45%.
TESLA PRICE TARGET RAISED AT BAIRD, CUT AT JEFFERIES: Baird analyst Ben Kallo raised his price target for Tesla (TSLA) to $355 from $340 and reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. Consensus expectations "have overshot to the negative," creating a favorable share setup for the remainder of the year, Kallo said. The analyst sees "several catalysts" which could drive Tesla shares higher, beginning with the upcoming delivery release. Further, Kallo has noticed "bear arguments have preemptively shifted from demand to profitability." A "solid" Q2 delivery announcement could set up a positive cash flow quarter and set the stage for share appreciation in the second half of 2019, contended the analyst. He expects Tesla will release Q2 delivery numbers on or before Wednesday, July 3, and that the stock should react positively.
Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois, however, lowered his price target for Tesla to $300 from $400 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst had expected more "downside protection from potential M&A," but he continues to see strategic value in Tesla, from autonomous vehicle development to charging and battery capacity. For Q2, he assume 88,000 deliveries, $6B of revenue, and GAAP EBIT loss $238M. Houchois reduced his fiscal year estimates by 20% at gross profit level. Q1 was a "material setback" with new capital effectively raised to cover working capital needs rather than fund growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, he expects the re-positioning and refresh of Model S will gradually improve margins to Model 3 levels of 20% versus an estimated Q1 low of 8%-10%.
SeaWorld
+0.8 (+2.74%)
Carnival
-2.34 (-4.79%)
Royal Caribbean
-2.14 (-1.80%)
Norwegian Cruise Line
-0.84 (-1.60%)
AnaptysBio
-9.36 (-13.97%)
Sanofi
+ (+0.00%)
Regeneron
-2.51 (-0.78%)
Tesla
+0.78 (+0.36%)