Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
BOFA CUTS WYNN RESORTS ON CORONAVIRUS: BofA analyst Shaun Kelley downgraded Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to Neutral from Buy with a $150 price target. The analyst cited the recent spread of fears and headlines related to the Wuhan coronavirus, pressuring regional travel and Macau traffic. Kelley added that the scope of the virus is starting to look comparable to SARS with over 2,500 people reported effected, though coronavirus does not appear quite "as deadly."
OPPENHEIMER CITES CORONAVIRUS IN ESTEE LAUDER DOWNGRADE: Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Perform from Outperform with a price target of $210, down from $230, and removed the stock as a Top Pick. Following recent developments in China with the coronavirus coupled with the premium valuation at which shares trade, the analyst no longer views the risk/reward as attractive from current levels. Although difficult to measure the precise impact and the length at which the coronavirus-related challenges could persist within the Chinese economy, he now expects Estee Lauder's higher margin travel-retail segment to be adversely impacted at least in Q3 and potentially longer.
JEFFERIES UPGRADES E.L.F. BEAUTY TO BUY: Jefferies analyst Stephanie Wissink upgraded e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) to Buy from Hold with a $20 price target. The stock is down 25% from its multi-year high of $19.96 that was reached on November 7, Wissink wrote investors in a research note. The weakness stemmed from industry point-of-sales data which created sentiment concerns given e.l.f.'s "recent history with inconsistent outcomes," Wissink contended. However, she believes the trends in tracked channels will reverse in the next few dataset releases and feels the company's remand remains robust.
NORTHLAND CUTS INTEL TO MARKET PERFORM: Northland analyst Gus Richard downgraded Intel (INTC) to Market Perform from Outperform with a $70 price target. In a research note to investors, Richard said that while he sees a number of potential positive and negative catalysts for Intel shares, he does not know which will come first. The analyst expects Intel to fix or jettison underperforming product lines, but sees a number of headwinds in the second half of 2020 that may even start to impact Intel as soon as Q2. Richard also identifies structural issues Intel is facing, including its design flow, which he says has been broken for a very long time, as well as manufacturing.
STEPHENS LOWERS AMERICAN EXPRESS TO EQUAL WEIGHT: Stephens analyst Vincent Caintic downgraded American Express (AXP) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $144, up from $136. The analyst commended American Express for achieving a "stellar level of value creation" after shares reached an all-time high of $135. His downgrade is "purely valuation-based." Investors who continue to hold American Express shares will enjoy consistent, 12%-15% returns paralleling earnings growth in that range, Caintic told investors in a research note.
UBS RAISES CHIPOTLE TO NEUTRAL: UBS analyst Dennis Geiger upgraded Chipotle (CMG) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $900, up from $690. The analyst said he is increasingly more confident in the sustainability of the company's strong sales and earnings growth over the next couple of years, with results having exceeded his expectations "significantly" over the recent quarters. Geiger added that he had underestimated customer demand and the strength of the company's traffic recovery, while noting that his prior concerns with valuation were "misguided" considering the sustainability of Chipotle's results.
CANACCORD BOOSTS BIOGEN TO BUY: Canaccord Genuity analyst Sumant Kulkarni upgraded Biogen (BIIB) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $360, up from $305. The analyst admitted to being "surprised as anyone" by Biogen's "sudden revival" in October of aducanumab for early Alzheimer's disease. Kulkarni, who retained a "healthy degree of skepticism" around the trial data Biogen presented in December, said that even skeptics appear to agree that aducanumab, "for a variety of reasons, has a decent shot at FDA approval." This is not reflected in the shares at current levels, Kulkarni noted. The analyst likes the opportunity Biogen presents heading into the "regulatory saga" on aducanumab. His new price target reflects a 50% probability of approval for aducanumab.
e.l.f. Beauty
+0.005 (+0.03%)
Intel
-2.36 (-3.45%)
American Express
-4.78 (-3.54%)
Chipotle
-5.81 (-0.67%)
Biogen
+0.33 (+0.12%)
Estee Lauder
-10.62 (-5.17%)
Wynn Resorts
-10.63 (-7.89%)