Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
BUY FEDEX: JPMorgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck upgraded FedEx (FDX) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $188, up from $145. The analyst noted that the company posted a "solid" earnings beat in tough conditions, while the investment thesis is simplified for an economic recovery without fiscal 2021 guidance. Ground's margin gains appear supported by structural initiatives over the last year and Express weathered the collapse in business-to-business better than expected, the analyst said.
CASH APP REVENUE INCREASING: Rosenblatt analyst Kenneth Hill upgraded Square (SQ) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $121, up from $69. The analyst sees the company's Cash App revenue increasing by more than three times over the next five years. Further, the stock's downside risks are limited with investors using recent pullbacks to gain exposure to this "long-term disruptive force," Hill contended. As Square develops monetizes new services across the payments and financials ecosystems, the analyst believes it will lay the groundwork to make the company “a need-to-own name for years to come."
'CORE HOLDING': Argus analyst Jim Kelleher initiated coverage of Shopify (SHOP) with a Buy rating and $1,050 price target. The analyst is positive on the company's position to offer merchant customers a "single view of multiple sales channels," including web-based and mobile online platforms, physical retail locations, social media storefronts, marketplaces, and other venues. The stock has become a "core holding" for institutional investors amid mounting challenges in physical retail, as the pandemic has "highlighted the limits on limits on brick-and-mortar commerce and heightened the need for a multichannel go-to-market model," Kelleher added.
REOPENING PAUSED: Gordon Haskett analyst Jeff Farmer told investors in a research note that restaurant sales and foot traffic data indicated that a recovery in same-store sales reversed in key casual dining states in the week ended June 28. The analyst sees the national recovery potentially poised to follow a similar path in July given the growing list of states either pausing their reopening phases or reversing reopening decisions. As such, Farmer downgraded
INOVIO DATA 'UNIMPRESSIVE': Roth Capital analyst Jonathan Aschoff downgraded Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $11, after the company released "very limited" preliminary Phase 1 results from its trial with SARS-CoV-2 vaccine INO-4800. The analyst is "not encouraged by the complete absence of immune response details" and sees the denial of Inovio's injunction forcing suppliers to share needed production technology. Aschoff also added that despite its inclusion in the White House's Operation Warp Speed, he is "unimpressed that further preclinical work is required, rather than proceeding straight to later stage trials."
Meanwhile, Maxim analyst Jason McCarthy also downgraded Inovio to Hold from Buy. The analyst noted that the data in the company's Phase 1 clinical study of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate may have been "positive," but the stock is already up over 700% year-to-date and the potential success of INO-4800 appears to be priced in to the shares.
FedEx
+22.3 (+15.90%)
Block
+5.6 (+5.34%)
Shopify
+16.72 (+1.76%)
Texas Roadhouse
-0.34 (-0.65%)
Brinker
+0.4 (+1.67%)
Darden
-0.035 (-0.05%)
Cheesecake Factory
-0.23 (-1.00%)
Bloomin' Brands
-0.07 (-0.66%)
Inovio
-5.28 (-19.64%)