Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
BUY ALIBABA: Needham analyst Vincent Yu initiated coverage of Alibaba (BABA) with a Buy rating and $275 price target, and also added the stock to his Conviction List. The analyst is positive on the company's "well-established" ecosystem, its strategic position in the e-commerce value chain, and its "deep understanding" of China's retail environment, stating these factors are key in its ability to expand its presence to adjacent industries such as offline retail, food delivery, and cloud computing. Yu believes that Alibaba's strengths also represent "crucial competitive barriers" against newer market entrants.
GOOD NEWS PRICED IN: Cowen analyst George Mihalos downgraded Square (SQ) to Market Perform from Outperform. The analyst highlighted the recent run up in the shares and said he believes the shares have more than priced in all the good news from the Cash App business but haven't accounted for the multi-year recovery the Seller business will need. Mihalos maintained his $119 price target on Square shares.
'POSITION OF STRENGTH' AFTER COVID CRISIS: Argus analyst John Staszak upgraded Constellation Brands (STZ) to Buy from Hold with a $230 price target. The company should emerge from the pandemic in a "position of strength", the analyst told investors in a research note, adding that beer shipments remain "brisk." Staszak also pointed out that Constellation Brands' 20.1-times expected forward earnings multiple undervalues its prospects for strong beer sales and market share gains.
CAPITAL ACCESS, JOBLESS BENEFIT EXPIRATION: BTIG analyst Peter Saleh downgraded Wingstop (WING) to Neutral from Buy. The analyst noted that after an "historic" period of comp results, he sees investor focus shifting to the company's unit development where growth could be stifled by the limited access to capital, since much of the bank lending has been diverted to supporting restaurants and small business owners. The expiration of federal unemployment benefits at the end of July may also "disproportionately" impact Wingstop's core customer and slow the rate of sales gains, Saleh contended.
CASUAL DINING SEGMENT: Credit Suisse analyst Lauren Silberman believes that over the last several years, casual dining has faced challenges given what she views as complacency in innovation amidst the growth of fast casual, improving quality and convenience at QSRs and increased industry supply. The analyst believes, however, that recent challenges and resulting adaptations will spur a sequence of innovation, and together with supply consolidation, structurally improve the casual dining backdrop. Silberman initiated coverage of four restaurant companies in casual dining, namely:
Alibaba
+3.06 (+1.19%)
Block
-0.92 (-0.69%)
Constellation Brands
+1.025 (+0.56%)
Constellation Brands; also tag STZ
+ (+0.00%)
Wingstop
-0.2 (-0.14%)
Texas Roadhouse
+0.29 (+0.59%)
Cheesecake Factory
-0.35 (-1.63%)
Bloomin' Brands
-0.26 (-2.55%)
Darden
-1.31 (-1.79%)