Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
'DISRUPTOR' GAINING STEAM: Oppenheimer analyst Hartaj Singh initiated coverage of Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) with an Outperform rating and $35 price target. The stock in after-hours trading is up 6%, or 80c, to $13.80. Inovio's COVID-19 vaccine has a "differentiated profile and is moving closer to the finish line," Singh tells investors in a research note titled "A DNA Medicines Disruptor Gaining Steam." The company also has a "unique cancer vaccine with intriguing early-stage efficacy" in glioblastoma, adds the analyst. Singh says that while COVID-19-focused INO-4800 has been the high-profile candidate, Inovio's overall DNA platform "should not be overlooked." The analyst is bullish on the company's approach. INO-4800 has a better safety and tolerability profile that could generate higher uptake in a low-risk population, easier storage favored by stockpile, and potential flexibility to adjust for mutations, Singh contends.
ANALYSTS DOWNGRADE TREEHOUSE: Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow downgraded TreeHouse Foods (THS) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $52, up from $48. The analyst views activist JANA's involvement as a positive for the stock because it will increase management's sense of urgency to improve execution internally, optimize its portfolio, and perhaps even pursue a sale of the company longer term. However, there is no silver bullet to "fix" the business through self-help, and the pool of potential buyers for this business is "relatively small," Moskow tells investors in a research note.
BofA analyst Bryan Spillane also downgraded TreeHouse to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $52, down from $58. The analyst expects the company to face earnings pressure as it laps the COVID volume leverage and faces higher input costs, though he also believes the stock remains supported by the "strategic optionality" put forth by the Jana position.
LIMELIGHT DOWNGRADES: Raymond James analyst Robert Majek downgraded Limelight Networks (LLNW) to Market Perform from Outperform following December quarter results. While Majek is excited that new CEO Bob Lyons is taking a fresh look at the company, he found some of the company's commentary around near-term prospect sconcerning including sudden steeper-than-normal per-unit price compression with its largest customers, Limelight carrying "above market" contracts that have yet been normalized, and a need to cut costs to "have more pricing flexibility," the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Meanwhile, Truist analyst Greg Miller downgraded Limelight Networks to Hold from Buy with a price target of $4, down from $9. The company's Q4 results saw "meaningfully" lower than expected revenue and EBITDA even though much of its industry is "still growing rapidly", the analyst tells investors in a research note. Miller adds that the "sudden" change in senior management also does little to bolster investor confidence that Limelight's new forecast revenue trajectory can be achieved. DA Davidson analyst Rishi Jaluria downgraded Limelight Networks to Underperform from Neutral.
FISKER OVERWEIGHT, LORDSTOWN UNDERWEIGHT: Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas initiated coverage of Fisker (FSR) with an Overweight rating and $27 price target as part of a broader research note titled "Expanding the EV Universe." The analyst says the company is a play on an all new, asset-light, design-centered EV business model that improves time to market and break-even points. Jonas adds that Fisker stands out as one of the more de-risked and strategically underpinned business models.
Jonas initiated coverage of Lordstown Motors (RIDE) with an Underweight rating and $18 price target. The company is benefiting from a nearly free plant that was acquired from GM and a "highly experienced" management team with a plan to enter the commercial pickup market, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jonas warns however that Lordstown faces a flood of new competition in EV pickups from startups and legacy OEMs with far greater scale and distribution advantages.
ALPHABET NO LONGER A TOP PICK: Citi analyst Jason Bazinet raised the firm's price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) to $2,415 from $2,000 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. While COVID has accelerated the company's digital ad migration, Street estimates for the next three years "seem too high," Bazinet tells investors in a research note. Even with more conservative estimates, Alphabet's valuation "seems compelling in both absolute terms and relative to history," adds the analyst. However, given the risk of downward estimate revisions, Bazinet says Alphabet is no longer his top pick.
Inovio
+ (+0.00%)
TreeHouse
-1.31 (-2.58%)
Ticker changed to EGIO
-0.08 (-1.72%)
Fisker
-0.2 (-1.28%)
Lordstown Motors
+1.21 (+4.10%)
Alphabet
+2.5 (+0.12%)
Alphabet
+0.76 (+0.04%)