Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
'GREAT TRACTION' WITH USERS, ADVERTISERS: Truist analyst Youssef Squali upgraded Twitter (TWTR) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $74, up from $64. The analyst cited the company's "tangible" progress with its product and platform driving "greater traction" with its users and advertisers. Squali further noted Twitter's double-digit growth in mDAU along with a more "attractive" valuation, as the stock's 22% decline since its Analyst Day has taken its enterprise value to expected revenue multiple down to 8-times.
MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: BMO Capital analyst Daniel Salmon upgraded ViacomCBS (VIAC) to Market Perform from Underperform with an unchanged price target of $70. "It could make sense to get more proactive" if the stock remains under pressure and heads below a $35 "fundamental downside scenario," Salmon told investors in a research note. While that scenario incorporates downward estimate revisions, those are increasingly priced in at current share levels, the analyst contended. Salmon added that his $70 price target implies considerable upside, but he thinks a Market Perform is more appropriate "until trading volatility clears." The analyst also believes $3B in free cash flow for ViacomCBS's streaming businesses in 2030 is reasonable given its "vast library" of owned content and accelerated shift to streaming.
Meanwhile, Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould also upgraded ViacomCBS to Hold from Sell with a price target of $48, up from $41. The analyst noted that the stock fell nearly 50% last week and now trades closer to his target. Nonetheless, Gould is not advocating to buy the dip as he expects Viacom's Paramount+ to compete with HBO Max (T), Apple TV+ (AAPL), Peacock (CMCSA) and Star to be 4th or 5th streaming option behind Netflix (NFLX), Disney+ (DIS) and Amazon Prime (AMZN).
BUY BAIDU: Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson upgraded Baidu (BIDU) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $290, up from $210. The analyst argued that the auto industry is "on the cusp" of "drastic" transformation, and while the focus is on the car electrification, he believes 5G connectivity and autonomous driving will "redefine" the user experience. Sanderson added that China is expected to lead in the autonomous vehicle adoption, and sees Baidu's Apollo business leading in the race to commercialization by a wide margin across "many metrics."
TARGET CUT: Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois lowered the firm's price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $700 from $775, while keeping a Hold rating on the shares. The re-pricing of Tesla shares in recent months makes sense, absolute and relative to legacy car makers, Houchois told investors in a research note. Further, the analyst noted that the stock is broadly back to levels of last December and volatility seems more a result of "noise" around bitcoin and Elon Musk tweets rather than driven by fundamental change. Barring "some major new announcement," as a smaller Tesla car or a subscription model for full self-driving are already well anticipated, 2021 remains a year of execution, he contended. Houchois also increased 2021 and 2022 estimates to reflect zero emission credits but reduced the price target after adjusting near- and long-term cost of capital upwards 100 basis points to 7%.
LONG-TERM TRENDS IN 'EARLY STAGES': Daiwa analyst Stephen Bersey initiated coverage of DocuSign (DOCU) with a Buy rating and $239 price target. The analyst believes long-term e-signature adoption trends are in the "early stages." DocuSign will grow revenue well above the industry for some time and drive its valuation multiple more toward the sector average over time, Bersey told investors in a research note.
+2.79 (+4.55%)
Use PARA
-2.01 (-4.18%)
Use PARA
-1.54 (-3.08%)
AT&T
+0.13 (+0.43%)
Apple
+0.56 (+0.46%)
Comcast
-0.34 (-0.62%)
Comcast
+ (+0.00%)
Netflix
+2.61 (+0.51%)
Disney
-0.95 (-0.51%)
Amazon.com
+1.8 (+0.06%)
Baidu
-8.95 (-4.29%)
Tesla
-11.38 (-1.84%)
DocuSign
-1.09 (-0.54%)