Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
HONEYWELL UPGRADED, NAMED TOP PICK: JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa raised the firm's price target on Honeywell (HON) to $250 from $200 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The fundamental setup for Honeywell "is as good as it gets cyclically" for the next four years, while the company's "market outgrowth initiatives and non-fundamental levers, namely a best-in-class balance sheet, are materially additive," Tusa tells investors in a research note. The analyst says that in his 15 years watching the sector, he has rarely seen "this positive of a setup, with a potential fundamentally synchronized growth profile for a best-in-class operator and a kicker from capital deployment." Honeywell is Tusa's top pick, with the company "positioned to be the 'OMC' [Original Mega-cap Compounder]."
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank analyst Nicole DeBlase upgraded Honeywell to Buy from Hold with a price target of $244, up from $222. The stock has been the worst performer in the multi-industry group year-to-date despite "attractive end-market exposures," DeBlase tells investors in a research note. Honeywell offers leverage to the economic reopening and has "best-in-class quality metrics," adds the analyst. DeBlase sees a "rare opportunity" to buy the shares with 5% upside potential to 2021 estimates and 10% upside potential to 2022 estimates.
CARNIVAL UPGRADED: Credit Suisse analyst Benjamin Chaiken upgraded Carnival (CCL) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $40, up from $18. It looks "increasingly likely" that a mid- to late-summer restart for cruises is "reasonable," Chaiken tells investors in a research note. The "event path seems to be pivoting," which should lead to more positive sentiment in the group, says the analyst. He believes Carnival's disposal of 19 ships will drive better unit economics than the Street is modeling.
Also, Argus analyst John Staszak upgraded Carnival to Buy from Hold with a $33 price target. The analyst is citing the company's Q1 earnings guidance and a 90% sequential growth in advance bookings metric earlier this week, stating that the increase reflects strong pent-up demand for cruise vacations as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out and the impact of the pandemic diminishes. Staszak adds that Carnival should also benefit from the sale of 19 less fuel-efficient ships later this year.
GE PRICE TARGET RAISED TO $17: UBS analyst Markus Mittermaier raised the firm's price target on General Electric (GE) to $17 from $15 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The stock has performed strongly, but he remains constructive on the company's turnaround producing a "simpler" industrial entity with high single digit free cash flow and sales growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
CHARTER, ALTICE DOWNGRADED AT CITI: Citi analyst Michael Rollins downgraded Charter Communications (CHTR) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $680, down from $742, and Altice USA (ATUS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $35, down from $41. Cable companies have successfully pivoted the focus of their business model to higher-margin broadband services, Rollins tells investors in a research note. However, three recent developments give the analyst pause regarding future broadband growth for cable firms: faster annual fiber upgrades, wireless home broadband ambitions, and risks from government policy direction. Consensus for average broadband net adds between 2022 and 2025 "seems too robust and may need to be cut by more than half," says Rollins. He believes that with the risk of negative consensus revisions from slower broadband revenue growth as soon as 2022, multiple expansion "may be tougher for cable pure-plays over the next 12 months."
'MOST MISPRICED STOCK': Piper Sandler analyst Peter Keith says Overstock.com (OSTK) is the "most mispriced stock" in his coverage universe, and presents "tremendous risk/reward "for investors with a one- or two-year time horizon. He sees "solid value" in both the tZero blockchain trading platform and the nascent GSA contract "that should ramp meaningfully over time." With Overstock.com "solidly profitable" and currently trading at just 0.8 times estimated 2021 sales, investors get free call options on the tZero and GSA contact assets as well as the Medici Ventures blockchain portfolio, Keith tells investors in a research note. He reiterates an Overweight rating on the shares with a $140 price target.
Carnival
+ (+0.00%)
Honeywell
-0.1 (-0.05%)
GE Aerospace
+ (+0.00%)
Charter
-0.02 (-0.00%)
Altice USA
+ (+0.00%)
OSTK
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