The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.
Top 5 Upgrades:
- Daiwa upgraded Arm (ARM) to Outperform from Neutral with a $130 price target. Following "a few interesting and volatile quarters," the bad news of a possible recession is out, and tech is settling post the big recent selloff, though AI expectations are "still strong," the firm tells investors.
- Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco (COST) to Buy from Accumulate with an unchanged price target of $925. The firm says the consistency of Costco's comp performance each month "continues to grow even more impressive, particularly against a backdrop that has seen many other retailers struggle to gain traction."
- Evercore ISI upgraded Sarepta (SRPT) to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $179, down from $185. With expectations reset, the firm would be taking advantage of the post-guidance stock weakness and the weakness since the expanded label decision in June.
- Raymond James upgraded Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $50 price target. The firm believes the cyclical correction is largely behind the company and expects upward earnings revisions to start in the next two quarters.
- KeyBanc upgraded Wolverine World Wide (WWW) to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $20 price target. The firm thinks the better-than-expected results serve as another proof point of Wolverine's pathway to growth. KeyBanc also upgraded HubSpot (HUBS) to Sector Weight from Underweight.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- Seaport Research downgraded Disney (DIS) to Neutral from Buy without a price target following the earnings report. Disney's Parks division is slowing and turning to a negative growth rate for the next few quarters, and its direct-to-consumer profitability has arrived but likely not generating as much as hoped in fiscal 2025 due to tech spending on interface features and ad capabilities, the firm says.
- Oppenheimer downgraded JFrog (FROG) to Perform from Outperform after the company reported Q2 revenue slightly below the consensus estimate and lowered FY24 revenue/cloud guidance.
- Benchmark downgraded Dine Brands (DIN) to Hold from Buy with no price target after the company reported Q2 results that reflected below plan revenue and same-store sales results.
- Citi downgraded Bumble (BMBL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $6, down from $12. The company issued a "disappointing outlook" stemming from a total rebuild of the core Bumble app, driven by continued top of funnel challenges even after the app refresh in April, the firm tells investors in a research note. BTIG, JPMorgan, Stifel and Evercore also downgraded Bumble to Neutral-equivalent ratings, while BofA double downgraded the stock to Underperform from Buy.
- Mizuho downgraded Intel (INTC) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $22, down from $36. Intel has continued to lag its peers and is losing share in all key markets through 2025, the firm tells investors in a research note
Top 5 Initiations:
- Canaccord initiated coverage of Tandem Diabetes (TNDM) with a Buy rating and $57 price target. Tandem is well positioned to leverage automated insulin delivery innovation to capture growth across its current product portfolio of durable insulin pumps and longer term from a pipeline of new pump technologies, the firm says.
- Canaccord initiated coverage of Stride (LRN) with a Buy rating and $94 price target. The education sector was slow to embrace the same technological advancements that have impacted nearly all facets of life, but the pandemic increased awareness, acceptance, and adoption of new digital solutions, with EdTech's share of the $6.4T global education and training market increasing from 2.8% in 2019 to 5.1% in 2023, notes the firm. Canaccord also started coverage of Udemy (UDMY) with a Buy rating and $12 price target.
- Barclays initiated coverage of Constellation Energy (CEG) with an Overweight rating and $211 price target. The firm sees upside to consensus earnings estimates with a "bullish catalyst path ahead" for Constellation.
- Mizuho initiated coverage of Westlake (WLK) with an Outperform rating and $170 price target. The firm does not see a near-term recovery in basic chemicals but believes there is limited downside in in the shares since demand has been recessionary for over a year.
- Mizuho initiated coverage of Olin (OLN) with a Neutral rating and $45 price target. The company has a new CEO but doesn't have the building materials downstream integration of Westlake, the firm tells investors in a research note.
