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:
- HSBC upgraded Cisco Systems (CSCO) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $58, up from $46. The firm views the company's guidance as "too conservative" and increased estimates to reflect cost cutting and strength in security segment. New Street last night upgraded Cisco Systems to Buy from Neutral with a $57 price target.
- Williams Trading double upgraded Nike (NKE) to Buy from Sell with a price target of $93, up from $67. The recent rehire of Tom Peddie as the head of U.S. wholesale "indicates that change is brewing," the analyst tells investors in a research note.
- Wells Fargo double upgraded Fox Corp. (FOXA) to Overweight from Underweight with a price target of $46, up from $29. The firm says its deep work on Venu and the company's sports streaming yields more opportunities than risks.
- JPMorgan upgraded JD.com (JD) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $36, up from $33. The analyst believes the company's strategy change and valuation "have reached an inflection point" for the shares to outperform over the next 12 months.
- Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Teradyne (TER) to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $16 and added the shares to the firm's Top Picks list. Cantor says Teradyne "is one of the sneakier" artificial intelligence plays in semis with "excellent leverage" to networking and high bandwidth memory and growing traction on the custom silicon side of the business.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- BofA downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $100, down from $140. The analyst cites weaker than expected beauty category performance in China for the downgrade.
- TD Cowen downgraded Bumble (BMBL) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $7.50, down from $22. The analyst says the company's near-term growth opportunity is uncertain due to worsening paying user trends at the Bumble app and broader industry headwinds.
- BofA double downgraded Silicon Motion (SIMO) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $60, down from $90. The company's second half of 2024 guidance already reflects minimal growth versus the Q2 level and BofA does not expect any meaningful growth after the first half of 2024 upturn.
- DA Davidson downgraded Xos (XOS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $9, down from $17, following the Q2 report. The firm says it has made it a policy to avoid recommending electric vehicle stocks with a "going concern" clause in its SEC filing.
- Wells Fargo downgraded Lumen Technologies (LUMN) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $4, up from $1.75. While the recent private connectivity fabric sales provide a better liquidity run-way for the company, continued legacy revenue declines and limited free cash flow growth make the stocks' risk/reward less favorable, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Top 5 Initiations:
- Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage of Two Harbors (TWO) with a Buy rating and $15 price target. The recent addition of RoundPoint, an operational servicing platform, allows for the capacity and flexibility to invest across the mortgage market, lower direct servicing costs, and enhance control over the Mortgage Servicing Rights asset, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
- Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Y-mAbs Therapeutics (YMAB) with an Overweight rating and $20 price target. The firm says that after a recent restructuring and pivoting to radioimmunotherapy, Y-mAbs appears to be well positioned to capture the emerging opportunity in radiopharmaceuticals, "a space that has attracted much strategic interest."
- Roth MKM resumed coverage of Beyond Air (XAIR) with a Buy rating and $2 price target. The analyst believes the company's LungFit PH has significant advantages over current canister or cartridge-based nitrous oxide systems, positioning it to be "best in class."
- Piper Sandler last night initiated coverage of Couchbase (BASE) with an Overweight rating and $22 price target. The 44% selloff in the shares from the March highs appears overdone "for a small-cap database specialist," the analyst tells investors in a research note.
- Raymond James initiated coverage of Liquidia (LQDA) with an Outperform rating and $27 price target. Yutrepia's ability to safely dose well beyond the target maintenance dose of United Therapeutics' (UTHR) Tyvaso should make it a strong competitor in both pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease, says the analyst.
