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:
- Redburn Atlantic upgraded Shopify (SHOP) to Buy from Neutral with a $99 price target, which represents 40% upside. The company's "industry-leading innovation, social media integrations, user-friendly platform and unique Shop Pay button functionality" make it best positioned to capitalize on the structural growth as Generation Z's share of U.S. spending surpasses that of Baby Boomers, and TikTok Shop prompts innovation across Western social media platforms, the firm tells investors in a research note.
- UBS upgraded AppLovin (APP) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $145, up from $100. The firm cites the company's improving visibility into med-term revenue growth and a "supportive valuation" for the upgrade.
- BofA upgraded HP Enterprise (HPE) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $24, up from $21. The firm views the shares as attractive as sees the opportunity for significant cost cuts, driven by new CFO Marie Myers with a proven track record at HP Inc. (HPQ); a cyclical recovery across servers, storage and particularly networking; revenue and increased cost synergies with the upcoming Juniper (JNPR) acquisition; a High Performance Compute, or HPC, margin recovery; and Enterprise/Sovereign demand increases from AI.
- BofA upgraded GE Vernova (GEV) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $300, up from $200. Rising grid-related spending is a well-known tailwind for the Electrification segment, notes the firm, which also thinks the Gas Power Services story is "less appreciated by investors."
- Jefferies upgraded BioNTech (BNTX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $150, up from $96. Following Summit Therapeutics' (SMMT) "encouraging" Ivonescimab data, BioNTech's anti-VEGF-A antibody candidate BNT327 could become a significant revenue driver, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- Jefferies downgraded SolarEdge (SEDG) to Underperform from Hold with a price target of $17, down from $27. Given "significant headwinds" in Europe from "persistently high" inventory levels and Chinese competition, as well as "stiff competition" in U.S., there is more downside to the stock as estimates are revised lower, the firm tells investors in a research note.
- JPMorgan downgraded ViaSat (VSAT) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $15, down from $29, following last week's news that United Airlines (UAL) will shift 1,000-plus mainline aircraft from existing in-flight connectivity providers to Starlink. While United will only begin trialing Starlink service next year, JPMorgan assumes Viasat will lose its direct service aircraft as well as live TV and Thales aircraft where the company provides satellite capacity.
- JPMorgan downgraded Frontier Communications (FYBR) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $38.50, up from $35, after Verizon (VZ) announced a take-out offer at $38.50 per share.
- Jefferies downgraded Acushnet Holdings (GOLF) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $75, down from $86. The firm continues to recognize Acushnet as a "high-quality golf asset with strong leadership and consistent financial performance," but says the challenge is maintaining momentum against "record-breaking" participation while the latest data is suggesting a deceleration in growth year-to-date.
- Morgan Stanley downgraded Adecoagro (AGRO) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $12.50, down from $14.50. The firm downgraded Adecoagro with sugar prices remaining under pressure.
Top 5 Initiations:
- BofA reinstated coverage of Carvana (CVNA) with a Buy rating and $185 price target. The firm thinks the "leading seller of used cars Online" is well positioned for sustained long-term growth in a fragmented market that is recovering as prices normalize, car supply returns, and rates begin to fall.
- Mizuho initiated coverage of Dell Technologies (DELL) with an Outperform rating and $135 price target. The firm says generative artificial intelligence "is igniting growth and disruption" across multiple markets, including AI servers which comprise the infrastructure enabling the AI revolution.
- Mizuho initiated coverage of Supermicro (SMCI) with a Neutral rating and $450 price target. Mizuho believes Super micro is seeing share loss, margin pressure, negative free cash flow, and lax internal control issues.
- JMP Securities initiated coverage of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (RYTM) with an Outperform rating and $64 price target. The firm sees multiple near-term catalysts to expand Imcivree's commercial opportunity.
- Benchmark initiated coverage of Lightspeed Commerce (LSPD) with a Buy rating and $20 price target. Lightspeed's stock has seen its price decline by almost 39% year-to-date, leaving shares "very undervalued," the firm contends.
