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:
- Bernstein upgraded Humana (HUM) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $308 price target. Medicare Advantage Star risks are being incorporated into expectations and the share price, while the sector outlook is improving and the stock has potential upside catalysts, the firm tells investors in a research note.
- Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo (WFC) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $65 price target. While the firm sees downside to consensus across its rate-sensitive bank coverage, it believes the risk is better reflected in the stock's multiple, with the shares trading at one-turn discount versus Wolfe's target price-to-earnings ratio, the most significant discount in the bank and broker group.
- BTIG upgraded Affirm (AFRM) to Buy from Neutral with a $68 price target as it believes the company is on a path to GAAP profitability. The firm expects merchant engagement to accelerate with Affirm and other payments providers, as traditional point of sale finance providers pull back.
- Jefferies upgraded Waters (WAT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $415, up from $355. Following recent channel checks, Jefferies has increased conviction that the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry replacement cycle is now underway.
- Wedbush upgraded UFP Industries (UFPI) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $155, up from $120. The upgrade assumes two of UFP's three core segments, construction and retail, can post mid-single digit revenue growth in fiscal 2025 with a negligible contribution from packaging, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to Perform from Outperform and removed the firm's prior price target. The firm believes consensus estimates for revenue and EPS are too high, calling OpenAI losses, which could be in the $2B-$3B range in FY25, its "primary concern."
- KeyBanc downgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The firm says that given these end markets have yet to materialize in any meaningful manner, Qualcomm is unlikely to benefit from a replacement cycle fundamentally or being given a market premium as an edge AI beneficiary until that happens.
- KeyBanc downgraded Synaptics (SYNA) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The firm believes Synaptics will underperform its internet of things peers given limited growth catalysts within its enterprise and automotive segment, which represents almost 60% of its overall revenue.
- BTIG downgraded American Express (AXP) to Sell from Neutral with a $230 price target. The firm believes the company's fundamentals are more likely to get worse than better, yet expectations for rapid improvement continue to climb. HSBC also downgraded American Express to Hold from Buy with a price target of $270, up from $265.
- TD Cowen downgraded Constellation Brands (STZ) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $270, down from $300. The firm says the decelerating pace of the company's growth in fiscal 2025 demonstrates its correlation to broader pressures in beer and suggests risk to fiscal 2026 estimates. TD Cowen downgraded AB InBev (BUD) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $68.
Top 5 Initiations:
- Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Abbott (ABT) with an Outperform rating and $130 price target. As non-MedTech headwinds subside, Abbott's compares become easier in fiscal 2026, and its sales growth should tick up to low-double-digits, along with EBIT margins, contends the firm.
- Susquehanna initiated coverage of Howmet Aerospace (HWM) with a Positive rating and $120 price target. With a leading market position across engine products and highly engineered structures for aircraft within both Commercial Aerospace and Defense, Howmet is "uniquely well-positioned to capitalize on the compelling fundamental backdrop" across both industries, the firm tells investors.
- Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Envista (NVST) with an Equal Weight rating and $20 price target. The firm sees a balanced risk/reward profile and no catalyst for near-term multiple expansion.
- Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Arcus Biosciences (RCUS) with an Overweight rating and $29 price target. The firm thinks the stock's risk/reward is favorable ahead of casdatifan's upcoming readouts and Gilead's (GILD) potential opt-in.
- Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage of Bitdeer (BTDR) with a Buy rating and $14 price target. The firm expects Bitdeer will have a self-mining hash rate of about 7.7 EH/s during Q3 with "a line of sight" to at least 30 EH/s by the end of 2025.