Abbot upgraded, Carvana downgraded: Wall Street's top analyst calls
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:
Wolfe Research upgraded Abbott Laboratories (ABT) to Peer Perform from Underperform without a price target. The company's Q2 report "substantially reduces" concerns about the core ramp required to hit its 2023 profit guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
DA Davidson upgraded Harley-Davidson (HOG) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $47, up from $38. The firm's most recent checks revealed better than feared Q2 U.S. retail, strong progress with inventory clearance, and positive dealer feedback on new product introductions, the analyst says. [read more]
Erste Group upgraded Intuit (INTU) to Buy from Hold. Intuit is expected to show above-average revenue and profit growth in FY23 and should remain on "a profitable growth path in the coming years," the analyst tells investors. [read more]
BTIG upgraded Forestar Group (FOR) to Buy from Neutral with a $32 price target. The company's earnings will be stronger than thought, as its partner D. R. Horton (DHI) will likely grow its orders faster than anticipated over the next 18 months, requiring an increase in lots purchased. [read more]
BofA upgraded Consolidated Edison (ED) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $103, up from $92. The New York Department of Public Service approved the joint proposal settlement for the electric and gas rate cases for Con Edison at its July 20 meeting, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Piper Sandler downgraded Carvana (CVNA) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $48, up from $29. While recent operational improvements provides greater confidence in the company's ability to reach consistent profitability, they do not warrant a change to the long-term used vehicle market share expectations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Evercore ISI downgraded Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) to Underperform from In Line with an unchanged price target of $4.50. The firm says Sirius is now "by far" the most expensive stock in its U.S. cable and telecom coverage universe "with secular concerns about the long-term growth." [read more] The stock was also downgraded at Deutsche Bank [read more] and Pivotal Research. [read more]
Jefferies downgraded Floor & Decor (FND) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $108, down from $110. The stock's valuation is "harder to justify" following the outperformance year-to-date, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
JPMorgan downgraded XPeng (XPEV) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $10, up from $7.50. The analyst expects the stock to pull back into the results season and believes it won't deliver a "satisfactory margin" in the second half of 2023. [read more]
Piper Sandler downgraded Discover Financial Services (DFS) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $112, down from $130. The company unveiled a "misclassification" issue with the fees charged to merchants dating back to 2007 and subsequently took a $365M charge in Q2, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Live Nation (LYV) with an Outperform rating and $110 price target. The firm sees Live Nation's leading concert scale "disproportionally benefiting" from music streaming advancements that are enhancing global distribution and artist discovery, the analyst tells investors. [read more]
Morgan Stanley assumed coverage of Raymond James (RJF) with an Equal Weight rating and $112 price target. The analyst is bullish on wealth management and believes Raymond James' "differentiated" platform can drive growth, but risks that the Federal Reserve's hiking cycle is nearing the end limit upside from rates, while rising deposit betas may exert continued net interest margin pressure, the firm says. [read more]
TD Cowen initiated coverage of Arrowhead (ARWR) with an Outperform rating. The company's liver-targeted RNAi offers potentially best-in-class efficacy across multiple sizable markets, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Citi resumed coverage of Polestar Automotive (PSNY) with a Neutral rating and $5 price target. The analyst maintains a positive view on the company's electric vehicle position, but prefers to stay on the sidelines for now given prevailing macro and competitive risks. [read more]
Benchmark initiated coverage of Cytomed Therapeutics (GDTC) with a Speculative Buy rating and $5 price target. Adoptive cell therapy has become a multi-billion-dollar market for the treatment of blood cancers, but not solid tumors, and CytoMed seeks to change that by combining gamma delta T cells with NKG2D ligand targeting, the analyst tells investors. [read more]
