Block upgraded, Southwest 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:
Exane BNP Paribas double upgraded Block (SQ) to Outperform from Underperform with a $95 price target. [read more]
Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Coursera (COUR) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $17, up from $13. The analyst believes the "solid" Q2 results are an indication of Coursera beginning to realize scale benefits. [read more]
JPMorgan upgraded New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $16, up from $13. With the bank's Q2 marking the first quarter to include a full quarter of impact from the recently added Signature teams, the firm now has a better picture of the earnings potential of the combined company, and its 2023-2024 earnings estimates moved much higher. [read more]
Stifel upgraded Crocs (CROX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $130, down from $140, telling investors that the firm is "opportunistically" upgrading the shares following Q2 results that "were a mixed bag" but that "positives outweigh the negative" and the nearly 15% reset in shares "presents an opportunity." [read more]
Jefferies upgraded XPeng (XPEV) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $25.30, up from $7.80. The recently announced partnership with Volkswagen (VWAGY) will help XPeng to increase its brand image globally and tech service fee, the firm contends. [read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Raymond James downgraded Southwest (LUV) to Outperform from Strong Buy with a price target of $40, down from $47, post the Q2 results. While the schedule revamp to reflect post-pandemic changes in travel patterns is the right move, the benefits will not be evident for another six months, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more] Deutsche Bank also downgraded Southwest Airlines to Hold from Buy with a price target of $38, down from $52. [read more]
Wedbush downgraded Wingstop (WING) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $185, down from $240. While the firm sees little risk to near-term unit growth expectations, the chicken wing cost outlook has turned unfavorable and the magnitude of wing cost increases will dictate the magnitude of franchisee pricing, which could turn into a transaction growth headwind and could cap out-year net unit growth. [read more]
Baird downgraded Mersana Therapeutics (MRSN) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $1, down from $7. The analyst cites the "disappointing" pivotal results for UpRi in platinum resistant ovarian cancer for the downgrade. [read more]
Deutsche Bank downgraded Enphase Energy (ENPH) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $165, down from $200. The firm is more cautious on the growth profile in the next 6-12 months, arguing there is "a growing negative backdrop," especially when looking at the U.S. residential market and relatively high inventory in the channel. Demand softness in key U.S. markets of California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, coupled with seasonality in Europe, will also add pressure on Enphase's revenue, [read more]
Craig-Hallum downgraded Shyft Group (SHYF) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $16, down from $35. The firm believes Shyft shares are "likely rangebound for several quarters until existing end-market uncertainty sorts itself out. [read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
Wedbush initiated coverage of Palantir (PLTR) with an Outperform rating and $25 price target. Palantir has built an AI fortress that is "unmatched" and it is poised to be a major player in the AI Revolution over the next decade, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Yelp (YELP) with a Buy rating and $54 price target. While financial execution was volatile in the past, this is "not just the same old Yelp" as the company has diversified away from SMB restaurants by adding multi-location business and services to drive growth and profitability and has delivered top-line outperformance for thirteen straight quarters, the analyst tells investors. [read more]
Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of TeraWulf (WULF) with an Overweight rating and $4 price target. The analyst believes the company is well positioned to increase its self-mining hash rate by 58% in just six months, following a recent "best-in-class" mining purchase agreement. [read more]
TD Cowen initiated coverage of Hims & Hers (HIMS) with an Outperform rating and $11 price target. The firm believes the current stock price does not fully appreciate the company's growth potential with a $150B total addressable market. [read more]
Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Beyond Air (XAIR) with an Overweight rating and $10 price target. The firm says geographic and label expansion opportunities are "on the horizon" for Beyond Air. [read more]
