Charles Schwab upgraded, Fox 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:
JMP Securities upgraded Charles Schwab (SCHW) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $73 price target. Recent data suggests some stabilization over the last quarter in the company's cash soaring, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Keefe Bruyette upgraded BlackRock (BLK) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $835, up from $770. BlackRock is delivering consistent organic growth and profitability and as the largest and most diversified asset manager in the firm's coverage Keefe Bruyette describes the stock as "an attractive way to play the impending surge of fixed income inflows," both on the active and passive side. [read more]
Morgan Stanley upgraded ShockWave Medical (SWAV) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $335, up from $291. The analyst expects a "solid improvement" in reimbursement to leave Street growth expectations for 2024 and 2025 as too low. [read more]
RBC Capital upgraded Patterson-UTI (PTEN) to Outperform from Sector Perform with an unchanged price target of $19. The analyst "enhanced" free cash flow metrics for Patterson-UTI following its sizeable acquisitions, partially aided by synergy capture, and the company now has increasing operational scale and international diversification, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Piper Sandler upgraded First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $24, up from $23. First Financial is one of the few banks "to escape unscathed so far this rate cycle," the analyst says. [read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Wells Fargo downgraded Fox Corp. (FOXA) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $31, down from $35. The company's earnings are mostly Fox News earnings, and Fox News is facing viewership and share pressures, the analyst says. [read more]
KeyBanc downgraded Watsco (WSO) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning distributors were more cautious on outlooks for the remainder of the year following relatively weak demand through the majority of Q2, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Keefe Bruyette downgraded Bill (BILL) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $120, down from $150. The analyst cites rising concern around Bill's competitive positioning and the positive re-rating in its valuation for the downgrade. [read more]
Evercore ISI downgraded Citizens Financial (CFG) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $29, down from $32. The analyst expects accelerating loan declines and funding pressures to pose greater risk to Citizens' sales than currently expected by Street. [read more]
UBS downgraded Northern Trust (NTRS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $80, down from $100. The firm cites weaker deposit dynamics for the downgrade, with Northern Trust's deposits down 24% since 1Q22, and with non-operating deposits up to near peak levels, deposit cost relief seems unlikely, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
SVB Securities initiated coverage of Bristol-Myers (BMY) with a Market Perform rating and $66 price target. The stock's relatively low valuation is balanced by mid-late decade earnings pressures, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
BMO Capital initiated coverage of First Solar (FSLR) with a Market Perform rating and $204 price target. Demand for domestic modules that adhere to Inflation Reduction Act domestic content requirements and comply with additional regulations improves the company's backlog and pricing power, the analyst says. [read more]
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Cava Group (CAVA) with an Equal Weight rating and $43 price target. While the company's fundamentals "should be strong out of the gate," the next few years should indicate whether investors can underwrite the bull case needed for more substantial upside in the shares, Morgan Stanley says. [read more] Cava was also initiated at Stifel with a Buy rating [read more] and with an Outperform rating at Baird, among other firms. [read more]
Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Masimo (MASI) with an Equal Weight rating and $173 price target. The analyst likes the predictability of the company's healthcare business and sees potential upside from new consumer health products in 2024 and beyond, but expects management to remain distracted with the ongoing proxy contest and sees the uncertainty as "far from over." [read more]
BMO Capital assumed coverage of Invesco (IVZ) with a Market Perform rating and price target of $21, up from $15. The analyst sees few catalysts for the shares considering the company's "challenged" near-term flows and lack of shareholder distributions. [read more]
