General Motors upgraded, Oracle 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:
UBS upgraded General Motors (GM) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $44, up from $41, as a new analyst took over coverage of the stock. Assuming a strike does not occur, the firm see second half earnings upside compared to consensus and argues that the current "negativity" priced into the shares creates an attractive risk/reward.
Piper Sandler upgraded UMB Financial (UMBF) to Overweight from Neutral with a $74 price target. The firm cites its relatively discounted valuation compared to shares' historical premium over peers.
BofA upgraded Southern Company (SO) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $68, up from $67. The shares have re-rated and now trade at a premium to most utility peers, notes the firm, which sees pending updates, including specifically an update on generation capital, helping to support the stock at current levels.
Credit Suisse upgraded Sealed Air (SEE) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $47, down from $59. The firm views Sealed Air as a major beneficiary of a soft-landing economic scenario in 2024 and sees the stock being priced for recession currently.
Daiwa upgraded Cognex (CGNX) to Buy from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $57. An acceleration in battery investments as well as bottoming logistics and electronics spend will drive the company's growth in 2024, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Top 5 Downgrades:
JPMorgan downgraded Oracle (ORCL) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $100, down from $112. The company's cloud growth may be peaking as the Cerner transition and date center buildout "pose new hurdles," the analyst tells investors in a research note.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Ultrapar (UGP) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $4, down from $4.50. The analyst cites valuation for the downgrade following the stock's outperformance.
Credit Suisse downgraded Ball Corp. (BALL) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $58, down from $65, on more concerns about the mass beer category going forward given shifts in consumer spending away from the category as well as Ball's exposure to Anheuser-Busch (BUD).
Citi analyst Andres Cardona downgraded Ecopetrol (EC) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $12.50 after the company hosted its investor day meeting. The company made "relatively small changes to the 2022 update," with perhaps some incremental emphasis on the energy transition agenda, but in practice the hydrocarbon business will remain the main business at least until the end of this decade and the "big change" will come after 2030, the analyst tells investors.
Credit Suisse downgraded O-I Glass (OI) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $22, up from $21. While destocking is playing a role, the firm does have concerns that premium substrates like glass will see continued volume pressure ahead and as new glass capacity comes online, pricing pressure will likely intensify.
Top 5 Initiations:
UBS assumed coverage of Ford (F) with a Buy rating and $15 price target as part of a broader research note on U.S. Autos, Auto Parts, and Auto-Tech names. The group at large has sold off owing in part to uncertainty around the UAW-D3 labor negotiations, but the firm's analysis suggests that on average, about 4 weeks of a strike at each of the D3 companies has been priced in, and if a strike occurs, it too will pass, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
TD Cowen initiated coverage of J.M. Smucker (SJM) with an Outperform rating and $158 price target. After bolstering its management team, reshaping the portfolio, and sharpening its marketing, the company has created an advantaged commercial model that exceeds food peers, says the analyst.
Citi initiated coverage of SQM (SQM) with a Buy rating and $85 price target. SQM has been an underperformer in the local market and current valuations "seem to be on the bottom," the analyst tells investors.
UBS initiated coverage of Tesla (TSLA) with a Neutral rating and $290 price target as part of a broader research note on U.S. Autos, Auto Parts, and Auto-Tech names. Tesla is well positioned for the long-term, but the firm prefers to await a better entry point with 2024 seen as a below trend growth year, says UBS.
JPMorgan initiated coverage of Cactus (WHD) with a Neutral rating and $60 price target. The firm starts the stock at Neutral as it thinks Street expectations will need to be reset slightly lower given the greater than expected pullback in the U.S. rig count.
