Hawaiian Electric upgraded, CVS 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:
Wells Fargo upgraded Hawaiian Electric (HE) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $8, down from $25. The stock has been under considerable pressure since the Maui wildfires as well as lawsuits against the utility, and while the firm believes the company is "backed into a corner" and finds it prudent to assume $0 per share value for its utility operations, Wells thinks the stock's probability-weighted risk/reward is "far more balanced" at current levels. [read more]
Rosenblatt upgraded Lumentum (LITE) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $62, down from $67. The firm says the company's model is "de-risked" following the Q1 guide down. [read more]
B. Riley upgraded Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $75, up from $60. The analyst expects a wave of artificial intelligence-led growth for the company. [read more]
Argus upgraded Itron (ITRI) to Buy from Hold with an $82 price target. The company is well positioned for an economy that is focused on better resource management and should also benefit from increased infrastructure spending, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
BofA upgraded Strategic Education (STRA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $90, down from $99. The analyst sees potential for earnings beats and views the shares as attractive after the 25% pullback. [read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Edward Jones last night downgraded CVS Health (CVS) to Hold from Buy and removed the shares from the firm's Equity Income Buy List. CVS recently lost part of the Blue Shield of California pharmacy benefits manager contract to a group of companies that included Amazon.com (AMZN), creating uncertainty for the PBM industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Barclays downgraded Keysight Technologies (KEYS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $144, down from $204. The company reported in-line fiscal Q3 revenue but orders fell 6% sequentially as demand deteriorates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Morgan Stanley downgraded Aflac (AFL) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $75, up from $74. The analyst continues to view positively the fundamental prospects for Aflac, but is downgrading the stock with the valuation having moved to a level where the firm considers upside to be more limited. [read more]
KeyBanc downgraded Farfetch (FTCH) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The company reported "softer" Q2 results and lowered guidance amid a difficult environment, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more] Farfetch was also downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. [read more]
Wedbush downgraded Beazer Homes (BZH) to Neutral from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $32. The analyst cites valuation for the downgrade with the shares within 5% of the price target. [read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
Baird initiated coverage of DoubleVerify (DV) with an Outperform rating and $38 price target. The analyst expects the company to benefit from the integration of the Scibids acquisition, which the firm thinks should offer a variety of strategic benefits to enhance the platform. [read more]
BofA initiated coverage of Blue Bird (BLBD) with a Buy rating and $26.50 price target. Efforts to turn around the business amid significant cost inflation have revamped financial performance, showing through in the cash flow statement and EBITDA margin, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Stephens initiated coverage of Qualys (QLYS) with an Equal Weight rating and $145 price target. While the firm sees multiple levers to improve growth, a near-term acceleration appears unlikely given Qualys has temporarily paused new S&M initiatives as it reevaluates spending under its new CRO, the analyst says. [read more]
Baird initiated coverage of Trade Desk (TTD) with an Outperform rating and $88 price target. The analyst expects the company to benefit from the recent innovation around Kokai and ongoing progress with OpenPath. [read more]
TD Cowen initiated coverage of Datadog (DDOG) with an Outperform rating and $120 price target. The analyst thinks Datadog is a "rare breed" given its platform breadth and says the firm's channel checks were "highly bullish." [read more]
