Meta Platforms upgraded, Estee Lauder downgraded: Wall Street's top analyst call
Meta Platforms upgrade, Estee Lauder downgrade, and Biogen initiation among today's top calls on Wall Street
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 Meta Platforms (META) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $389, up from $313. The firm cites accelerating tailwinds and "de-risked" 2024 guidance for the upgrade following the company's Q2 results. [Read more]
BofA upgraded Boeing (BA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $300, up from $225. The firm, "along with the broader market," maintains some reservations around execution, but it "appears as though the worst may be behind" for Boeing, the firm says. [Read more]
RBC Capital upgraded Owens Corning (OC) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $168, up from $135, following the "strong" Q2 results. There may be "over-earning" in the current results, but there are no clear catalysts for a significant near-term reversion lower, the firm says. [Read more]
Loop Capital upgraded Ingevity (NGVT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $76, up from $64. The company's transition provides a pathway to optimize the pine chemical segment's legacy asset footprint and enhances the segment's overall profitability over time, the firm argues. [Read more]
Barclays upgraded Iridium Communications (IRDM) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $65, down from $66. The firm now considers Iridium's risk/reward attractive. [Read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $190, down from $270. Growing concerns around the recovery of Estee's key growth drivers in China skincare have led the firm to cut estimates 10% below consensus for fiscal 2024. [Read more]
Summit Insights double downgraded Seagate (STX) to Sell from Buy following the June quarter results. While generative artificial intelligence will be positive for the storage industry in the longer term, the current cloud AI investment hurts cloud storage spending, the firm says. [Read more]
BofA downgraded RTX (RTX) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $95, down from $120. On top of prior durability concerns with the GTF engine, RTX has announced that Pratt & Whitney would be accelerating inspections of some GTF engines due to concerns that a rare powder metal issue may be deteriorating engines, the firm notes. [Read more]
Atlantic Equities downgraded Union Pacific (UNP) to Neutral from Overweight with a $244 price target. The company reported "weak numbers" with earnings, revenue and operating ratio below consensus, the firm says. [Read more]
Morgan Stanley downgraded Carvana (CVNA) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $35, up from $12. Morgan Stanley contends that after the stock's rally that a "second chance for success" is "discounted in the price" and it sees a less favorable risk-reward for Carvana compared to the rest of the analyst's coverage. [Read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
Scotiabank initiated coverage of Biogen (BIIB) with an Outperform rating and $327 price target. Biogen's legacy business of multiple sclerosis drugs has been "declining for several years," but new product launches this year with Leqembi for Alzheimer's disease and likely zuranolone for major depressive disorder, or MDD, have "captured investor attention." The firm says. [Read more]
Scotiabank initiated coverage of BioMarin (BMRN) with a Sector Perform rating and $95 price target. The firm notes that while the company has "captured investor attention" with recent portfolio diversification with a peptide drug approved for achondroplasia, Voxzogo, and a gene therapy approved in severe hemophilia A, Roctavian, the "focus on gene therapy has not been easy." [Read more]
B. Riley initiated coverage of Upstart (UPST) with a Neutral rating and $49 price target. Riley sees the shares as fully valued after a "staggering run in the last few months." [Read more]
DA Davidson initiated coverage of Squarespace (SQSP) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. The firm believes Squarespace has positioned itself as one of the beneficiaries of the expanding digital economy. [Read more]
DA Davidson coverage of Wix.com (WIX) with a Buy rating and $100 price target. The firm believes the company is in a "commanding position" to capitalize on the emerging artificial intelligence era. [Read more]
