Oracle upgraded, Farfetch 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 Oracle (ORCL) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $140, up from $120. The firm is increasingly confident that Oracle "has carved out an under-appreciated edge" in terms of its GPU capacity as well as its cloud architecture, enough to attract new customers and drive cloud usage.
Wells Fargo upgraded Rockwell Automation (ROK) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $317, up from $290. The firm cites 2024 earnings growth potential and relative valuation.
Jefferies upgraded Forward Air (FWRD) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $85, down from $110. The significant negative share price reaction post the announcement of the Omni Logistics merger "is excessive," the firm argues.
Wolfe Research upgraded 3M (MMM) to Peer Perform from Underperform without a price target. A Combat Arms settlement for $5.5B "would be about as good as could have been expected, and would better define the risk tail," the firm says.
Citi upgraded Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) to Buy from Neutral with price targets of $40 and $17, respectively. The firm now sees a "more constructive investment case" for large-cap telcos.
Top 5 Downgrades:
Morgan Stanley downgraded Farfetch (FTCH) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $5, down from $20. High volatility, a wider range of potential outcomes, and a limited catalyst path make it difficult to be Overweight the stock in the medium-term, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Piper Sandler downgraded Celanese (CE) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $112, down from $120. The firm believes many of the actions the company is undertaking to raise cash "will prove detrimental to future growth and earnings.
Roth MKM downgraded Heritage-Crystal Clean (HCCI) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $45.50 following the expiration of the company's "go-shop" period on August 23.
Benchmark downgraded Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) to Hold from Buy with no price target after Emergent reported in-line financial results for fiscal Q2. The firm is lowering its rating until the company can complete its business line restructuring.
KeyBanc downgraded RPT Realty (RPT) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target after the company signed a definitive merger agreement with Kimco Realty (KIM).
Top 5 Initiations:
Seaport Research initiated coverage of Xylem (XYL) with a Neutral rating and no price target given intermediate term concerns over growth and the stock's valuation.
Plug Power's (PLUG) research coverage was assumed by a different analyst at Jefferies with a Buy rating with a price target of $12, down from $16, after visiting the company's Georgia green hydrogen facility last week.
UBS initiated coverage of Crane NXT (CXT) with a Neutral rating and $65 price target. The firm thinks slowing demand and a lack of growth catalysts until closer to 2025 will likely temper the stock's valuation.
H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of BigBear.ai (BBAI) with a Buy rating and $4 price target. The firm says that with an existing backlog exceeding $206M and a customer base comprised of recognized commercial and government entities, it believes BigBear.ai is positioned to be a leader in the growing field of AI driven data analytics.
B. Riley initiated coverage of QuinStreet (QNST) with a Neutral rating and $10 price target. The firm sees uncertainty associated with the timeline and magnitude of the recovery in auto insurance carrier marketing budget.
