Palantir downgraded, Shopify upgraded: 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:
Canaccord upgraded Shopify (SHOP) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $70, up from $60, following investor meetings with Shopify's CFO Jeff Hoffmeister and Head of IR Carrie Gillard. The firm came away from its meetings feeling like the setup for Shopify from here is "pretty good."
Evercore ISI upgraded Okta (OKTA) to In Line from Underperform with a price target of $75, up from $65, stating after the company's Q2 report that the firm is "a lot more optimistic" that most of the concerns that were underlying its underperform thesis have either played out or are actively being addressed.
Citi upgraded Arista Networks (ANET) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $220, up from $177. The firm increased 2024 and 2025 earnings estimates to reflect modestly stronger mid-teens sales growth and margin expansion for Arista Networks, and said it expects the November investor day to be a a positive catalyst for the stock.
Redburn upgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $105, up from $100. OPEC+ intervention has resulted in a more constructive macro outlook than initially feared, while the recent spike in refining margins has also contributed to earnings upgrades, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Morgan Stanley upgraded 3M (MMM) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $113, up from $102. The company's legal liabilities are likely to grow but now look better discounted into the shares, the firm argues.
Top 5 Downgrades:
Oppenheimer downgraded Dollar General (DG) to Perform from Outperform and removed the firm's prior $195 price target after the company reported Q2 EPS of $2.13, short of a Street estimate of $2.47, and management "sharply" reduced FY23 EPS guidance.
Wells Fargo downgraded Victoria's Secret (VSCO) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $18, down from $34. The company once again cut its fiscal year plan, as sales trends and share dynamics remain unfavorable, the firm notes.
Evercore ISI downgraded Chewy (CHWY) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $35, down from $53, post the Q2 report. The "disappointing" decline in net additions after the Q1 modest increase, as well as management's "subdued outlook" for second half of 2023 net adds, warrants a more cautious stance, the firm says.
Susquehanna downgraded C.H. Robinson (CHRW) to Negative from Neutral with a price target of $77, down from $88. Truck brokers "face a difficult cyclical path into 2024," says the firm, which adds that it sees the truckload brokerage model as "the most challenged in transports."
Morgan Stanley downgraded Palantir Technologies (PLTR) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $9, up from $8. The frim says near-term optimism in the company's artificial intelligence product cycle and the stock's valuation premium create an unfavorable risk/reward in the shares.
Top 5 Initiations:
Needham initiated coverage of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) with a Buy rating and $76 price target. The company's sonelokimab, a dual IL-17A/-17F inhibitor nanobody for various chronic dermatology conditions, has demonstrated "best-in-class potential" in hidradenitis suppurativa and psoriasis with superior efficacy versus well known biologics, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage of Microvast (MVST) with a Buy rating and $8 fair value estimate. which represents 400% upside. The firm thinks the company's transition over the next 12 months out of capacity expansion into revenue harvesting, supported by a $676M backlog, will drive an improved stock price.
Raymond James initiated coverage of Plumas Bancorp (PLBC) with an Outperform rating and $38 price target. The "high-quality community bank" has "one of the strongest core deposit franchises in the country,"
Raymond James initiated coverage of Flushing Financial (FFIC) with an Outperform rating and $17 price target. Flushing Financial is "positioning themselves for the future" as recent swap transactions should moderate earnings headwinds and buy time for the bank's short duration loan portfolio to support higher profitability over time, the firm argues.
Raymond James initiated coverage of Middlefield Banc (MBCN) with a Market Perform rating and no price target. The firm believes shares are "fairly valued."
