Palo Alto Networks, Home Depot 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:
Barclays upgraded Norfolk Southern (NSC) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $305, up from $255. The firm says the potential for board and management change are likely to accelerate operational improvements at Norfolk Southern.
Keefe Bruyette upgraded HomeTrust (HTBI) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $32 price target on valuation. The firm has "long admired" the company's attractive southeast markets, its ongoing transition to a thriving commercially focused banking franchise, its steps towards higher profitability, its scarcity value, and its numerous strategic changes and improvements.
Craig-Hallum upgraded Hackett Group (HCKT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $28, up from $25, citing revenue and adjusted EPS that were ahead of expectations. While Craig-Hallum has modestly lowered its Q1 estimates, it expects the current efforts regarding Generative AI to drive stronger growth rates in the back half of the year.
Jefferies upgraded COPT Defense Properties (CDP) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $28, up from $26. The firm sees potential for a "beat-and-raise story" with consensus still below the midpoint of the 2024 guidance, which it says should help re-rate the stock trading in line with traditional office.
Zelman upgraded Armstrong World (AWI) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm cites the company's through-the-cycle EPS growth.
Top 5 Downgrades:
Northland downgraded Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Market Perform from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $275. April quarter billings guidance came in 1300 basis points below consensus, which embeds federal continues to underperform prior expectations and layers in the near-term negative impact of platformization, says the firm in a post-earnings note. Piper Sandler, Rosenblatt and Loop Capital also downgraded Palo Alto Networks to Neutral-equivalent ratings.
HSBC downgraded Home Depot (HD) to Reduce from Hold with an unchanged price target of $323. The company's Q4 results were basically in line with estimates, but its sales momentum "remains poor, weighing on short-term profitability," the firm tells investors in a research note.
JPMorgan downgraded Wendy's (WEN) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $19, down from $22, following the Q4 report. The stock is likely to remain range-bound in an industry where price promotion and capital intensity across the category is likely to increase, the firm says.
JPMorgan downgraded Vizio (VZIO) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $11.50, up from $10, after Walmart (WMT) announced an agreement to acquire the company for $11.50 per share in cash. Craig-Hallum and Roth MKM also downgraded Vizio to Neutral-equivalent ratings.
Wolfe Research downgraded Discover Financial (DFS) to Peer Perform from Outperform without a price target saying the pending takeover by Capital One (COF) should close. RBC Capital also downgraded Discover Financial to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $140, up from $117.
Top 5 Initiations:
Scotiabank initiated coverage of UiPath (PATH) with a Sector Perform rating and $29 price target. The firm says the company's opportunities come with challenges, namely a dynamic end-market and rising competition. It waits for a better entry point before recommending shares.
Stifel initiated coverage of Confluent (CFLT) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. Confluent's real-time data streaming platform, built on open-source software Kafka and Flink, plays "a pivotal role in the ongoing secular trend of modernizing data architectures as more companies view data as a core asset," says the firm.
Stifel initiated coverage of AnaptysBio (ANAB) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The firm believes that immune cell modulation represents "a key part of the evolution in the treatment paradigm of autoimmune disease" and calls AnaptysBio "uniquely positioned" with two ongoing Phase 2b studies for lead PD-1 and BTLA agonist programs in Rheumatoid Arthritis, or RA, and Atopic Dermatitis, or AD, which are set to read out in mid-2025 and by year-end 2024, respectively.
Benchmark initiated coverage of ChargePoint (CHPT) with a Buy rating and $4.25 price target. ChargePoint's "land-and-expand approach" of selling EV charging hardware that is further connected via Cloud Services subscriptions has helped it build "an industry leading charging network" that is positioned to capitalize on market growth as the industry matures, the firm tells investors.
JPMorgan initiated coverage of World Kinect (WKC) with a Neutral rating and $25 price target. The firm thinks upside exists in World Kinect's Aviation business due to the continued recovery of air travel off of COVID lows, but says this dynamic is properly reflected in consensus estimates and in the share price.
