Snowflake upgraded, Lucid 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:
Capital One upgraded MongoDB (MDB), Snowflake (SNOW) and Confluent (CFLT) to Overweight from Equalweight with price targets of $427, $195 and $27, respectively, in conjunction with earnings from sector peer Datadog (DDOG). There is likely be a multi-quarter recovery ahead, says the firm, which sees easier comps for each of the three and more reason to underwrite the potential for reacceleration of revenue growth in 2024 and 2025.
Citi upgraded Microchip (MCHP) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $100, up from $75. Large cap U.S. analog companies should experience a peak to trough quarterly revenue decline of roughly 20%, says the firm, which believes consensus estimates for Microchip are "close to bottoming." The firm, which also downgraded NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to Sell, is recommending a pair trade of Overweight Microchip and Underweight NXP.
Wells Fargo upgraded Glaukos (GKOS) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $83, up from $75. The firm cites two recent positive reimbursement updates and the upcoming launch of iDose, which it believes represents a significant growth driver, for the upgrade.
Scotiabank upgraded Rexford Industrial (REXR) to Outperform from Sector Perform with an unchanged price target of $55. The company's well-located and "irreplaceable" portfolio carries substantial embedded earnings growth and the stock's valuation looks "attractive" following the selloff since Q1, the firm says.
BofA upgraded Fluence Energy (FLNC) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $26, up from $24. The firm is "incrementally comfortable" with an accelerating storage backdrop as recent industry talks with developers affirm rapidly expanding end-markets into 2024.
Top 5 Downgrades:
R.F. Lafferty downgraded Lucid Group (LCID) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $5, down from $10. The firm says the downgrade reflects the weaker than expected demand caused by the effect of higher interest rates and recent electric vehicle price wars. Cantor Fitzgerald also downgraded Lucid Group to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $6, down from $10, citing lower expected revenues, persistent large negative gross margins, revision of the company's annual production guidance and industry demand slowdown.
TD Cowen downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $120, down from $126. Mainland China could see continued softness due to a volatile Chinese consumer, while Hainan and South Korea travel retail "may worsen before getting better," the firm tells investors.
Mizuho downgraded Datadog (DDOG) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $108, up from $98. While Datadog "may be on more solid footing," competition has gotten a little tighter, and it would be premature to assume further progression over the next few quarters, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Evercore ISI downgraded Nextdoor (KIND) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $3, down from $5. The company's Q3 results and Q4 outlook imply a negative inflection point in terms of revenue, weekly active users and EBITDA, the firm tells investors in a research note.
Goldman Sachs downgraded MasTec (MTZ) to Neutral from Buy with a $54 price target. The firm believes there are investor concerns around the willingness to apply a multiple premium compared to the company's long term historical average given the "significant changes" in its guidance and challenges with the acquisition of IEA.
Top 5 Initiations:
Susquehanna initiated coverage of Marqeta (MQ) with a Positive rating and $9 price target. The firm thinks there are a number of ways for investors to win with Marqeta "and a clear catalyst path to get there."
Seaport Research initiated coverage of Hubbell (HUBB) with a Buy rating and $325 price target. Hubbell's segments face multiple secular drivers and while organic sales have slowed in the last two quarters from de-stocking and selected end-market weakness, the firm is forecasting "attractive" top-line growth of 4% in 2024 and 6% in 2025 that it believes can drive the stock to continue to outperform.
Wells Fargo initiated coverage of FICO (FICO) with an Overweight rating and $1,120 price target. The firm says "special pricing and robust buyback set up for a continued beat-and-raise story."
BS initiated coverage of Vista Energy (VIST) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. The firm cites attractive production growth and Brent prices for the Buy rating.
Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) with a Neutral rating and no price target. While saying that early clinical data from CB-010 has "shown promise," the firm chooses to remain on the sidelines for more mature data from CB-010 and a clear clinical path for development in second-line LBCL.
