XPeng upgraded, Napco 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:
BofA upgraded XPeng (XPEV) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $22, up from $16.30. XPeng's cooperation with Volkswagen (VWAGY) endorses the company's autonomous driver capabilities, which improves its financial position and likely enhances its supply chain management, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Wolfe Research upgraded ArcBest (ARCB) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $132 price target. The stock is up by 21.5% over the past two or so months since news first emerged in mid-June about Yellow Corp's (YELL) bankruptcy, but this is least among the LTL truckers despite what the firm estimates should be the most EPS accretion in percentage terms, the analyst tells investors. [read more]
Stephens upgraded AppFolio (APPF) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $212, up from $184. While the firm has "long believed" that AppFolio would maintain impressive growth, the "murky profit side of the coin stood out as the main issue," but following a change in leadership there has been a series of actions taken to elevate the margin profile that combine to "signal a clear shift in the mindset to profitable growth." [read more]
Citi upgraded Insulet (PODD) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $265, down from $273. Citi cites valuation for the upgrade, saying Insulet's valuation has "pulled in significantly." [read more]
Seaport Research upgraded Liberty SiriusXM (LSXMA) to Buy from Neutral with a $32 price target. The stock story is "cleaner now" post the reclassification, which separated out the 30% ownership of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) into its own tracking stock, the analyst says. [read more]
Top 5 Downgrades:
Baird downgraded Insulet to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $219, down from $320, after surveying 25 endocrinologists regarding GLP-1 use in type two diabetes. GLP-1 use is expected to grow from 46% to 70% of current type two diabetes patients in the next few years, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
William Blair downgraded Napco Security Technologies (NSSC) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. The company pre-released a fiscal Q4 equipment revenue miss and also announced it is restating the prior three quarters due to understating cost of goods sold, says the analyst. [read more]
JPMorgan downgraded Medical Properties Trust (MPW) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $7, down from $9. The analyst says Friday's stock action related to the negative Wall Street Journal story about the Prospect deal and Medical Properties' rebuttal press release "underscore how sensitive this stock has become to tenant headlines/dynamics." [read more]
TD Cowen downgraded Alpha Metallurgical Resources (AMR) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $194, down from $200. The shares have rallied considerably since last summer, but the firm says the discount between the share price and its intrinsic value "has closed considerably." [read more]
CBRE downgraded Full House Resorts (FLL) to Hold from Buy with a $5.50 price target. [read more]
Top 5 Initiations:
JPMorgan initiated coverage of Restaurant Brands (QSR) with an Overweight rating and $82 price target. The company's focus on improving unit economics is to benefit both existing unit performance as well as add greater visibility to new store performance, which should drive improved comps, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
Roth MKM initiated coverage of GameSquare (GAME) with a Buy rating and $7 price target. The analyst believes GameSquare has a "unique offering" for major brand advertisers in its ability to target over 500M consumers, create and execute both programmatic and long/short form bespoke ad campaigns, and track and measure the reach of its ad channels. [read more]
TD Cowen initiated coverage of Merus (MRUS) with an Outperform rating and no price target. The Merus story is becoming "more clear" as petosemtamab is now the main value driver, and second-line head and neck squamous cell carcinoma alone is a $1B-plus peak opportunity that is currently underappreciated, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
JPMorgan initiated coverage of FMC Corporation (FMC) with a Neutral rating and $90 price target. The analyst prefers Corteva (CTVA) at this juncture as a "risk/reward vehicle" for investing in the crop seed and chemical markets. [read more]
Northland initiated coverage of Gevo (GEVO) with a Market Perform rating and $2 price target. While arguing that Gevo has "strong potential to make an indelible mark on the SAF industry with ATJ technology" and sees "huge earnings potential" in the company's flagship NZ1 project, the firm cites financing uncertainty and "a long path to meaningful revenue realization" for its rating. [read more]
