Choice Hotels, Hyatt, Pinduoduo, Duolingo: Trending tickers
Choice Hotels (CHH) is trading higher after it announced it was ending its pursuit of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH). The hotel company withdrew its bid while also announcing it would increase its share buyback program by five million shares. After the announcement, analysts at Jefferies double-upgraded the stock to Buy from Underperform.
Rival Hyatt Hotels (H) is trading lower after being downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley. The firm says the company now offers a more balanced risk/reward profile.
Jefferies upgraded Pinduoduo (PDD), also known as PDD Holdings, to Buy from Hold. Analysts argue that geopolitical risks to the stock are now priced in and that "Temu’s market share gain story in domestic and overseas markets is intact." It offsets a downgrade of the stock to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which cited its risk-reward profile and ongoing concerns about the shifting policy landscape.
JPMorgan is starting its coverage of Duolingo (DUOL) with an Overweight rating and a $270 price target.
Yahoo Finance's Brad Smith and Seana Smith discuss some of Monday's trending tickers.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Stephanie Mikulich.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: First and foremost, markets bracing for the week ahead investors facing the final major test before the Fed's March meeting with February's consumer price index report. That's out Tuesday. Data is expected to offer an updated look at inflation and inform the potential path ahead for monetary policy.
SEANA SMITH: Taking a look at some of those individual trending tickers. First up, shares of Choice Hotels getting a boost here, up just about 5%. Jefferies upgrading the stock to buy from underperform. Now, the move coming after Choice Hotels' decision to increase its stock buyback plan and also terminate its hostile bid for rival, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
And elsewhere in the hospitality space, Hyatt Hotels getting hit with a downgrade by Morgan Stanley. the flip side here. The firm noting risk-reward is now balanced for Hyatt. Shares edging slightly lower here in early trading, off just about 1.5%.
BRAD SMITH: And Jefferies shifting its stance on Pinduoduo, upgrading the stock to buy from hold. Jefferies raising their price target to $157 from $117, saying geopolitical concerns are priced in. Shares of Pinduoduo moving to the upside on the call by about 3%.
SEANA SMITH: Duolingo getting a new recommendation on Wall Street. JP Morgan initiating coverage on the stock, an overweight rating $270 price target. JP Morgan also listing it as a best idea in the education sector. The language learning software company rising in today's trading session up just about 2 and 1/2%.
