Wall Street’s most talked-about and market-moving research calls are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls investors need to know, compiled by The Fly.
The 5 most important upgrades:
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Wedbush upgraded Zillow (Z) from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $80 (was $50). In addition to the potentially positive catalyst of lower mortgage rates for Zillow’s core brokerage business, the firm sees potential upside risk to its estimates in Zillow’s software and services initiatives.
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Evercore ISI updated Farmers Market Sprouts (SFM) is to be upgraded from “In Line” to “Outperform” with a price target of $120 (previously $96). The company justified the upgrade with the company’s “compensation and margin levers” following a meeting with management.
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JPMorgan upgraded BioNTech (BNTX) from Underweight to Neutral with a price target of $125 (previously $91). The company presented several updates on its oncology pipeline and JPMorgan is “particularly impressed” with some of the Phase II and Phase I/II data released for BNT327/PM8002, the bispecific anti-VEGF-A/PD-L1 drug.
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Truist has been updated Builders FirstSource (BLDR) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $220 (down from $165). The firm expects recent declines in interest rates to boost single-family homebuilding activity in 2025 and says the sluggishness in multifamily construction is at least largely factored into the company’s results through the first half of 2025.
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Citi upgraded Entegris (ENTG) from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $130 (was $119). Citi believes Entegris’ wafer launch-driven business is less cyclical than the wafer fab equipment market, with 75% of revenue being unit-driven, and that the company is well positioned to capitalize on peak growth in 2025.
Top 5 downgrades:
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Wells Fargo downgrade Colgate-Palmolive (CL) from Equal Weight to Underweight with an unchanged price target of $100. Wells expects Colgate’s growth to normalize versus peers that currently trade at “deep valuation discounts.”
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Citi downgraded the rating MKS Instruments (MKSI) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $120 (was $145). The company is well positioned to benefit from a recovery in the photonics business and AI-driven design activities in advanced packaging substrates. However, the downgrade reflects the slowdown in the recovery of the NAND market, for which it is overindexed, and continued weakness in the non-semiconductor business, including PCs and smartphones, the company said.
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Citi downgraded the rating nova (NVMI) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $224 (was $273). The firm continues to expect the company’s growth to outpace process control, but is concerned about the sustainability of the outperformance and the stock’s valuation.
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BTIG was downgraded Synchrony Financial (SYF) from Buy to Neutral with no price target. Following “cautious management updates” from Synchrony and other top-tier lenders last week, BTIG is “largely moving away” from recommending top-tier credit card stocks.
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BTIG was downgraded Allied Finance (ALLY) from Buy to Neutral with no price target. The firm says it is “uncomfortable” recommending investors buy Ally shares, even after last week’s 17% sell-off, as it does not expect any positive catalysts for the rest of 2024.
Top 5 initiations:
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BofA began coverage of Howling (YELP) with an Underperform rating and a price target of $30. The company believes that declining usage combined with increasing competitive pressure in the Restaurant, Retail and Other segment, which accounts for about one-third of revenue, will continue to weigh on growth prospects.
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Barclays began reporting on GE Vernova (GEV) with an Overweight rating and a $250 price target. The firm believes a strong price, ongoing productivity efforts and volume leverage should lead to “very strong” earnings and free cash flow for GE Vernova’s growth.
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Citi began reporting on Eaton (ETN) with a Buy rating and a $348 price target. Given “robust” growth in data center power demand and Eaton’s ability to capitalize on its diversified power management portfolio as well as durable secular tailwinds across much of its portfolio, the company is well positioned to deliver multi-year mid- to high-single-digit organic growth in the near term despite a mixed macroeconomic environment, the company tells investors in a research note.
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Jefferies began reporting on Bioharbour (BHVN) with a Buy rating and a $57 price target. Biohaven’s pipeline is not fully appreciated at a $3.6 billion market cap, claims the company, which sees long-term upside for BHV-1300 in I&I, BHV-7000 in epilepsy and potentially in MDD, as well as other programs such as taldefgrobep alfa that offer options.
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ThinkEquity started reporting on Better Choice Companies (BTTR) with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. The acquisition of SRx Health Solutions transforms Better Choice into a global health and wellness company, the company tells investors in a research note.
