The most talked about and most notable calls for studies on 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 improvements:
-
Improved Seaport Search International paper (IP) to buy at neutral with a price target of $52. The selloff that followed Suzano’s abandonment of the buyout request provides a “reasonable entry point” for International Paper, the analyst told investors in a research note.
-
Guggenheim Improved Health Guardian (GH) to Buy from Neutral with a $36 price target. Based on recent reviews and an updated revenue model, the analyst’s view has evolved on how Shield will ultimately be used as a once-every-three-year test for the off-label colorectal cancer screening market.
-
BMO Capital revalued SAP (SAP) is expected to outperform Market Perform with a price target of $237, up from $218. The analyst believes the company has great visibility into bookings and revenue over the next few years, largely due to converting its “large and loyal” installed base to cloud offerings.
-
JPMorgan updated Digital Real Estate Trust (DLR) moves from Neutral to Overweight with a price target of $175, up from $150. The analyst sees the company as a substantial beneficiary of cloud and artificial intelligence demand for data center capacity.
-
Citi modernized Cincinnati Finance (CINF) to buy from neutral with a price target of $135, up from $126. The analyst says the stock’s downside is limited by lower worker compensation exposure, higher loss choices and material loss reserve measures already taken.
Top 5 downgrades:
-
Morgan Stanley downgraded Nike (NKE) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $79, up from $114. The company reported disappointing new results and a reduced outlook, the analyst told investors in a research note. Stifel also lowered Nike’s rating to Hold from Buy with a price target of $88, down from $117, to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $78, down from $125, at UBS, and to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. Nike was also downgraded at Barclays and JPMorgan.
-
Rosenblatt downgraded Alphabet (GOOGL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $181. The analyst sees “multiple areas of transitional risk” for Alphabet and recommends “taking a step back to see how the company is managing this.”
-
William Blair downgraded Travelers (TRV) moves from Outperform to Market Perform and Chubb (CB) moves from Market Perform to Underperform, both without a price target. The general insurance sector is affected by rising claims and losses, the analyst explains to investors in a research note.
-
Argus downgraded Charles River (CRL) to hold after purchase. The company continues to face revenue growth headwinds due to cautious spending in the biotech sector, the analyst says.
-
Wells Fargo degraded Acuity Marks (AYI) is moving from Overweight to Equal Weight with a price target of $260, down from $295. The analyst says capital deployment and uncertainties around non-residential demand are two key drivers that will make the case for multiple expansion too difficult at this point.
Top 5 initiations:
-
JMP Securities initiated coverage of Affirm (AFRM) with a Market Perform rating and no price target. Over the past few years, Affirm’s business model has diversified and strengthened, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
-
Baird initiated coverage of Financial Synchrony (SYF) with an Outperform rating and a $56 price target. The company views Synchrony as the leading national private label credit card platform, with ongoing partnerships with major retailers and an experienced management team.
-
Bernstein initiated the coverage of Stellantis (STLA) with a Market Perform rating and a $23.50 price target. After a significant re-rating in 2023, Stellantis shares have fallen 30% since late March and, following the recent financial market day, the company faces increasing risks to its near-term results, the analyst told investors in a research note.
-
Guggenheim took on the cover of Therapeutic Crispr (CRSP) with a neutral rating and without price objective. The company says the ongoing global commercial launch of Casgevy, expansion of cell therapy into autoimmune indications, and foray into cardiovascular space via ANGPTL3 and other in vivo targets are the “three pillars” that underpin the “CRSP 2.0 story”.
-
Scotiabank began covering last night Pager Service (PD) with a Sector Perform rating and a $23 price target. The company has evolved from an incident management tool to help IT operations and developers accelerate their mean time to resolution to a broader operations cloud, which has expanded its total addressable market and driven cross-selling capabilities, the analyst says.
