Amazon, Apple initiated: 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:

• TD Cowen upgraded e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $190, down from $220. The firm sees the potential for e.l.f. to double its business by fiscal 2027 with shelf space and international expansion as the driving forces.
• HSBC upgraded Danaher (DHR) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $280, up from $250. HSBC’s supply chain analysis suggests the de-stocking effects as well as order books might be on a recovery path for the life sciences tools sector.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Omnicom (OMC) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $106, up from $91. The firm sees upside to the company’s organic growth from new business, media trends and “Flywheel.”
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Antero Resources (AR) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $36, up from $26. The firm sees the company providing attractive leverage to rising gas prices and leading exposure to the growing liquified natural fairway in the Gulf Coast.
• Guggenheim upgraded Group 1 Automotive (GPI) to Buy from Neutral with a $305 price target, calling it the “best positioned dealer” to navigate the current landscape, which is “somehow trading at (the) lowest multiple.”

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Northcoast downgraded Boeing (BA) to Sell from Neutral with a $140 price target. The firm expects Boeing’s quarterly earnings report in two weeks to prompt concerns about the company’s underlying fundamentals and ultimately shift investor focus to liquidity and acquisition concerns.
• JPMorgan downgraded Fortive (FTV) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $90, down from $95. The firm also removed the shares from its Analyst Focus List. The company’s Precision Technologies order trends have remained sluggish so far this year, with sales likely down through the first half of 2024 despite support from an excess backlog that is close to being exhausted, JPMorgan says.
• Jefferies downgraded Urban Outfitters (URBN) to Underperform from Hold with a price target of $32, down from $42. The firm’s latest data shows a “notable deceleration” in rolling three-month foot traffic to all three of Urban’s brands.
• Wells Fargo downgraded EQT Corporation (EQT) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $37, down from $48. The firm acknowledges that the recently announced merger with Equitrans Midstream (ETRN) should position the company as a unique “Gas E&P + Midstream” entity, resembling a mini super-major, but says it is clear the E&P and midstream investor communities will take some time to embrace this integrated model, versus the prevailing preference for pure-play narratives.
• Piper Sandler downgraded Marsh McLennan (MMC) to Neutral from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $211. The shares are now “reasonably valued” and there is not much in the way of future catalysts that will change that, the firm says.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Maxim initiated coverage of Amazon.com (AMZN) with a Buy rating and $218 price target. The firm believes the company will be able to exploit consumer internet trends that include advertising, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, healthcare, logistics, and over-the-top, or OTT, video.
• Maxim initiated coverage of Apple (AAPL) with a Hold rating and $178 price target. Apple is too dependent on China, from a sales and supply-chain standpoint, and it is overweight a single product, the iPhone, when it comes to its near-term operating results, the firm says.
• Maxim initiated coverage of Beyond (BYND) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The firm contends that the company will be able to exploit the Consumer Internet trends of 2024 that include international expansion as well as Blockchain and Mobile opportunities.
• Raymond James initiated coverage of GE Vernova (GEV) with an Outperform rating and $160 price target.  The firm looks at Vernova as a mid-single-digit growth story, with power lagging behind wind and electrification.
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Royal Caribbean (RCL) with a Buy rating and $164 price target. Royal has a unique mix of quality ship assets, as well as differentiated destinations, the combination of which drives upside potential to estimates, says the firm.