Apple downgraded, Booking upgraded: 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 Upgrades:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Booking Holdings (BKNG) and Expedia (EXPE) to Equal Weight from Underweight with price targets of $3,459 and $159, up from $2,402 and $91, respectively. The firm believes gross booking estimates for the company are achievable and says its competitive intensity thesis did not play out in 2023.
• Stephens upgraded American Express (AXP) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $193, up from $148. With management having already implicitly guided to a 2024 guidance miss on a December webcast, investors are now focused on 2025 estimates, when American Express can return to its historical revenue and earnings growth targets year-over-year, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Moderna (MRNA) to Outperform from Perform with a $142 price target. The firm sees “increasing visibility” on the company’s COVID-19 vaccine sales and says catalysts in 2024 and 2025 give it reason to believe Moderna could be a five-product commercial company by 2026.
• Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Sprout Social (SPT) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $74, up from $48. The firm expects Sprout’s story to become much cleaner in 2024, which makes its current valuation attractive.
• BofA upgraded Doximity (DOCS) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $29, up from $21. The firm thinks earnings expectations have been appropriately reset and that pharma manufacturer budgets could begin to improve over the next year as pressure from higher interest rates begins to ease.

Top Downgrades:

• Barclays downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $160, down from $161. The firm expects “reversion” in 2024 after a year when most quarters were missed and the stock outperformed
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $146. The firm continues to see long-term upside should Hainan and Korea inventories clear as anticipated by April 1, but also sees near-term downside risk should Estee’s China inventory recovery progress encounter delays and/or U.S. market conditions continue to slow.
• Evercore ISI downgraded Southwest (LUV) to In Line from Outperform with a $35 price target. While fuel prices ended on a more manageable note despite geopolitical risks, Evercore is taking the over on ex-fuel unit costs and the under on capacity growth into 2024.
• Piper Sandler downgraded Unity (U) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $35, up from $20. The stock rose 35% in one month and 43% in 2023, which leaves “little margin for error,” the firm says. Piper Sandler also downgraded BlackLine (BL) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $60, up from $53.
• DA Davidson downgraded Hasbro (HAS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $53, down from $60. While citing valuation for the downgrade with the shares up 20% in two months, the firm also cut its below-consensus estimates.

Top Initiations:

• William Blair initiated coverage of UiPath (PATH) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes UiPath’s leadership position in a large market for automation technology should help the company deliver durable growth and expanding margins over the next few years.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Rollins (ROL) with a Buy rating and $49 price target. The firm believes Rollins is a “differentiated and leading provider of pest control services leveraged to strong route density, a unique multi-brand strategy that facilitates market share gains, and attractive business model characteristics including recurring revenues, defensiveness and operating leverage.”
• Fox Advisors initiated coverage of Instacart (CART) with an Outperform rating and $30 price target.