Apple downgraded, Micron 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 5 Upgrades:

• Piper Sandler upgraded Micron (MU) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $95, up from $70. The firm believes pricing momentum paired with HBM in the first half of 2024 provides tailwinds.
• Barclays upgraded Home Depot (HD) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $372, up from $325. The firm sees an opportunity for demand stabilization across the broadlines, hardlines and food retail space in 2024 from consumable volume to big ticket discretionary. The firm also upgraded Dollar General (DG) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $154, up from $124.
• Wolfe Research upgraded General Motors (GM) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $42 price target. The firm believes that OEMs, as opposed to suppliers, should “disproportionately benefit” from a more moderate rate environment and that OEMs may also do better in any scenario that results in ICE vehicles being “stronger for longer.”
• TD Cowen upgraded Merck (MRK) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $135, up from $125. The firm has confidence that Merck can deliver, with its analysis suggesting investors should look through even large patent expirations such as Keytruda.
• Bernstein upgraded Cigna (CI) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $372, up from $330. The firm cites a more favorable outlook for PBMs, coupled with reduced likelihood of a significantly dilutive deal in the near-term.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Piper Sandler downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $205, down from $220. The firm cites valuation concerns and broader handset and macro weakness in the first half of 2024 for the downgrade. Piper Sandler also downgraded Qorvo (QVRO) and Skyworks (SWKS) to Neutral.
• Monness Crespi downgraded Snowflake (SNOW) to Sell from Neutral with a $160 price target. Snowflake has rebounded sharply over the past couple of months, which the firm believes has left the stock “overvalued and vulnerable to selling pressure.”
• Oppenheimer downgraded PayPal (PYPL) to Perform from Outperform without a price target. With Braintree Q3 volume growing 32% year-over-year and likely to remain in the mid- to high-20s medium term, nearly any non-transaction expense growth for PayPal makes increasing operating margins difficult, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Wolfe Research downgraded Rivian Automotive (RIVN) to Peer Perform from Outperform with no price target. While the firm continues to believe in Rivian’s long-term strategy and has been encouraged by their recently strong production and cost execution, it thinks investors will need more insight into demand for the company’s R1 platform, which has to carry them through 2024 and 2025 before being willing to look further out to the launch of their R2 platform in 2026.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Five Below (FIVE) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $215 price target. The firm continues to like the fundamental story of Five Below, but struggles to see material upside in the stock from current levels.

Top 5 Initiations:

• A different analyst at KeyBanc assumed coverage of Workday (WDAY) with an Overweight rating and $310 price target. The firm believes the company is well positioned to continue driving share gains in human capital management and financials against legacy and point solution vendors as cloud adoption and consolidation trends continue.
• JMP Securities resumed coverage of Tyler Technologies (TYL) with an Outperform rating and $490 price target. The firm says Tyler dominates the public sector marketplace with software and service offerings focused on local, state, and federal government clients servicing a wide range of key use cases.
• Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Agiliti (AGTI) with a Buy rating and $23 price target. While the past year has been rough, the firm believes the corner is being turned and as a result Agiliti can return to high single digit revenue growth.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Safehold (SAFE) with a Buy rating and $33 price target. The firm says the company offers highly stable cash flows and material growth potential from new ground lease originations, with a moderating interest rate environment as a tailwind.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) with a Buy rating and $44 price target. As a top six contract research origination, Fortrea can drive significant margin expansion over the next 2-4 years, while focusing sales efforts on upper-middle market sponsors, oncology, and full service, the firm says.