Crocs initiated, Bill downgraded: 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:

• BofA upgraded TransUnion (TRU) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $90, up from $65. The firm is “incrementally positive” on the consumer lending environment and sees opportunities for 2024 sales guidance upside across international, insurance and mortgage.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Devon Energy (DVN) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $59, up from $46. The firm expects the company’s high-grading efforts in the Delaware Basin will begin to bear fruit in Q2, leading to a significant improvement in capital efficiency and a positive re-rating of the stock.
• Leerink upgraded Nuvalent (NUVL) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $110, up from $69, based on updated forecasts for NVL-655, which the firm thinks has the potential to become the next multiblockbuster lung cancer agent in ALK+ disease.
• BofA upgraded Healthpeak Properties (DOC) to Buy from Underperform with a price target of $25, up from $18. The firm thinks the market is misprizing Healthpeak’s go-forward growth prospects and thinks earnings will trough in 2024.
• DA Davidson upgraded Xos (XOS) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged $17 price target following the company’s Q4 results. With the closure of the ElectraMeccanica acquisition last week, it appears that Xos will indeed be able to remove the “going concern” provision from its filings, the firm says.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Wells Fargo downgraded Bill (BILL) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $60, down from $70. Wells also added the stock to its Q2 “tactical ideas list.” While the company’s’ near-term trends have stabilized, the Street is “complacent around future expectations,” the firm says.
• Needham downgraded Dynatrace (DT) to Hold from Buy. The company’s sustained top-line deceleration has called into question the durability of its growth, while its go-to-market and product initiatives appear to be slipping to the right and are not expected to become meaningful contributors to the financial model until FY26, the firm tells investors in a research note, adding that it sees shares of Dynatrace to be range-bound relative to other names under coverage.
• Susquehanna downgraded Cognizant (CTSH) to Neutral from Positive with a price target of $80, down from $87. The firm says soft demand, especially for short duration, discretionary projects, is a “pervasive, industry-level problem” in information technology services.
• BofA downgraded Molina Healthcare (MOH) to Underperform from Neutral with a $439 price target. The firm sees a less attractive risk-reward compared to other insurers under coverage, and is concerned that Molina and other Medicaid insurers are likely to face rate pressure after a period of elevated margins. BofA also downgraded Galapagos (GLPG) and InterDigital (IDCC) to Underperform from Neutral.
• Barclays downgraded J.B. Hunt (JBHT) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $200, down from $215. The firm says “weak bid season results” will likely result in volume challenges for J.B. Hunt, softer margins for Werner and growth headwinds for C.H. Robinson (CHRW). Barclays also downgraded the latter to Underweight from Equal Weight and Werner (WERN) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Barclays initiated coverage of Crocs (CROX) with an Overweight rating and $167 price target. The company has strong fundamentals with the highest margin, cash conversion cycle, and return metrics in the footwear group while trading at a significant discount to the peers, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Barclays initiated coverage of Deckers Outdoor (DECK) with an Overweight rating and $1,110 price target. The firm sees “continued runway for growth” of Deckers’ Hoka brand to take market share in footwear as it expands awareness from a relatively low base, driving new customer acquisition.
• Barclays initiated coverage of Skechers (SKX) with an Overweight rating and $71 price target. The firm likes Skechers’ “consistency and stability” in operating performance while it reinvests into the business to drive future profitable growth at an underlying low-teens operating margin.
• Barclays initiated coverage of On Holding (ONON) with an Overweight rating and $38 price target. The firm says On has the fastest growth in U.S. footwear and relatively low brand awareness to drive future growth.
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Bloom Energy (BE) with an Outperform rating and $21 price target. Bloom Energy’s highly efficient and low-emissions-intensive solid oxide fuel cells are increasingly gaining traction in the market and widely being accepted in the rapidly expanding end markets, including marine, aviation, data centers, BEV charging, green ammonia, steel, e-fuel, CCUS, and methanol, the firm tells investors in a research note.