DoorDash upgraded, Wendy’s 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:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded DoorDash (DASH) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $145, up from $135. The company’s improving user loyalty and category expansion provides confidence in Marketplace order growth of 16% annually through 2026, the firm says.
• BMO Capital upgraded Remitly Global (RELY) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $28, up from $24. The company’s Q4 results were strong, demonstrating stable underlying marketing efficiency from Q3, better-than-expected customer growth, and greater potential for more meaningful future operating leverage, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• TD Cowen upgraded Coty (COTY) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $16, up from $13, after speaking with the company’s Chief Brands Officer of Consumer Beauty, Stefano Curti. Coty is seeing solid fragrance momentum as new generations embrace fragrances in different ways and has premiumization opportunities across geographies and categories, the firm notes.
• HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta (MLM) to Hold from Reduce with a price target of $543, up from $376. The firm increased estimates after the company’s “strong” Q4 results and guidance for another year of double-digit price increases, but says this attractive industry outlook already priced into the shares.
• KeyBanc upgraded Gates Industrial (GTES) to Overweight from Sector Weight with an $18 price target. The firm believes the shares have become overly discounted, particularly relative to peers and the historical range, as private equity has been exiting its stake.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Bernstein downgraded Wendy’s (WEN) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $20, down from $24. The firm cites lowered expectations on same-store sales and unit growth as well as a lack of clear catalysts for multiple expansion in the near-term for the downgrade. Yesterday, JPMorgan downgraded Wendy’s to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $19, down from $22, as well.
• Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Lucid Group (LCID) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $4, down from $6. The firm cites the company’s “persistently high” negative gross margins, lower than expected annual production guidance, and lower demand for the downgrade.
• Truist downgraded Gilead Sciences (GILD) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $82, down from $91. The firm views the company’s “re-strategizing” to focus on chemo combos in lung and other large markets as “smart, nimble, and cost-efficient,” but recognizes it will take time.
• Evercore ISI downgraded Capital One (COF) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $142, down from $160. The firm says Discover (DFS) deal uncertainty could limit upside in the shares.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Hexcel (HXL) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $66, down from $70. The firm’s estimates remain below Hexcel’s outlook as it expects a slower aircraft production ramp given continued supply chain challenges and idiosyncratic issues facing Boeing (BA).

Top 5 Initiations:

• Loop Capital initiated coverage of Whirlpool (WHR) with a Buy rating and $140 price target. The firm says the “timing is right for the company” with the stock down 10% year-to-date.
• Stifel initiated coverage of Celcuity (CELC) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. The firm says investors “can no longer overlook” Celcuity as it moves toward pivotal data for gedatolisib due in the second half of 2024 in second-line HR+ metastatic breast cancer, stating that this cancer indication has “blockbuster potential.”
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Camden Property (CPT) with a Buy rating and $112 price target. The firm resumed coverage of seven multifamily real estate investment trusts, saying internal growth dynamics, external growth opportunities, and execution will drive growth.
• Morgan Stanley is on the sidelines on Shutterstock as a different analyst at the firm assumed coverage of the name with an Equal Weight rating and unchanged price target of $55. Bullish 2027 targets highlight Shutterstock’s opportunity, but improved execution in stabilizing the core business and scaling new businesses is required to drive value creation, says the firm.
• Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of AvalonBay (AVB) with a Neutral rating and $191 price target. Supply headwinds against demand strength is perhaps the most prominent theme for multifamily in 2024 and 2025, the firm notes.