GE Aerospace upgraded, AmEx 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:

• TD Cowen upgraded GE Aerospace (GE) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $180, up from $175. The firm says over 50% of the company’s sales and 75% of profits come from the commercial aerospace aftermarket following the spinoff, the highest in its coverage.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Molson Coors (TAP) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $75, up from $66. The firm is “incrementally more positive” on Molson Coors and Constellation Brands (STZ), and incrementally negative on Boston Beer (SAM), based on feedback from the firm’s beer distributor contacts.
• Wolfe Research upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $46 price target, arguing that the stock “looks relatively cheap on a standalone basis” using estimates “well below” its forecasts listed in the proxy.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Digital Realty (DLR) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $155, up from $135. The firm sees multiple catalysts for the company, including a pick-up in leasing volumes, development yields moving to over 10%, and upside to the company’s 2024 guidance.
• JPMorgan upgraded American Eagle (AEO) to Overweight from Neutral with a $31 price target after meeting with management. The firm views American Eagle as one of the most undervalued assets in the group relative to fair value given its fundamental model profile of 3%-5% revenue growth and 10% adjusted EBIT margins in fiscal 2026.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Barclays downgraded American Express (AXP) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $221, up from $220. The firm continues to view American Express as the best card issuer to own in the card space, but says the stock’s risk/reward is balanced at current levels.
• Exane BNP Paribas downgraded Altice USA (ATUS) to Underperform from Neutral with a $1 price target. The firm, which notes it had recently upgraded shares to Neutral on the upside risk of a buyout by Charter (CHTR), sees this upside risk as reduced following its new work on the headwinds facing both companies this year.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Sensata (ST) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $36, down from $44. The firm expects slower near to intermediate term revenue growth in the company’s North America auto business tied to electric vehicles, due to both weaker near-term EV sales, and from some traditional car makers delaying certain EV launches.
• Roth MKM downgraded Perion Network (PERI) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $13, down from $35. The firm cites the “unexpected and severe” decline in Perion’s search advertising relationship with Microsoft Bing (MSFT) that resulted in a reduction to 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance by 56% at the midpoint for the downgrade.
• Compass Point downgraded Wells Fargo (WFC) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $64. The firm continues to see a number of “key potential positives to the story” over the next year, but believes current valuation reflects catalysts “much more appropriately” following the material relative strength in the shares year-to-date.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Monday.com (MNDY) with an Overweight rating and $260 price target. The company has “multiple attractive growth levers,” including up-market progress and new product cycles, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Cisco (CSCO) with an Overweight rating and $58 price target. The stock is trading at over 7-times discount relative to the S&P but offers double digit shareholder return and story catalyst potential, the firm says.
• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Nikola (NKLA) with a Peer Perform rating and no price target. While noting that Nikola has a first mover advantage in commercializing hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, the firm expects continued EBITDA losses and cash burn for “the next couple of years.”
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of GitLab (GTLB) with an Overweight rating and $70 price target. With the shares down 21% since the Q4 report its fiscal 2025 model “now more conservatively set,” Wells sees an “opportunistic entry” for GitLab.
• Keefe Bruyette initiated coverage of Toast (TOST) with a Market Perform rating and $25 price target. Keefe Bruyette views Toast as being well positioned to continue to gain share in the U.S., though it also sees that favorable positioning being priced in.