Lyft downgraded, Roku 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:

• MoffettNathanson upgraded Roku (ROKU) to Neutral from from Sell with an unchanged price target of $55. After a “ridiculous surge” in expense growth in 2021 and 2022, as revenues slowed, the company is now aiming to grow Q4 expenses in the single digits and achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2024, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• BofA upgraded Pinterest (PINS) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $37, up from $32. The company’s position versus peers is “much improved” as quarter-over-quarter underperformance shifts to outperformance, as expected in Q4, the firm tells investors.
• JPMorgan upgraded AutoNation (AN) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $145, down from $150. The firm views AutoNation’s current valuation as appropriately reflecting its balanced risks relative to peers.
• Susquehanna upgraded Saia (SAIA) to Positive from Neutral with a price target of $420, down from $450. The firm believes Saia’s path to 20%-plus 2024 earnings growth remains viable and sees the recent cooling in post-Yellow bankruptcy enthusiasm creating “an attractive entry point in this high-quality growth story.”
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Arista Networks (ANET) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $220, up from $185. The firm views Arista as the best way to play artificial intelligence networking’s eventual move to ethernet.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• MoffettNathanson downgraded Lyft (LYFT) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $7, down from $10. The firm, which forecasts Lyft to be a single digit adjusted EBITDA margin business, believes any long-term guidance provided by management will “likely disappoint.”
• Oppenheimer downgraded Sarepta (SRPT) to Perform from Outperform after the company Sarepta Phase 3 results from pivotal trial EMBARK for SRP-9001 and followed up with an investor presentation on 10/30.
• Baird downgraded ON Semiconductor (ON) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $60, down from $120, citing on supply/demand normalization.
• JPMorgan downgraded Lithia & Driveway (LAD) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $295, down from $395. The firm came away from the company’s Q3 results with diminished confidence in its differentiated earnings trajectory in the near-to medium-term.
• BofA downgraded Ferguson (FERG) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $138, down from $160. U.S. residential demand, which accounts for more than half of group sales, could be at risk of a “double dip next” year, while U.S. non-residential construction could also turn softer and the firm sees some downside risks to pricing, the firm tells investors.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of PayPal (PYPL) with an Equal Weight rating and $55 price target. Wells sees PayPal’s “reign as the unquestioned leader fading.”
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Block (SQ) with an Equal Weight rating and $45 price target. The firm struggles to find “sufficient evidence to call for consistent beats and raises” despite what it views as Block’s “impressive record of innovation.”
• Bernstein initiated coverage of Riot Platforms (RIOT) with an Outperform rating and $15.60 price target. Bitcoin miners are evolving from unorganized mining to an industrial scale enterprise mining model, with North America gaining share over China, the firm tells investors in a research note. The firm also started coverage of Marathon Digital (MARA) with a Market Perform and CleanSpark (CLSK) with an Outperform rating.
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Toast (TOST) with an Underweight rating and $16 price target. While the firm “typically gives the benefit of the doubt to market leaders with leading tech,” it suspects Toast is “likely to disconnect from on-the-ground success.”
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Affirm (AFRM) with an Equal Weight rating and $17 price target. The firm says buy now pay later buzz “has quieted considerably” from its 2020 peak, as rising rates squeezed unit economics, and consumer credit outlook “became cloudy.”