Rubrik and Marex Group initiated: 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 Upgrades:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Micron Technology (MU) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $130, up from $98. The firm says it overestimated how much significant 2023 losses would weigh on the stock’s valuation, and underestimated both the economic and narrative elements of artificial intelligence memory.
• UBS upgraded Universal Health (UHS) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $226, up from $189. The firm has enhanced visibility into upside to the company’s earnings given recent supplemental payment developments, as well as improving operational results.
• Piper Sandler upgraded Globus Medical (GMED) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $80, up from $60. While still early, Globus Medical “has successfully navigated a lot of the pitfalls seen in other spine deals,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Teradyne (TER) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $161, up from $118, implying 22% potential upside. The analyst believes a cyclical recovery in the system-on-chip test and robotics franchises augmented by emerging growth drivers in high-bandwidth memory and custom compute test will drive positive earnings revisions and, in turn, stock price outperformance going forward.
• Raymond James upgraded PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) to Market Perform from Underperform following this morning’s news that the European Commission decided against adoption of the CHMP’s recommendation to pull Translarma from the market in Europe for the treatment of DMD patients with nonsense mutations.

Top Downgrades:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Impinj (PI) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $156. The analyst cites valuation for the downgrade given the stock’s recent outperformance vis-a-vis its coverage universe.
• BofA downgraded EPR Properties (EPR) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $40, down from $45. Comments suggest a more aggressive capital recycling away from theaters, notes the firm, which says its experience suggests that REITs underperform during capital recycling periods that “drag on growth & the multiple.”
• Citi downgraded Rio Tinto (RIO) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of 6,000 GBp. The shares are up 27% since the August 2023 northern summer lull and the “deep discount to valuation is now eroded,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Top Initiations:

• BMO Capital initiated coverage of Rubrik (RBRK) with a Market Perform rating and $40 price target. While BMO likes the Rubrik story, it would prefer a better entry point since it envisions limited multiple expansion from current levels. Rubrik was also initiated at Mizuho, Wedbush, Citi, Truist, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Guggenheim, Barclays, KeyBanc, and Goldman Sachs.
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Marex Group (MRX) with an Overweight rating and $27 price target. The firm believes the company’s “diversified and scalable” business model positions it well in areas where larger competitors are pulling back and smaller competitors are finding it increasingly difficult to compete. Marex was also initiated at Keefe Bruyette, Citi, Jefferies, UBS, Barclays, and Goldman Sachs.
• Craig-Hallum assumed coverage of Evolv (EVLV) with a Buy rating with a price target of $5.75, down from $8.50. With expectations now tempered following disappointing Q1 results and lowered FY24 guidance, the firm believes Evolve is well-positioned to capture share in the $20B+ weapons detection marketing, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Steel Dynamics (STLD) with a Hold rating and $150 price target. The macro backdrop for the metals and mining sector has improved, mostly due to the resilience of the U.S. economy and potential for a metals-intensive fixed asset investment cycle in the U.S., the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Fulcrum Therapeutics (FULC) with an Overweight rating and $23 price target ahead of the Phase 3 facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy data for losmapimod in Q4. Despite risk around the mechanism after the Phase 2 trial missed the primary endpoint, there’s reason to think the Phase 3 endpoint of reachable workspace could work based on a Phase 2 post-hoc analysis and by looking at the full data holistically, the analyst says.