Snowflake downgraded, Coinbase 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:

• JPMorgan upgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Neutral from Underweight with an unchanged price target of $80. The firm cites the surge in bitcoin, ethereum and broader cryptocurrency prices for the upgrade.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Molina Healthcare (MOH) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $420, up from $367. The firm says that while certain guidance assumptions leave it concerned about 2024, Molina should have “several shots on goal” in upcoming Medicaid requests for proposals and its recent track record has been very strong.
• JPMorgan upgraded Teradyne (TER) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $100, up from $90. The firm sees “increasingly de-risked expectations” for 2024, helped by the updated outlook from the company for flat revenues and lower earnings year-over-year outlined in the Q4 earnings call.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Ingredion (INGR) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $135, up from $122, which represents 25% upside potential. Following the Q4 results, the shares are attractively valued, with estimates failing to give Ingredion full credit for rising balance sheet optionality and deployment of Korea divestiture proceeds, the firm says.
• Craig-Hallum upgraded Entegris (ENTG) to Buy from Hold with a $150 price target, up from $90, following solid Q4 results and 2024 guide to high-single digit organic topline growth and EPS of about $3.25. The firm thinks Entegris is positioned well to continue to drive above-market growth as semiconductors become increasingly complex and the company’s content per wafer to support manufacturing requirements continues to expand.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• HSBC downgraded Snowflake (SNOW) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $214, up from $212. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the stock’s recent rally.
• Redburn Atlantic downgraded Comcast (CMCSA) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $44, down from $50. The firm’s top-down broadband analysis suggests additional downside to cable broadband subscription consensus estimates across 2024 and 2025.
• Northland downgraded Twilio (TWLO) to Market Perform from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $66 following quarterly results. The company is doing an operational review of its underperforming Segment business unit and if the review leads to a sale, that could minimize Twilio’s AI strategy, the firm tells investors.
• HSBC downgraded Akamai Technologies (AKAM) to Reduce from Hold with a price target of $96, down from $109, post the Q4 report. The firm expects the company to miss 2024 guidance amid signs of further weakness in its core content delivery business.
• Evercore ISI downgraded Owens Corning (OC) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $154, down from $163, post the Q4 report. The firm took down Q1 estimates as it acknowledges that the roofing business is currently over-earning.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Wells Fargo resumed coverage of Cisco (CSCO) with an Equal Weight rating and $52 price target following quarterly results and restructuring plan. The firm sees the post-close move in Cisco’s shares as justified and consistent with reduced 2024 guide driven by slower customer deploy of previously purchased products.
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Deckers Outdoor (DECK) with an Outperform rating and $960 price target. The firm says Deckers offers “one of the best plays” with a high-quality growth profile and portfolio of differentiated brands which should sustain strong brand momentum.
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Skechers (SKX) with an Outperform rating and $73 price target. The firm believes Skechers offers a steady growth profile that has a larger total addressable market due a broader product offering, favorable competitive dynamics given lower pricing versus peers that benefits in a consumer trade down environment, brand momentum picking up and the early innings of traction with younger demos.
• BofA initiated coverage of Supermicro (SMCI) with a Buy rating and $1,040 price target. The firm thinks the provider of server and storage solutions will be a beneficiary of AI-driven demand growth and believes the market for AI servers is “much larger” than factored in Street models.
• HSBC initiated coverage of GE HealthCare (GEHC) with a Buy rating and $100 price target. The firm sees room for the company to drive margin expansion in imaging and deepen service income.