Street Wrap: Today’s Top 15 Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

Medtronic upgrade, Open Techologies downgrade, and Broadbridge initiation among today’s top calls on Wall Street

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: 

• Barclays upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $104, up from $89, after the FDA announced approval of Medtronic’s 780G system. [Read more] Wells Fargo also upgraded Medtronic to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $100, up from $77. [Read more]
• JPMorgan upgraded PPG Industries (PPG) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $156, up from $130. The company’s earnings could be substantially higher as the current level of raw material prices becomes reflected in PPG‘s income statement, the firm says. [Read more]
• BofA upgraded Ally Financial (ALLY) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $28, up from $24. Net interest margin, or NIM, pressures are starting to show signs of abating, even before the Fed signals a change in policy, the firm says. [Read more]
• Stifel upgraded Ideaya Biosciences (IDYA) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $24, up from $18. The firm thinks Ideaya’s uveal melanoma program represents a $389M market opportunity in the U.S. alone, if fully de-risked. [Read more]
• Loop Capital upgraded Trex Company (TREX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $64, up from $55. The outlook for composite decking has improved since the start of the year now that the challenging period of channel destocking is behind it, the firm says. [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Wedbush downgraded Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $1.70, down from $3.50, citing inventory challenges. [Read more]
• Truist downgraded Insperity (NSP) to Hold from Buy with unchanged price target of $128. White collar labor trends appear to be softening and the SMB-focused optimism is expected to erode in the coming months, but Insperity shares are up 15% year-to-date, the firm notes. [Read more]
• Raymond James downgraded Tandem Diabetes (TNDM) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. The firm expects margins to remain depressed in the near-term as Tandem funds its pipeline. [Read more]
• Truist downgraded Regions Financial (RF) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $20, down from $21. The firm reduced estimates to reflect lower fee income, higher expenses and provisioning. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded ADC Therapeutics (ADCT) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $2, down from $7. Zynlonta is currently approved in the third-line plus DLBCL setting, but the launch so far has been "underwhelming" and the firm views the CLBCL treatment landscape as "highly competitive." [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• RBC Capital initiated coverage of Broadridge (BR) with an Outperform rating and $169 price target. The firm says Broadridge "represents a pair of steady hands in an uncertain market," given its track record of shareholder returns, "moat" in its proxy business, expected improving free cash flow conversion, and emerging incremental opportunities in a large addressable market. [Read more]
• SVB Securities initiated coverage of Prothena (PRTA) with an Outperform rating and $80 price target. The firm notes Prothena has a strong discovery engine to optimally target key epitopes on misfolded proteins by specifically and selectively targeting the toxic/pathogenic protein species, which should help maximize treatment effect while minimizing side effects. [Read more]
• Canaccord initiated coverage of Telus International (TIXT) with a Buy rating and $28.50 price target. The digital IT service provider has "deep expertise" in customer experience, or CX, and is well positioned within growth sectors, the firm says. [Read more]
• Truist initiated coverage of Chesapeake (CHK) with a Buy rating and $100 price target. Most investors still recall the past difficulties of the company, but after the recent divestitures, investors are ready to re-frame the stock’s reputation given its refreshed asset base and balance sheet, the firm notes. [Read more]
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) with a Buy rating and $10 price target. The firm says the shares are trading at a 33% discount to global streaming subscription platforms. [Read more]