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

Microsoft upgrade, Tesla downgrade, and Coinbase 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: 

• Macquarie upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $325, up from $260, after the company reported a better-than-expected fiscal Q3 as Azure "fared well." [Read more] BMO Capital also upgraded Microsoft to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $347, up from $325, following Tuesday’s results. [Read more]
• Wolfe Research upgraded UPS (UPS) to Peer Perform from Underperform without a price target. The stock fell 10% after the company reported in-line Q1 earnings, as UPS lowered its full-year guidance and materially guided down Q2 expectations, the firm notes. [Read more]
• Needham upgraded TransUnion (TRU) to Buy from Hold with an $84 price target. The company’s Q1 results came in above expectations, as solid core performance and additional debt prepayment helped offset some weakness in areas such as unsecured consumer lending, the firm notes. [Read more]
• Tigress Financial upgraded Albertsons (ACI) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $27, down from $32. The firm cites the fundamental outlook for Albertsons. [Read more]
• JPMorgan upgraded BankUnited (BKU) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $23, up from $22. While there is likely still a quarter or two of "fairly sharp" net interest margin pressure ahead, BankUnited is now one of the highest deposit payers in the space, the firm says. [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Tesla (TSLA) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $185, down from $230. The company’s strategy of growth over margin has its "logic and resets expectations," but also poses a question whether its profit edge was structural or a timing difference, the firm says. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded Enphase Energy (ENPH) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $169, down from $227, following the company’s "disappointing" Q1 results. [Read more]
• Maxim downgraded First Republic (FRC)  to Hold from Buy with a price target of $16, down from $75. The firm cites the company’s 41% decline in deposits, a 25% workforce cut, and a rapid balance sheet shrink. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded Danaher (DHR) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $250, down from $310, after the company issued a "disappointing" Q1 update and made "another" cut to its 2023 guidance. [Read more]
• Barclays downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $70, down from $105. Nielsen data for the U.S. consumer is "very weak" and below what Scotts has assumed in its guidance, the firm says. [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Coinbase (COIN) with a Buy rating and $75 price target. The firm is "very constructive" on shares over the near- to medium-term based on the current valuation and crypto price cycle.
  [Read more]
• UBS initiated coverage of GE HealthCare (GEHC) with a Neutral rating and $86 price target. The firm says the company’s near-term earnings momentum is offset by its lower optimism on its mid-term margin expansion and a "relatively full" stock valuation. [Read more]
• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (RARE) with an Overweight rating and $114 price target. The firm sees a "great entry point" with the stock down 42% over the last year. [Read more]
• William Blair initiated coverage of BellRing Brands (BRBR) with an Outperform rating and no price target. The firm notes that BellRing owns "disruptive and differentiated" brands, led by Premier Protein and Dymatize. [Read more]
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Celsius Holdings (CELH) with an Overweight rating and $110 price target. The firm sees Celsius having "a differentiated brand and product in the energy drink space" and thinks this can help it continue to drive sustainable share gains. [Read more]