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

Dell upgrade, Victoria’s Secret downgrade, and Palo Alto Networks 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: 

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Dell Technologies (DELL) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $55, up from $45. The firm contends that the worst of the PC downcycle is likely in the past. [Read more]
• Morgan Stanley upgraded HP Inc. (HPQ) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $31, up from $28. The PC market is bottoming, which historically precedes HP stock outperformance, though the company is also facing challenges to the print business, the firm says. [Read more]
• Bernstein upgraded Roper Technologies (ROP) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $525, up from $490. The company’s organic free cash flow growth and multiples paid to acquire cash are set to improve, supporting its long-term mid-teens free cash flow growth target, the firm tells investors in a research note. [Read more]
• Roth MKM upgraded Penn Entertainment (PENN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $40, up from $35. The firm sees a potential beat and raise quarter when the company reports Q1 on May 4. [Read more]
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Genuine Parts (GPC) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $164, up from $163. The firm, which cites valuation for its upgrade, also says that the European automotive business has been more resilient than it expected and contends that momentum in the company’s industrial segment "remains strong." [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Barclays downgraded Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $35, down from $38. The firm’s promotional tracker shows promos in Q1 are running similar to Q4 levels and suggest that "consumers across all income brackets are pulling back" on discretionary product spending, the firm tells investors. [Read more]
• Barclays downgraded Capri Holdings (CPRI) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $46, down from $58. The firm sees increasing risk to hopes for a demand recovery in the second half of the year.
  [Read more]
• Barclays  downgraded Under Armour (UAA) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $9, down from $13. The firm’s promotional tracker shows promos in Q1 are running similar to Q4 levels and suggest that "consumers across all income brackets are pulling back" on discretionary product spending.
  [Read more]
• Barrington downgraded Chegg (CHGG) to Market Perform from Outperform with no price target after the company reported Q1 results that topped expectations, but withdrew FY23 guidance and provided guidance only for the current quarter with ChatGPT now said to be impacting new subscriber growth. [Read more] Jefferies also downgraded Chegg to Hold from Buy with a price target of $11, down from $25. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $148, down from $166, following Q1 earnings and after considering the potential impact from the Haystack Oncology deal.
  [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) with a Buy rating and $250 price target. The firm notes that in the current "problematic macro backdrop" enterprises and government organizations continue to spend on security. [Read more]
• Guggenheim initiated coverage of ChargePoint (CHPT) with a Neutral rating and no price target. The firm’s analysis suggests that the stock is fairly valued. [Read more]
• Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Zscaler (ZS) with a Buy rating and $135 price target, citing what the firm sees as its "attractive long-term growth opportunity." [Read more]
• Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Crowdstrike (CRWD) with a Buy rating and $170 price target. The firm sees CrowdStrike can continue generating strong free cash flow growth at scale, the firm contends. [Read more]
• Barclays reinstated coverage of J.M. Smucker (SJM) with an Equal Weight rating and $165 price target. The firm views the recently closed pet food transaction between J.M. Smucker and Post Holdings (POST) as mutually beneficial. [Read more]