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

Shake Shack upgrade, Disney downgrade, and asset manager initiations 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 Shake Shack (SHAK) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $63, up from $52. The company’s agreement with activist investor Engaged Capital offers potential changes and greater accountability, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
• JPMorgan upgraded Bloom Energy (BE) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $20, down from $22. The recent pullback in the shares, down 45% since mid-February, is overdone, the analyst said. [read more]
• Citi upgraded Gap (GPS) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $8, down from $10. While the company’s Q1 sales results will likely be below consensus and Q2 trends are running below estimates, sentiment on the stock is "extremely negative." [read more]
• Argus upgraded Wendy’s (WEN) to Buy from Hold with a $26 price target. The company stands to benefit from unit expansion, strong international growth, and investments in its digital business, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
• Mizuho upgraded Range Resources (RRC) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $35, up from $30. The stock selloffs in the U.S. oil and gas sector it "at odds with the messaging from individual companies," the analyst said. [read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Macquarie  downgraded Disney (DIS) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $103, down from $125. The analyst sees near-term uncertainties weighing on Disney’s earnings, valuation, and investor sentiment. [read more]
• Credit Suisse downgraded Amphenol (APH) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $77, down from $91. The analyst believes weakness in communications related markets, which represents 40% of the company’s sales, will offset Amphenol’s growth from industrial, aerospace, military, and automotive markets. [read more]
• Benchmark downgraded Curaleaf (CURLF) to Hold from Buy with no price target, citing continued uncertainty in the U.S. cannabis markets. Curaleaf reported Q1 revenue and profitability that beat consensus, but reiterated revenue guidance, suggesting continued growth challenges, says the analyst. [read more]
• Stephens downgraded Noodles & Company (NDLS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $5, down from $7. The analyst cites last week’s discussion of lower than expected traffic trends in the current Q2-to-date period and yesterday’s announced departure of the company’s CFO for the downgrade. [read more]
• Needham downgraded TerrAscend (TRSSF) to Hold from Buy as part of a broader Cannabis sector research note. The stock’s 13.8-times enterprise value to expected FY23 multiple marks the highest valuation in the group and trades at close to twice the premium relative to peers, but despite this best-in-class valuation, its EBITDA margins and cash flow generation are closer to the bottom, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Citi initiated coverage of six alternative asset managers and three traditional asset managers, expressing a preference for the alternatives over the traditionals given what it sees as more favorable structural tailwinds in areas such as private credit, increased private wealth allocation to alternatives, and infrastructure as well as better growth potential. Among the nine assets mangers, Citi began seven with Buy ratings – starting Apollo Global (APO), BlackRock (BLK), Blackstone (BX), Blue Owl Capital (OWL), KKR (KKR), Carlyle Group (CG) and TPG (TPG) at Buy – while starting Invesco (IVZ) with a Neutral rating and T. Rowe Price (TROW) with a Sell. [read more]
• RBC Capital initiated coverage of Planet Fitness (PLNT) with an Outperform rating and $86 price target. The analyst sees Planet’s "highly-franchised model" delivering strong ongoing earnings growth in a post-pandemic environment. [read more]
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of SQM (SQM) with a Sell rating and $60.60 price target, which represents 17% downside. Goldman expects multi-year lithium oversupply and price pressure, and the analyst sees uncertainties related to SQM‘s concession renewal. [read more]
• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Intuitive Machines (LUNR) with an Overweight rating and $11 price target. Intuitive Machines is an American diversified space exploration company that is looking to commercialize the moon by establishing infrastructure and services for commerce on and around the moon, the analyst tells investors. [read more]
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of ACNB Corp. (ACNB) with a Neutral rating and $31 price target. The bank has "one of the most attractive funding bases we’ve come across" and has performed "extraordinarily well through the current cycle," but the shares are already trading at a premium to peers and the firm doesn’t see a clear catalyst for shares to outperform over the next 12 months. [read more]