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

Novocure upgrade, Duolingo downgrade, and Mobileye 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: 

• Wedbush upgraded Novocure (NVCR) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $46, down from $53, after the company presented additional details from its LUNAR study evaluating TTFields plus standard therapies verses standard therapies alone in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who have progressed on platinum therapy. [Read more]
• Roth MKM upgraded Yext (YEXT) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $12.50, up from $8.50. The firm cites the company’s "beat-and-raise" Q1 results with upside on all key operating and financial metrics for the upgrade. [Read more]
• Piper Sandler upgraded Glaukos (GKOS) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $80, up from $55. The company has among the most exciting upcoming product launches in midcap medical technology, the firm tells investors in a research note. [Read more]
• Jefferies upgraded Veru (VERU) to Hold from Underperform with a $1 price target. The stock has been oversold and expectations have reset at a $100M market capitalization despite the company’s two assets in late stage development, the firm tells investors in a research note. [Read more]
• Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Consolidated Water (CWCO) to Buy from Neutral with a fair value estimate of $24, up from $19. The firm has increased its forward estimates due to the recent announcement of contract terms for its Hawaii desalination project. [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• JMP Securities downgraded Duolingo (DUOL) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. While the firm continues to believe Duolingo deserves a premium valuation given its large total addressable market, strong execution and its freemium model, it also thinks these characteristics are now priced. [Read more]
• Truist downgraded Amedisys (AMED) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $97. The firm sees a more balanced risk/reward following the recent strength tied to the announcement of an unsolicited all-cash acquisition proposal from UnitedHealth’s (UNH) Optum. [Read more]
• William Blair downgraded Staar Surgical (STAA)  to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target after the company presented at the firm’s Annual Growth Stock Conference. The firm continues to think 10%-plus penetration is achievable in the United States, but believes an inflection in adoption and growth is likely to take more time than previously anticipated. [Read more]
• H.C. Wainwright downgraded Check-Cap (CHEK) to Neutral from Buy without a price target after the company announced it engaged a broker to explore strategic alternatives, including the sale of all or part of the company, licensing, merger or reverse merger. [Read more]
• Oppenheimer downgraded Chemomab Therapeutics (CMMB) to Perform from Outperform without a price target after the company announced strategic updates, including the transfer of leadership back to the Israel based team. [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Canaccord initiated coverage of Mobileye (MBLY) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. Mobileye holds the leading position in the ADAS market and is "in a pole position to help lead the full self-driving market," the firm says. [Read more]
• Rosenblatt  initiated coverage of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) with a Buy rating and $300 price target. Super Micro’s long history in "green" computing, building block architecture, plug-and-play, twin architecture, rack scale integration, and software platform optimization have "resulted in a formidable business model aligned with the critical factors for success in an AI driven world," the firm says. [Read more]
• H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Disc Medicine (IRON) with a Buy rating and $55 price target. The firm believes the company’s lead asset, bitopertin, "could be a blockbuster start" for Disc’s hematology portfolio.
  [Read more]
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Herbalife (HLF) with a Neutral rating and $13 price target. Mizuho has concerns about direct selling in an e-commerce world and increasing competition for investors’ health and wellness dollars. [Read more]
• Odeon Capital initiated coverage of Bank of Hawaii (BOH) with a Sell rating and $31 price target. The firm’s analysis of the bank’s balance sheet suggests that its securities and loan portfolios may now have fair values "well below their amortized cost base," which Odeon says suggests that the bank’s "real equity may be flat to meaningfully negative." [Read more]