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

IBM upgrade, Roblox downgrade, and Shyft Group initiation among today’s top calls on Wall Street

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Research analysts at Wall Street’s largest banks issue recommendations on whether a stock should be bought, held, or sold. The Fly’s team of financial market experts scours hundreds of research notes daily to uncover the best trading ideas. Check out today’s top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.

Top 5 Upgrades:

• MoffettNathanson analyst Lisa Ellis upgraded IBM (IBM) to Market Perform from Underperform with a $140 price target. The firm’s most recent CIO survey, which was released two weeks ago, pointed toward continued strong demand for IT Services in 2023, said Ellis, who is "increasingly convinced that we are amid a once-in-a-generation step-up in the ‘IT intensity’ of corporations" driven by the Digitization trends.
• Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini upgraded Universal Display (OLED) to Neutral from Negative with a price target of $135, up from $82. The analyst says the firm’s Negative thesis has played out.
• Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett upgraded Philip Morris (PM) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $118, up from $86. Tobacco sector sentiment could "finally" shift in 2023 as a likely search for returns visibility triggers more work to better understand the space, Bennett contends.
• KeyBanc analyst Jason Celino upgraded Chegg (CHGG) to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $29 price target. The analyst believes EBITDA margin upside will be the key driver of the stock over the next 12 months.
• UBS analyst Eliana Merle upgraded CureVac (CVAC) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $18, up from $8. The analyst sees the initial data from the company’s second-generation mRNA platform as a "major milestone and clearing event."

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Cost downgraded Roblox (RBLX) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $24.00, down from $27.50. Cost believes the bookings reacceleration in the first half of the year is priced in, with more mixed catalysts ahead, and expects slower growth in the second half of the year and minimal upside from advertising in the near-term.
• BofA analyst Craig Siegenthaler double downgraded Charles Schwab (SCHW) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $75, down from $92, citing his view that client cash sorting will continue at an elevated pace in the first half of the year, pressuring liquidity, interest earnings assets and bank deposit account levels.
• MoffettNathanson analyst Lisa Ellis downgraded Cognizant (CTSH) and DXC (DXC) to Underperform from Market Perform with price targets of $60 and $28, down from $70 and $32, respectively. While the analyst notes that the firm’s most recent CIO survey, which was released two weeks ago, pointed toward continued strong demand for IT Services in 2023, he also argues that the "rising tide only floats some boats."
• Jefferies analyst Glen Santangelo downgraded Teva (TEVA) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $12, up from $10. With shares up 35% since October, Santangelo sees the risk-reward as balanced.
• Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani downgraded TE Connectivity (TEL) to In Line from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $130. While expectations are set for about 3% growth in auto production in 2023, driven by increased semi supply, he thinks chip supply will continue to constrain the upper bound and believes production is approaching levels where "demand will be more heavily scrutinized.”

Top 5 Initiations:

• BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis initiated coverage of Shyft Group (SHYF) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. The analyst thinks Shyft is well positioned over the long term to leverage its existing legacy internal combustion engine business and cash flows into the nascent commercial EV market.
• Redburn analyst Ed Ridley-Day initiated coverage of GE HealthCare (GEHC) with a Buy rating.
• Benchmark analyst Kurt Hallead initiated coverage of Halliburton (HAL) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. Halliburton is in a strong position to benefit from increased E&P spending on international and offshore projects in the intermediate term and continue to generate industry leading returns in the U.S. frac market, Hallead tells investors in a research note. The analyst also started coverage of Transocean (RIG), Cactus (WHD), Noble Corp. (NE), Valaris (VAL), TechnipFMC (FTI), Oceaneering (OII), NOV Inc. (NOV), Baker Hughes (BKR), and SLB (SLB) with Buy ratings, and Helmerich & Payne (HP), Patterson-UTI (PTEN), ProPetro (PUMP), and Nabors Industries (NBR) with Hold ratings.
• Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Ulz initiated coverage of Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN) with an Overweight rating and $17 price target. He believes ALPN-303, which he sees having potential across a range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, is "underappreciated" and thinks data in the second half of this year could provide early derisking in systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, as well as other indications, such as IgAN.
• Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond initiated coverage of Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPTI) with an Overweight rating and $8 price target. The analyst thinks the utility of Xpovio’s "unique pathway makes for an interesting value proposition" when considering the three major potential indications currently in development.

Keywords: analyst, analyst calls, upgrades, downgrades, initiations, research, wall street