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

AMD upgrade, Bank of America downgrade and Nasdaq initiation among today’s top calls on Wall Street

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to learn which companies the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

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:

• Baird analyst Tristan Gerra upgraded AMD (AMD) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $100, up from $65. The Genoa chip’s "very significant" performance step up should accelerate market share gains for AMD in 2023 and come along with significantly higher pricing and a higher gross margin profile, Gerra argues in his upgrade note to investors. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri also upgraded AMD to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $95, up from $75.
• Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Ha upgraded Oak Street Health (OSH) to Overweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $30 given its "improving path to profitability by 2025."
• Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read upgraded Occidental Petroleum (OXY) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $74, up from $59. The analyst notes the company continued to deliver on cash flow priorities with balance sheet improvements and a focus on cash returns to shareholders.
• Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini upgraded ASML (ASML) to Positive from Neutral with a price target of $850, up from $510, and a price target of EUR 866, up from EUR 520, on its European listed shares following the company’s analyst day.
• H.C. Wainwright analyst Amit Dayal upgraded Beam Global (BEEM) to Buy from Neutral with a $30 price target. The upgrade is based on the "significant build up in backlog" that sets the company up to deliver over 100% revenue growth in 2023, Dayal tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Citi analyst Keith Horowitz downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $40. The analyst sees a "tricky period for bank stocks," saying net interest income tailwinds seem fully factored into stock prices.
• Baird analyst David Koning downgraded Global Payments (GPN) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $118, down from $144. The analyst is not sure what positive near-term catalysts could come to get the stock much above $100-$110 in coming months.
• BofA analyst Jason Haas downgraded Hasbro (HAS) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $42, down from $73. According to his conversations with several players, collectors, distributors and local games stores, the company has been overproducing its Magic: The Gathering game cards and destroying the long-term value of the brand, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• JPMorgan analyst Christopher Schott downgraded Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $10, down from $11. The analyst sees "continued growth challenges" for Teva.
• China Renaissance analyst Yiming Wang downgraded Nio (NIO) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $12.30, down from $24.30, after the company’s net loss widened in Q3 on lower GPM and higher expense ratios.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Redburn analyst Nicholas Watts initiated coverage of Nasdaq (NDAQ) with a Neutral rating. Exchanges’ trading businesses have "delivered fortress like performance in a turbulent macro environment," Watts said. The analyst also started Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) with a Neutral rating.
• Jefferies analyst Eun Yang initiated coverage of Prime Medicine (PRME) with a Buy rating and $25 price target. Though the company has not yet identified lead programs, in vivo proof-of-concept data in several programs is likely in 2023, Yang tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan also started the stock with a Buy, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the name with Neutral-equivalent ratings.
• William Blair analyst Matt Phipps initiated coverage of Genmab (GMAB) with a Market Perform rating without a price target. Although launch of the company’s partnered programs has significant longer-term potential, initial commercial indications are limited and additional time will be needed for its "intriguing pipeline programs to take shape," Phipps tells investors in a research note.
• William Blair analyst Matt Phipps initiated coverage of Janux Therapeutics (JANX) with an Outperform rating and no price target. The analyst is positive on the potential of the company’s TRACTr platform, which facilitates the generation of conditionally active T-cell engagers.
• Stephens analyst Charles Nabhan initiated coverage of Repay Holdings (RPAY) with an Overweight rating and $9 price target. He believes the current valuation overlooks secular tailwinds and stabilizing factors that should contribute to above-peer growth despite Repay’s exposure to economically sensitive verticals.

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