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

Monster Beverage upgrade, Wendy’s downgrade, and Apple initiation among today’s top calls on Wall Street

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Check out today’s top analyst calls from around Wall Street:

Top 5 Upgrades:

• Redburn upgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Buy from Neutral with a $120 price target. The firm sees upside to near-term margin and longer-term sales consensus estimates. [Read More]

• Needham upgraded HashiCorp (HCP) to Buy from Hold with a $39 price target. The firm thinks Street estimates for 28% growth in 2023 are conservative, setting HashiCorp up for continued beat and raise quarters in a "tough environment." [Read more]

• UBS upgraded Emerson Electric (EMR) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $97, down from $100. The firm finds the recent de-rating overdone, and while UBS has been critical of a potential National Instruments (NATI) deal, thinks the market-implied $10B value erosion "seems excessive." [Read more]

• JPMorgan upgraded Meritage Homes (MTH) to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $129. The firm believes Meritage Homes stock is trading at a "solid discount" and not properly reflecting the firm’s outlook for above average fundamentals. [Read more]

• JPMorgan upgraded Vir Biotechnology (VIR) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $34, down from $35. The firm sees an "appreciable commercial opportunity" for VIR-2482 within the high-risk, older adult population. [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Northcoast downgraded Wendy’s (WEN) to Neutral from Buy with no price target. The firm believes Wendy’s faces headwinds that will slow profitable sales growth while putting market share at risk in the U.S. [Read more]
• Jefferies downgraded RH (RH) to Hold from Buy with a $298 price target as it sees more risk than reward heading into 2023 guidance. [Read more]
• Compass Point downgraded Silvergate Capital (SI) to Sell from Neutral without a price target following the company’s announcement late Friday that it has discontinued the Silvergate Exchange Network. [Read more] Wedbush also downgraded Silvergate Capital to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $4, down from $9. [Read more]
• JPMorgan downgraded D.R. Horton (DHI) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $102.50, down from $107. The firm remains positive on the homebuilders for 2023, but at the same time, believes fundamentals "may go sideways if not soften somewhat" over the next quarter or so as the housing market absorbs the past month’s roughly 70 basis point increase in mortgage rates. [Read more]  JPMorgan also double downgraded KB Home (KBH) to Underweight from Overweight with a price target of $32.50, down from $36. [Read more]
• Credit Suisse downgraded Healthcare Realty Trust (HR) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $20, down from $23. The firm believes further merger synergies "may be slower to come." [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Apple (AAPL) with a Buy rating and $199 price target. The firm says Apple’s success in hardware design and brand loyalty has led to a growing installed base of users that provide visibility into revenue growth. [Read more]
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Bristol-Myers (BMY) with a Hold rating and $62 price target. While acknowledging the stock "screens cheap" when compared to pharma peers, the firm would argue the valuation is fair given what it sees as significant loss of exclusivity risk, a "mixed view" on its pipeline and expectations for declining operating profit margins. [Read more]
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Pfizer (PFE) with a Hold rating and $43 price target. The company’s long-term plans are "ambitious," but the firm is skeptical about execution given what it sees as a lack of visibility. [Read more]
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Eli Lilly (LLY) with a Hold rating and $290 price target. At current levels, the stock looks "priced to perfection" as shares bake in success above sell-side estimates, the firm tells investors. [Read more]
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Merck (MRK) with a Buy rating and $125 price target. The firm says the company is in the "sweet spot" of execution and value. [Read more]

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