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

Nordstrom upgrade, Tesla downgrade, and Axon initiation among today’s top calls on Wall Street

Want to get stock-moving news before everyone else? Sign up today for The Fly.

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

Top 5 Upgrades:  

• Argus upgraded Nordstrom (JWN) to Buy from Hold with a $23 price target. Nordstrom has divested unprofitable businesses and reduced unwanted inventory through discounts and promotions, and it has also strengthened its supply chain, lowering SG&A expense as a percentage of sales, the firm says. [Read more]
• Societe Generale upgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Buy from Hold with a $294 price target, citing a view that the recovery dynamic is "underestimated." [Read more] 
• BofA upgraded Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (AY) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $32, up from $29, after the company recently announced that its board of directors commenced a process to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives that may be available to Atlantica to maximize shareholder value with the support of largest shareholder Algonquin Power (AQN). [Read more] 
• BofA upgraded CMS Energy (CMS) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $66, down from $68, arguing that the company’s de-risked, above-average earnings outlook "stands out against its utility peer group" and warrants a widening relative premium. [Read more]
• JPMorgan upgraded AGNC Investment (AGNC) to Overweight from Neutral with a $12.50 price target. The firm says the company’s headwinds from rising interest rates are beginning to abate. [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Berenberg downgraded Tesla (TSLA) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $210, up from $200. Tesla’s new plants offer multi-year opportunity in capital and labor efficiency, but "misplaced fears of a price war" appear to have been accepted by the market, the firm says. [Read more]
• Craig-Hallum downgraded WW (WW) to Sell from Hold with a $4 price target. The firm notes that while a believer in WW‘s product and mission, it is hard to justify Tuesday’s 79% move in the stock, which appears to have been driven by excitement about the company’s recently announced plan to acquire a telehealth business that offers prescription medicines like Wegovy and Ozempic. [Read more] 
• Wells Fargo downgraded Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $78, down from $97. The firm sees limited upside to transcatheter aortic valve replacement market growth with Edwards growing below market due to increasing competition. [Read more] 
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Centene (CNC) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $79, down from $94. The firm is "increasingly concerned" that the risk of redeterminations and the risks to Medicare Advantage membership/profits are not fully reflected in the share price or consensus estimates. [Read more]
• Odeon Capital downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Hold from Buy with a $35.20 price target, given the potential for a minor recession at the end of the year, expectations for loan growth to slow, expectations for loan losses to rise, and the potential for net interest margin to decline. [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Axon (AXON) with a Buy rating and $263 price target. The firm believes Axon is very well positioned to cross-sell sensors, such as body cameras and fleet cameras, and related software and cloud storage and analytics services. [Read more]
• Macquarie initiated coverage of Piedmont Lithium (PLL) with an Outperform rating and $140 price target. Piedmont is set to join the ranks of spodumene producers in 2023 through its 25% interest in Sayona Quebec, the firm notes. [Read more]
• Bernstein initiated coverage of Sabre (SABR) with an Underperform rating and $4 price target. The company’s debt is too high, with interest costs exceeding EBITDA in 2023, and will continue to constrain Sabre’s ability to invest in development, the firm says. [Read more]
• JMP Securities initiated coverage of Lantheus (LNTH) with an Outperform rating and $120 price target. Lantheus’ financial profile is "largely unparalleled," with sales essentially doubling and earnings more than tripling over the last three years, the firm notes. [Read more]
• JPMorgan initiated coverage of Scorpio Tankers (STNG) with an Overweight rating and $87 price target, implying 50% upside potential. The company is "undergoing a sharp inflection in prospects," moving from weak earnings and over-leverage to strong earnings and rapid deleveraging, with a current free cash flow yield of 30%, the firm says. [Read more]

For real-time alerts on the news moving stocks as it breaks, try The Fly  at no charge for 14 days. Find all top-rated stocks by the best-rated analysts on TipRanks.