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

Advance Auto Parts upgrade, Generac downgrade, and McKesson 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:

• Barclays upgraded Advance Auto Parts (AAP) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $129, down from $140. The analyst cites valuation for the upgrade following the stock’s significant pullback year-to-date. [read more]
• TD Cowen upgraded Pacific Biosciences (PACB) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $15, up from $13. Pacific is a "growth transformation story" under CEO Christian Henry where investor bias has shifted positive, though the stock’s high multiple and expectations "keeps many investors away," the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
• Benchmark upgraded Howmet Aerospace (HWM) to Buy from Hold with a $49 price target. The analyst says Howmet’s several recent large aircraft orders support ramping production rates and make the firm "more comfortable" with Street expectations. [read more]
• Jefferies upgraded Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $130, up from $115. The analyst sees "sea changes" in orthopedics due to the increased use of robotic surgery and a push to move more hip and knee procedures into outpatient settings. [read more]
• TD Securities upgraded BlackBerry (BB) to Hold from Reduce with a $4 price target. [read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Jefferies downgraded Cintas (CTAS) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $487, down from $512. The analyst says a weaker macro environment in the second half of 2023 is not reflected in consensus estimates along with the company’s tougher comps in fiscal 2024. [read more]
• BofA downgraded Generac (GNRC) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $91, down from $141. Generac was the second worst performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2022 and the firm had previously argued shares had "largely flushed out into 2023," but it now says the company’s "ambitious FY23 guidance seems increasingly out of reach to us." [read more]
• Loop Capital downgraded JD.com (JD) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $49, down from $82. While the stock looks undervalued with potential for meaningful upside over the long-term, conditions for valuation unlock in the near-term are no longer in place as competitive concerns remain high and "not likely to ease" as JD’s historic partner and investor Tencent (TCEHY) is moving down-funnel to directly enable ecommerce transactions, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
• Evercore ISI analyst downgraded Avidity Biosciences (RNA) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $20, down from $25. After Avidity disclosed that the cause of the partial clinical hold for the Phase 1/2 MARINA study of AOC 1001 for DM1 was an extremely unusual clinical event that occurred around the time of the first infusion, Evercore said it is "quite concerned" that the event of bilateral thalamic ischemia/hemorrhage is a related to the AOC platform. [read more]
• Scotiabank downgraded Healthpeak (PEAK) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a $24 price target. [read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Citi initiated coverage of McKesson (MCK) with a Buy rating and $420 price target. The analyst started the drug distribution sector with a positive bias, naming McKesson its top pick and AmerisourceBergen (ABC) a "close second." [read more]
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Immunocore (IMCR) with a Buy rating and $70 price target, which implies 46% upside. Immunocore is a leader in advancing T-cell receptor-based therapies, which represent an "exciting, emerging field" within immuno-oncology, the analyst tells investors in a research note. [read more]
• Loop Capital initiated coverage of Jack in the Box (JACK) with a Buy rating and $114 price target. The firm says the company’s underlying same-store sales for the Jack in the Box concept accelerated over the last five quarters in a row thanks to the recent innovations such as the Mega Munchie Box as well as the consumer shift towards value over the last 12+ months, [read more]
• Needham initiated coverage of Dice Therapeutics (DICE) with a Buy rating and $56 price target. The firm believes Dice offers a "rare pure-play opportunity" to invest in an area of significant takeover interest for large pharma. [read more]
• Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Integral Ad Science (IAS) with a Buy rating and $18 price target. The firm believes IAS capabilities like brand safety and verification will continue to resonate with ad buyers given the ability to improve ROI and eliminate inefficient ad spend channels. [read more]