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

Intel upgrade, First Solar downgrade, and Enphase Energy 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: 

• Bernstein upgraded Intel (INTC) to Market Perform from Underperform with a price target of $30, up from $20, saying that while things still look bad, tactically the medium-term set-up is, finally, improving a bit, as the company’s issues are known, and numbers may be low enough to stand. [Read more]
• JPMorgan upgraded Macy’s (M) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $29, up from $28, after meeting with management. The firmsees a favorable risk/reward setup at current share levels. [Read more]
• William Blair upgraded Allstate (ALL) to Outperform from Market Perform without a price target. Investors should buy Allstate as the shares are "primed for good near- and long-term upside," the firm tells investors in a research note. [Read more]
• Citi upgraded Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $142, up from $125. The firm believes the stock’s valuation appropriately reflects the risk/reward tied to the uncertain base business volume recovery and wage inflation along with possible upside from value-based contracts and pricing. [Read more]
• Raymond upgraded Alaska Air (ALK) to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $68, up from $60. Exiting the seasonally weakest quarter, Alaska Air is in a position to unlock benefits from the A320/Q400 fleet transition, which is expected to be completed by May, the firm says, [Read more]

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded First Solar (FSLR) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $200, up from $194. The firm believes the shares already price in the significant benefits of the IRA. [Read more]
• Citi downgraded Wolfspeed (WOLF) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $66, down from $95. While the firm remains positive on the growth of the SiC market, it worries that other electric vehicle makers may follow Tesla’s (TSLA)  lead in offering lower-cost EV models using IGBT or hybrid IGBTSiC technologies. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded Paychex (PAYX) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $105, down from $119. With the backdrop of slower sales growth and "waning" estimate upside potential, there could be risk to the stock’s valuation multiple, the firm says. [Read more]
• BofA downgraded ADP (ADP) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $211, down from $249.  The firm’s analysis suggests that ADP tends to underperform the S&P 500 Index during the initial phase of a rising unemployment cycle. [Read more]
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Plug Power (PLUG) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $15, down from $35. After several quarters of execution issues, the firm is "getting more cautious" on the pace of Plug‘s revenue growth and margin improvement. [Read more]

Top 5 Initiations:

• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Enphase Energy (ENPH) with an Equal Weight rating and $268 price target, offering 27% upside. The firm says the stock’s valuation balances the company’s above-peer profitability and long-term growth prospects with elevated near-term risks. [Read more}
• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of Sunnova Energy (NOVA) with an Overweight rating and $35 price target. The firm likes the company’s exposure to a "vastly under-penetrated" market, with strong long-term growth prospects. [Read more]
• Coverage of SolarEdge (SEDG) stock was assumed with an Equal Weight rating and a price target of $370, down from $374, at Morgan Stanley. The firm’s In-Line industry view balances the strong long-term growth prospects for renewable energy with near-term headwinds that include permitting backlogs, a challenging supply chain and macro environment and volatility in the financing markets. [Read more]
• Ladenburg initiated coverage of Entergy (ETR) with a Buy rating and $116 price target. Despite numerous hurricanes, Entergy has consistently grown earnings in its targeted range, the firm says. [Read more]
• Ladenburg initiated coverage of American Electric Power (AEP) with a Sell rating and $82.50 price target. The legislation recently adopted in Kentucky may thwart Algonquin’s plans to add renewable generation in the state making the Kentucky Power deal less attractive, the firm notes. [Read more]