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

Charter upgrade, Paramount downgrade, and Array Technologies 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 Upgrades:

• Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall upgraded Charter (CHTR) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $340, down from $370. Charter’s network evolution and capex plans are now well understood, and Cahall believes downside has been de-risked, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Raymond James analyst Sam Darkatsh upgraded Toro Company (TTC) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $130 price target. Toro enjoys a massive backlog of high-margin orders in its Pro segment that should easily underpin high single digit/low double digit overall organic growth and improved free cash flow conversion over the intermediate term, Darkatsh tells investors in a research note.
• Stifel analyst Caroline Gulliver upgraded Next plc  (NXGPF) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of 6,500 GBp. The share price has fallen 32% in 2022 and although U.K. consumer confidence is still close to record lows and she forecasts declines in discretionary income in 2023, Gulliver believes Next "can thrive in these difficult times" given its multi-channel, multi-brand offering and discipline, the analyst tells investors.
• Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen upgraded Superior Plus (SUUIF) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of C$13.50, up from C$13.00. The company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Certarus Ltd., a leading North American provider of low-carbon energy solutions, for $1.05B, which Hansen views as an attractive bolt-on platform that offers several key benefits, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Top Downgrades:

• Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould downgraded Paramount (PARA) to Sell from Hold with a price target of $14, down from $30. The analyst cites the company’s exposure to the "rapidly declining" traditional linear TV business while noting that its path to profitability in Streaming is "unclear."
• JMP Securities analyst Jason Butler downgraded Applied Molecular Transport (AMTI) to Market Perform from Outperform. Butler has removed AMT-101 from the firm’s valuation and view the stock as fairly valued, telling investors in a research note that its discount to cash is consistent with the peer group as a substantial number of companies continue to trade below cash based on pipeline uncertainties.
• Stifel analyst Caroline Gulliver downgraded Boohoo (BHOOY) to Hold from Buy with a price target of 40 GBp, down from 165 GBp. While Gulliver fundamentally likes boohoo’s strategy of owning a portfolio of brands and leveraging the group’s infrastructure, the declining Q2 sales trend in both the U.K. and U.S. "was a shock" and she has concluded "that there is neither the profitability nor cash flow" in FY24 to support a Buy rating in the near-term, the analyst tells investors.
• Citi analyst Kaseedit Choonnawat downgraded Singapore Airlines (SINGY) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of S$5.16, down from S$5.19. Choonawat sees Cathay Pacific (CPCAY) being better positioned than Singapore Airlines given that Cathay and cross-shareholder Air China are the main connectors to the mainland, the analyst tells investors.
• CIBC analyst Krista Friesen downgraded AutoCanada (AOCIF) to Neutral from Outperformer with a C$24 price target.

Top Initiations:

• Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Soderberg initiated coverage of Array Technologies (ARRY) with an Overweight rating and $26 price target. Array is a logical long-term partner for engineering, procurement, and construction firms and utility-scale solar operators given the company’s proven track record, robust supply chain and differentiated product offering, Soderberg tells investors in a research note.
• Daiwa analyst Jonathan Kees initiated coverage of First Solar (FSLR) with an Outperform rating and $175 price target. EBITDA should rebound from 2022 lows and the Street "may not have fully factored in the rebound in forward estimates," Kees tells investors.
• Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Kligerman initiated coverage of Marsh McLennan (MMC) with a Neutral rating and $157 price target. He projects 5% annual underlying revenue growth through 2024, but sees potential pressures from departures and macro risks that leads him to view the shares as fully priced, Kligerman tells investors.
• Benchmark analyst Bill Sutherland initiated coverage of Nutex Health (NUTX) – which became public on April 1 through the reverse merger of Nutex Health Holdco into publicly-held Clinigence Holdings – with a Buy rating and $3 price target. Nutex is growing rapidly, with plans to nearly double its facility footprint in 2023-24, and while 2022 results were negatively impacted by the "No Surprises Act" implementation, it now is effectively negotiating improved rates, Sutherland tells investors.
• Jefferies analyst Kyle Joseph resumed coverage of Compass Diversified (CODI) with a Buy rating and $26 price target. Compass Diversified remains well-positioned to surpass $1B of EBITDA generation in the coming years and shares are attractively valued, Joseph tells investors in a research note.

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