Under Armour downgraded, Wynn upgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

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:

• Argus upgraded Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to Buy from Hold with a $110 price target. The firm contends that the prospects for a faster than-anticipated rebound in Macau, strength in Las Vegas, and solid results at the Encore Boston Harbor warrant a higher valuation.
• Redburn Atlantic upgraded Freshpet (FRPT) to Buy from Neutral with a $168 price target. The firm says the fresh and frozen category is a small but “fast-growing” segment within the $37B U.S. dog food category, and with a 96% share, Freshpet dominates the segment.
• BofA upgraded Take-Two (TTWO) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $185, up from $160. The firm no longer feels that Take-Two lacks the catalyst needed to attract marginal buyers as the release of two immersive sequels, other than “GTA 6,” if FY25 make the stock attractive at the current valuation.
• JPMorgan upgraded Hasbro (HAS) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $74, up from $61, after meeting with management. JPMorgan believes Hasbro is positioned better in the second half of 2024 given the shift of Transformers to Q3 from Q2 and early benefits from improved merchandising.
• RBC Capital upgraded GoodRx (GDRX) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $10, up from $8. The company’s new initiatives provide it with “several new and meaningful growth opportunities,” while also enhancing the durability of its core prescription transaction business, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Oppenheimer downgraded Under Armour (UAA) to Perform from Outperform without a price target. The firm still looks optimistically towards the longer-term potential for Under Amour, but says positive change at the company will require time and investors should move to the sidelines pending clearer signals of improving fundamental momentum.
• Telsey Advisory downgraded VF Corp. (VFC) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $13, down from $18, after the company reported “disappointing” Q4 results. Williams Trading also downgraded VF Corp. to Sell from Hold with a price target of $6, down from $13.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded NetEase (NTES) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $100, down from $120. The firm is seeing greater risks unfolding on the name due to macro weakness, more intense competition.
• JPMorgan downgraded Generac (GNRC) to Neutral from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $149. The firm notes the stock is up 19% year-to-date and is trading above the year-end 2024 price target.
• Benchmark downgraded Vipshop (VIPS) to Hold from Buy and removed the firm’s price target following the company’s “lackluster” Q1 results and issuance of a “muted” FY24 growth outlook.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Bernstein initiated coverage of Ford (F) with an Outperform rating and $16 price target. The company continues to enjoy strong profits from its core markets and a policy driven investment cycle in the U.S., the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Bernstein initiated coverage of SAP (SAP) with an Outperform rating and $227 price target. The firm believes the company can deliver both double-digit revenue growth plus improving margins driven by the enterprise resource planning market and SAP’s transition to the cloud.
• Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Freshpet (FRPT) with a Buy rating and $150 price target. Despite strong recent share price performance, the firm still sees “multiple structural tailwinds underpinning” the Freshpet bull case long-term.
• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of GE Vernova (GEV) with an Equal Weight rating and $167 price target. The firm believes GE Vernova is well positioned to benefit from strong secular tailwinds, but thinks the company’s current premium-to-peer valuation appropriately balances the positive momentum it is experiencing across its three businesses and ongoing operational downside risks.
• Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of BellRing Brands (BRBR) with a Buy rating and $67 price target. The firm sees “ample runway ahead for a currently capacity-constrained growth story making rapid headway on diversifying and scaling its manufacturing network.