Top 5 Upgrades:
KGI Securities upgraded Tesla (TSLA) to Outperform from Neutral with a $335 price target. Tesla is seeing its "vast" U.S. investments in electric vehicle assembly and battery "bear fruit in 2023," the firm says.
Wolfe Research upgraded Oracle (ORCL) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $130 price target. The firm cites the company's accelerating sales and earnings growth from cloud adoption and artificial intelligence tailwinds for the upgrade.
BofA upgraded Carnival (CCL) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $20, up from $11, after having met with all three publicly-traded cruise companies in Miami. The firm came away from the meetings with more confidence that industry demand remains steady, the pricing environment is rational and that booking curves are in line with company expectations. JPMorgan also upgraded Carnival to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $16, up from $11.
Evercore ISI upgraded AutoZone (AZO) to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $2,700, up from $2,640. The stock's 6% price decline since the company reported fiscal Q3 results presents "an attractive entry point for an industry leader in a favored auto aftermarket retail sub sector," the firm says.
Morgan Stanley upgraded SentinelOne (S) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $20, up from $15. Despite the company's recent missteps, the market is now mispricing the inherent value of SentinelOne as a long-term share gainer and the potential for meaningful margin upside, the firm says.
Top 5 Downgrades:
Nomura downgraded Nio (NIO) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $7.50, down from $25.80, after a different analyst assumed research coverage of the stock. The company reported lackluster deliveries with an eroding gross margin profile in Q1, the firm notes. CMB International also downgraded Nio to Hold from Buy with a price target of $8.50, down from $21.
Evercore ISI downgraded Floor & Decor (FND) to In Line from Outperform with a $95 price target. The firm sees incremental risk to the company's second half of 2023 earnings in a declining home improvement market.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Bill (BILL) to Equal Weight from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $105. The firm says industry-level analysis on virtual card adoption suggests limitations on Bill's take-rate expansion opportunity.
Evercore ISI downgraded American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) to In Line from Outperform with a $36 price target. The shares have materially outperformed peers this year and the new price target provides limited upside, the firm says.
Evercore ISI downgraded National Storage (NSA) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $42, down from $49. The company's Q2 update was weaker than expected and raises concerns about net operating income growth in 2024 and beyond, the firm says.
Top 5 Initiations:
Jefferies initiated coverage of Saia (SAIA) with a Buy rating and $350 price target. The firm is bullish on Saia's ability to see above-peer sales growth and margin gains as it improves its network density through ongoing terminal additions and closes the "noticeable price gap" versus peers.
Jefferies initiated coverage of Old Dominion (ODFL) with a Hold rating and $350 price target. The company is "best-in-class" within transport and logistics, but its premium multiple fairly accounts for this, the firm says.
Jefferies initiated coverage of ArcBest (ARCB) with a Buy rating and $110 price target as the firm believes the Street is discounting the company's multi-modal offering.
SVB Securities initiated coverage of Oculis (OCS) with an Outperform rating and $22 price target. The firm believes OCS-01 has the potential to be the first eye drop approved for DME, which is still a significant unmet need that is treated with anti-VEGF injections. H.C. Wainwright also initiated coverage of Oculis with a Buy rating and $28 price target.
Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Valvoline (VVV) with an Equal Weight rating and $40 price target. The firm argues that long-term electric vehicle risk and a full valuation warrant a neutral stance.
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