Top 5 Upgrades:
- Citi analyst Jonmichael Shekian upgraded Freshpet (FRPT) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $66, up from $32, post third quarter results. With Freshpet working to address manufacturing and supply chain issues, the involvement of activist investor Jana Partners is a positive, even as questions remain over the likelihood of a sale of the company, Shekian tells investors in a research note.
- Piper Sandler analyst David Amsellem upgraded Alkermes to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $30, up from $26, after management announced that it is planning to separate its oncology segment in part as a means of maximizing the profitability of what will eventually be a pure-play neuropsychiatry company.
- Baird analyst Joel Beatty upgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (RARE) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $50, down from $63. The analyst believes the stock price is now attributing a value to the company's non-commercial pipeline of less than $800M, which provides an attractive entry point, even though the clinical data catalysts don't appear to pick up until mid-2023 and beyond.
- William Blair analyst Ryan Sundby last night upgraded Lindblad Expeditions (LIND) to Outperform from Market Perform without a price target. While Lindblad had expected to return to profitability during Q3, the results clearly exceeded even management's internal expectations, Sundby tells investors in a research note.
- UBS analyst Felix Liu upgraded TAL Education (TAL) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $6.50, up from $4.94, after the company reported what he notes was its first quarterly profit since China's "Double Reduction" regulation.
Top 5 Downgrades:
- Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett downgraded Roku to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $51, down from $100, after the company's "grim" guidance for Q4. Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris also downgraded Roku to Neutral from Buy.
- Canaccord analyst Maria Ripps downgraded Zillow Group (ZG) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $34, down from $48, post third quarter results. The company's guidance for Q4 came in meaningfully below expectations, reflecting a worsening real estate environment with rising, volatile mortgage rates impacting affordability and constricting shopping behavior, Ripps tells investors in a research note.
- JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur double downgraded Qorvo (QRVO) to Underweight from Overweight with a price target of $90, down from $125, following fiscal Q2 results. Intensifying global macro headwinds, combined with sizeable excess inventories at Qorvo and customers, pose increasing challenges to the company's sales growth and profitability recovery in the near- to mid-term, Sur tells investors in a research note.
- Oppenheimer analyst Brian Schwartz downgraded UiPath (PATH) to Perform from Outperform without a price target. The analyst believes the macro environment, competitive and internal pressures on improving UiPath's business, and slow adoption as an enterprise-wide platform will continue to weigh on near-term fundamentals and sentiment.
- RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak downgraded Fisker to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $8, down from $13, after the company's Q3 earnings miss.
Top 5 Initiations:
- Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers initiated coverage of Keysight Technologies (KEYS) with an Overweight rating and $200 price target. The company can continue to expand margins by driving its software mix above today's 20% contribution, Rakers tells investors in a research note.
- Roth Capital analyst Brian Wright initiated coverage of Blue Star Foods (BSFC) with a Buy rating and $3 price target. The analyst believes there are important near-, mid- and long-term drivers that should benefit Blue Start Foods shares going forward.
- Citi analyst Nelson Cheung initiated coverage of PropertyGuru (PGRU) with a Buy rating and $7 price target. The analyst likes the company's self-reinforcing ecosystem with strong network effects.
- Capital One analyst Timothy Chiang initiated coverage of Akoya Biosciences (AKYA) with an Overweight rating and $19 price target.
- Deutsche Bank analyst Matthias Pfeifenberger reinstated coverage of HeidelbergCement (HDELY) with a Hold rating and EUR 50 price target. The analyst says another profit warning seems priced into the shares.