Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
EBAY CUT TO NEUTRAL AT UBS: UBS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded eBay (EBAY) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $42. The stock is up 44% year-to-date and within 4% of the price target, Sheridan told investors in a research note. The analyst believes the shares now better reflect the value of eBay's underlying assets, or Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds. Further, at current levels, expectations for a potential spin-off of eBay's noncore assets, Classifieds Group and/or StubHub, are largely priced in, said Sheridan.
ACTIVISION BOOSTED TO OUTPERFORM AT BMO: BMO Capital analyst Gerrick Johnson upgraded Activision Blizzard (ATVI) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised his price target on the stock to $60 from $43. The analyst is also lifting his FY20 EPS view by 50c to $3.00 per share, saying he has a stronger conviction that the company's restructuring efforts and its investment in core franchise titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft will yield improved financial performance. Johnson expects investors to become "more comfortable" with Activision's turnaround prospects as new catalysts emerge and expects the valuation multiple on the shares to expand.
INTERCEPT UPGRADED TO BUY AT CITI: Citi analyst Joel Beatty upgraded Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) to Buy from Neutral while lowering his price target for the shares to $85 from $106. The stock is down 45% since the Phase 3 nonalcoholic steatohepatitis Regnerate results for Intercept's obeticholic acid were announced in February, despite the data being positive, Beatty told investors in a research note. The analyst believes the selloff is largely due to Street expectations for the launch trajectory of NASH drugs becoming more conservative. Street sentiment around the launch of NASH drugs is now "more realistic," creating an attractive entry point into Intercept shares, says Beatty. He views the U.S. new drug application filing for NASH in Q3 as among the catalysts for Intercept shares.
G-III LOWERED TO NEUTRAL AT BOFA: BofA/Merrill analyst Heather Balsky downgraded G-III Apparel (GIII) to Neutral from Buy and lowered her price target for the shares to $21 from $35. Because of tariffs, the company will no longer be able to grow earnings in 2020, Balsky told investors in a research note. The analyst previously thought G-III would be able to offset a large part of the trade impact with higher prices. However, Q2 commentary from its largest retailer Macy's (M) and its largest licensor PVH (PVH) signals that U.S. price increases will be very difficult to pass through in the slowing apparel retail environment, said the analyst.
DEUTSCHE BELIEVES MICRON WILL FIND SUPPORT ON EASING DRAM PRICE RISK: Global trade tensions are shifting some of the bargaining power from memory buyers to memory suppliers despite "still-elevated" inventory levels, Deutsche Bank analyst Sidney Ho said. Further, the impact of Japan-Korea dispute are not as bad as feared after multiple media outlets reported that Japan has approved two shipments of photoresists to South Korea, added the analyst. Ho pointed out that DRAM spot prices spiked in July and have since retreated as expected, but are still ~10% above the June levels. He believes risks of further significant price declines are diminishing and sees Micron's fiscal Q4 as the "trough quarter" in the current cycle. Given that the equity market has historically led business fundamentals by about one quarter, Micron shares will find support at the current level, contended Ho. The analyst, who sees "risks to the upside as business improves," affirmed a Buy rating on Micron shares with a $55 price target.
