Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
TESLA INITIATED AT DAIWA: Daiwa analyst Jairam Nathan initiated coverage of Tesla (TSLA) with an Outperform rating and $910 price target. Tesla is "on the cusp" of replicating its success in the U.S. electric vehicle market to potentially larger markets in China and Europe, Nathan tells investors in a research note. The analyst expects Tesla to sustain its technology lead by successfully expanding manufacturing globally and believes the shares will outperform broader indices over the long term.
CRAs INITIATED AT CREDIT SUISSE: Credit Suisse analyst Kevin McVeigh initiated coverage of S&P Global (SPGI) with an Outperform rating and $345 price target and Moody's (MCO) with an Outperform rating and $285 price target. While the analyst acknowledges uneven debt issuance risk as the credit markets settle due to COVID-19, he says credit ratings agencies outscore other Information Services stocks in his proprietary valuation framework given high barriers to entry, enviable pricing, secular megatrends and expanding TAMs. These drivers should fuel sustained low-double-digit cycle-to-cycle EPS growth on premium multiples, McVeigh contends.
POLARIS UPPED TO OUTPERFORM: Wedbush analyst James Hardiman upgraded Polaris (PII) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $106, up from $68. The stock closed Thursday down $2.06 to $88.83. The powersports names in general, and Polaris in particular, could prove to be "great" ways to play the reopening of states, Hardiman tells investors in a research note. Consumers have been cooped up in their homes for months will take to the outdoors, while still being conscious of the ongoing risks associated with travel and large crowds, says the analyst. Even though Polaris shares have doubled off their bottom, the 13% year-to-date decline suggests that investors have yet to "fully digest this new bull case," contends Hardiman, who believes such a realization should push the shares past their pre-COVID highs.
MASCO DOUBLE DOWNGRADED AT RAYMOND JAMES: Raymond James analyst Sam Darkatsh double downgraded Masco (MAS) to Market Perform from Strong Buy without a price target. Darkatch says his prior thesis has played out, and sentiment for the shares is "overly exuberant." Additionally, the analyst says EPS growth may be impaired going forward given high unemployment/friction with China, a lack of share repurchases, and tough paint comparisons.
BLOOMIN' BRANDS UPGRADED TO BUY: Jefferies analyst Andy Barish upgraded Bloomin' Brands (BLMN) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $16, up from $12. Given early data from casual dining companies that have reported sales trends since reopening certain restaurants, Barish is raising his same-store sales and EBITDA estimates for most in the group, adding that the reopening data read through positively for Bloomin as well as Chuy's (CHUY) and Texas Roadhouse (TXRH).
