Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
BUY ROKU: KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson upgraded Roku (ROKU) to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $518 price target. The analyst believes the Nielsen (NLSN) acquisition expands the TAM, and investment differences versus peers should sustain platform advantages and drive monetization. This should translate to over 50% Platform revenue growth through 2022, Patterson contended.
'AMAZON MOMENT' FOR CRYPTO: Davidson analyst Gil Luria initiated coverage of Coinbase (COIN) with a Buy rating and $195 price target. The analyst believes the company's direct listing is an "Amazon moment" for crypto, representing a milestone when the world of crypto and the traditional financial system become "truly intertwined." Luria also argued that Coinbase is in the lead with the "highest level of regulated liquidity," though he warned that the stock is a "more speculative investment" than other that he recommends.
BEST POSITIONED OVER NEXT FEW YEARS: Citi analyst Tyler Radke assumed coverage of Microsoft (MSFT) with a Buy rating and $292 price target. The analyst sees Microsoft as the best positioned large cap software vendor over the next few years to take advantage of traditional enterprise customers moving to the cloud.
The analyst also assumed coverage of
- VMWare (VMW) with a Buy rating and $178 price target;
- Splunk (SPLK) with a Neutral rating and $178 price target;
- SolarWinds (SWI) with a Buy rating and $20 price target;
- ServiceNow (NOW) with a Buy rating and $665 price target;
- Smartsheet (SMAR) with a Neutral rating and $65 price target;
- Shopify (SHOP) with a Neutral rating and $1,457 price target;
- Oracle (ORCL) with a Neutral rating and $65 price target;
- Nice (NICE) with a Buy rating and $312 price target;
- HubSpot (HUBS) with a Buy rating and $545 price target;
- Fastly (FSLY) with a Sell rating and $49 price target;
- Dynatrace (DT) with a Buy rating and $63 price target;
- DocuSign (DOCU) with a Buy rating and $282 price target;
- Adobe (ADBE) with a Neutral rating and $523 price target.
FOXCONN DEAL 'CHANGED NARRATIVE': Wolfe Research analyst Rod Lache upgraded Fisker (FSR) to Peer Perform from Underperform with a price target of $30, up from $21. The company's memorandum of understanding with Foxconn to form a joint-venture to co-develop an electric vehicle that will use the Fisker brand "changed the narrative," Lache told investors in a research note. The analyst noted that the vehicle is expected to launch by fourth quarter of 2023, and Foxconn is targeting 250,000 units. While Lache acknowledged that there is still "significant execution risk" with Foxconn, he argued that the arrangement helps address a number of investor concerns, including a larger market opportunity, the potential for lower costs, and partnering with a company that has "deep pockets."
MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar downgraded Prudential (PRU) to Neutral from Overweight with a $91 price target. The analyst sees a "mixed outlook" for Prudential's business trends, risk in the company's M&A strategy, and a less attractive valuation at current share levels. The company still has strong Japan and asset management franchises as well as ample capital to maintain its "significantly above-average dividend," but the shares are close to the price target, Bhullar told investors in a research note.
