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ELV, VIPS, SNDR...
8/22/2022 09:08am
Street Wrap: Today's Top 15 Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to learn which companies the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

Research analysts at Wall Street's largest banks issue recommendations on whether a stock should be bought, held, or sold. The Fly's team of financial market experts scours hundreds of research notes daily to uncover the best trading ideas. Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.

Top 5 Upgrades:

  • SVB Securities analyst Whit Mayo upgraded Elevance Health (ELV) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $580, up from $490, after hosting investor meetings with management and walking away with increased confidence in potential Commercial margin improvement, sustained government growth, and heightened focus on Carelon initiatives that should drive meaningful out-year growth.
  • Credit Suisse analyst Ashley Xu upgraded Vipshop (VIPS) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $12, up from $10.30, post the second quarter beat. Citi analyst Alicia Yap also upgraded Vipshop to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $10.90, up from $7.80, citing the "solid" Q2 beat and management’s focus on resuming positive active user growth in the third quarter.
  • Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell upgraded Schneider National (SNDR) to Outperform from In Line with a $28 price target. Schneider is trading at less than 11 times estimated 2023 earnings, more than a turn lower than Knight-Swift (KNX) and Werner (WERN), while it "shares many of the diversification benefits" that lessens its direct exposure to declining truckload spot rates, Chappell told investors in a research note.
  • Citi analyst Patrick Donnelly upgraded Bruker (BRKR) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $80, up from $70. The analyst cited the stock's selloff this year relative to tools peers and its "strong setup" entering fiscal 2023 for the upgrade.
  • CICC analyst Zhao Liping upgraded Youdao (DAO) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $7 price target.


Top 5 Downgrades:

  • CFRA analyst Kenneth Leon downgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Sell from Hold with a price target of $238, down from $245. The analyst believes the shares may underperform the S&P 500 Index for the remainder of the year after rallying 40% off the mid-July lows.
  • Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell downgraded UPS (UPS) to In Line from Outperform with a $214 price target. As a "global enterprise with significant exposure to the consumer economy," the uncertain macro backdrop, especially related to consumer spending, provides "further questions about" a recovery in both domestic and international volumes and could pressure earnings estimates for the second half of 2022 and 2023, Chappell told investors in a research note.
  • RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria downgraded Coupa Software (COUP) to Underperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $55, down from $65. The analyst is "cautiously optimistic" on off-cycle software sector earnings, but says the impact of a weaker macro environment is likely to be evident.
  • RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria downgraded DocuSign (DOCU) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $65, down from $80. The analyst believes DocuSign's short-term outlook appears "challenging," particularly as the company looks for a new CEO.
  • Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell downgraded Saia (SAIA) to In Line from Outperform with a $243 price target. The stock's valuation no longer screens as attractive as it had for much of this year, Chappell argued.


Top 5 Initiations:

  • Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright assumed coverage of Labcorp (LH) with an Overweight rating and $300 price target. While Wright questions the timing of the Clinical Development business given that CRO valuations have compressed this year amidst a slower biotech funding environment and broader macro pressures, the analyst views the spin is better late than never, and believes compelling business development opportunities across both segments could be better addressed as separate entities, she tells investors in a research note.
  • Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright assumed coverage of Quest Diagnostics (DGX) with an Equal Weight rating and $142 price target. Quest's "subdued" base business growth in the second quarter was largely anticipated, with the latest earnings upside primarily driven by strength in COVID PCR volumes, Wright noted.
  • Raymond James analyst Olivia Tong initiated coverage of Waldencast Acquisition (WALD) with an Outperform rating and $11 price target. Waldencast is a unique company that was formed last year as a platform to acquire independent, fast-growth beauty and wellness brands, leveraging the combined experience of the team with brand founders to build and scale acquired brands beyond their initial growth phase, Tong told investors in a research note.
  • Credit Suisse analyst Daniel Regli initiated coverage of Partners Group (PGPHF) with an Outperform rating and CHF 1,300 price target. The shares have fallen on concerns that higher interest rates and inflation will reduce demand for and returns on its products, but this is unjustified, Regli told investors in a research note.
  • Piper Sandler analyst Yasmeen Rahimi initiated coverage of CinCor Pharma (CINC) with an Overweight rating and $73 price target owing to the blockbuster potential in hypertension for baxdrostat, a highly selective oral CYP11B2/aldosterone synthase inhibitor.
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