Amgen upgraded, Peloton downgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

Top 5 Upgrades:

• William Blair upgraded Amgen (AMGN) to Outperform from Market Perform post the Q1 report. While the earnings were overall a little light, as forecast by management given typical seasonality, the print was “significantly overshadowed” by management’s comments regarding an interim analysis of the Phase II trial with MariTide, the company’s novel GIP antagonist antibody with a conjugated GLP-1 peptide agonist for obesity and diabetes, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Wedbush upgraded Diebold (DBD) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $50, up from $40. Following the Q1 results, the firm is more certain around Diebold’s ability to execute.
• Craig-Hallum upgraded Axcelis (ACLS) to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of $130 following the company’s Q1 report. The firm had downgraded shares nine months ago as it had preferred to look for a more attractive entry point, but now it believes estimate cuts are over with, leaving shares “much better positioned.”
• Truist upgraded Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $86, up from $80. After several years of significant sales and earnings volatility, Ollie’s is “settling back into a steady growth algorithm,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• JPMorgan upgraded Williams-Sonoma (WSM) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $275, up from $245. The analyst believes the broader home furnishings category is sequentially improving, with improvement in key west coast housing markets.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Bernstein downgraded Peloton (PTON) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $3.80, down from $8. New management, cost cuts and looming debt concerns suggest that growth is not a priority for the company in the short-term, “with no clear plan or timeline for when it will be,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Seaport Research downgraded Paramount Global (PARA) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. With the shares of both classes having appreciated closer to the firm’s prior price targets, this time with the headlines that a competing and possibly superior all-cash offer might be forthcoming from Sony (SONY) and Apollo (APO), Seaport is now stepping to the sidelines. Argus also downgraded Paramount to Sell from Hold.
• KeyBanc downgraded Sprout Social (SPT) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The company’s “disappointing” Q1 results leads to much lower growth expectations for the remainder of the year and out-years, the analyst tells investors. Sprout was also downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler and to Neutral from Outperform at Baird.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $140, down from $164. The company’s pace of sales recovery now is lower than expected with Estee’s reduced implied fiscal Q4 topline guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• BMO Capital downgraded Expedia (EXPE) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $145, down from $165, following the Q1 report. Vrbo adoption is slower than expected despite the tech migration buildout and ramping marketing dollars in Q1, the firm says.

Top 5 Initiations:

• BofA initiated coverage of Avidity Biosciences (RNA) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. Recent long-term data from the MARINA extension trial has helped to lift an overhang on the stock and sets the stage for multiple catalysts coming this year, the analyst tells investors.
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Zura Bio (ZURA) with an Overweight rating and $26 price target. The analyst sees potential for the company to become a key immunology player.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage of FTAI Aviation (FTAI) with an Outperform rating and $85 price target. The firm believes FTAI is well positioned to benefit from increased utilization and spending on legacy engines and is poised for a continued acceleration in EBITDA.
• Loop Capital initiated coverage of Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) with a Hold rating and $82 price target. The analyst says a “choppy” residential renovation demand environment and uncertainty surrounding mid-term oriented strand board pricing offset a positive long-term material conversion story for Louisiana-Pacific.
• Lake Street initiated coverage of Biodesix (BDSX) with a Buy rating and $3 price target. As the only player in the lung cancer diagnostic category with six quarters of 50% revenue growth, gross margins in the high 70s, and a largely untapped market, the analyst asks investors “What’s not to like?