Shopify upgraded, SolarEdge 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 Upgrades:

• JMP Securities upgraded Shopify (SHOP) to Outperform from Market Perform with an $80 price target. The firm says the upgrade is driven by the potential for new merchant cohorts to contribute in 2025 and beyond, Plus subscription price increases coming on in the second half of 2024, and a belief that Shopify remains a “best-in-class” e-commerce platform that is taking share and has multiple adjacencies across financial services, advertising, and merchant services. Piper Sandler also upgraded Shopify to Neutral from Underweight with a $63 price target.
• JPMorgan upgraded Affirm (AFRM) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $43, up from $41. The stock declined more than 9% on Wednesday despite posting another headline and operating margin beat, and offering a better-than- feared fiscal Q4 gross merchandise volume outlook, “which was baffling,” the firm tells investors in a research note.
• BofA upgraded Fox Corp. (FOXA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $40, up from $34. FY24 was set to be a challenging year given the “extremely difficult” comparisons to FY23, but Fox is now well-positioned to accelerate earnings in FY25, the firm tells investors.
• Raymond James upgraded Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $42 price target. The firm says the company’s Q1 results reflected “encouraging comp resilience” and strong relative outperformance in a softening industry backdrop.
• Redburn Atlantic upgraded Live Nation (LYV) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $115, up from $114. The Department of Justice investigation continues to hang over Live Nation’s shares, but break-up concerns are overblown, creating an attractive entry point “for those willing to take a calculated risk,” the firm says.

Top Downgrades:

• Northland downgraded SolarEdge (SEDG) to Market Perform from Outperform and removed the firm’s price target. SolarEdge has burned through $720M in cash over the last five quarters, and while the company believes cash bottomed in Q1 and will work down $1.55B inventory on the balance sheet to generate cash in the future, the firm says that “it remains to be seen what the inventory is worth.”
• Wolfe Research downgraded Skyworks (SWKS) to Peer Perform from Outperform and removed the firm’s prior $110 price target. While cyclical improvement has occurred, Skyworks has lost content in iPhone and the company’s ability to recapture share would be predicated on Apple (AAPL) launching their internal modem, the firm tells investors.
• DA Davidson downgraded TripAdvisor (TRIP) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $20, down from $31, following the company’s Q1 earnings report as it believes the “print was ok,” but TripAdvisor experienced a soft start to Q2, which, combined with Easter-timing headwind, means the company is now taking a more cautious view on its full year performance.
• BofA double downgraded DoubleVerify (DV) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $18, down from $45. The firm cites predominantly long positioning, difficulty justifying high long-term growth expectations and a lack of bullish catalysts.
• Craig-Hallum downgraded Emcore (EMKR) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $2, down from $10. The firm says it has held out for a few quarters waiting for the promise of a pure-play INS business that could drive growth and profitability, but “that hope has been dashed” with a considerably lower sales outlook, challenged balance sheet and CEO resignation. Alliance Global Partners and Northland also downgraded Emcore to Neutral-equivalent ratings.

Top Initiations:

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of ArcelorMittal (MT) with a Neutral rating and $29.60 price target. The company continues to optimize its asset portfolio, divesting low-yield assets and investing into high-growth regions, but this comes at a cost, with ArcelorMittal’s capex likely remaining elevated in coming over the next few years, pressuring free cash flow, says Goldman.
• Evercore ISI resumed coverage of Truist Financial (TFC) with an In Line rating and $44 price target. While Truist’s net interest income trajectory is likely to benefit from the announced securities repositioning, the reinvestment poses a degree of risk amid the still volatile rate backdrop, the firm added.
• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Perspective Therapeutics (CATX) with an Overweight rating. Perspective stands out above the competition where it matters, Cantor argues, adding that positive data for VMT01 could open up a large market opportunity.