American upgraded, Regeneron initiated: 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:

• Barclays upgraded American Airlines (AAL) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $16, up from $10. The firm sees airline fundamentals “turning sharply positive” in 2025, and notes the company’s balance sheet leverage is fading, its business travel share has room to improve, and the carrier will renegotiate co-brand card agreements in 2025.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Doximity (DOCS) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $53, up from $33. While the stock’s valuation “is stretched relative to fundamentals, with a “very low bar” of 3% year-over-year revenue growth for the Q4 guidance, there is not a near-term catalyst that will reverse the positive sentiment, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Piper Sandler upgraded Campbell (CPB) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $56, up from $47. The firm is citing better long-term growth expectations with the company’s Rao’s brand, as well as its improving U.S. retail sales and volume trends.
• Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential (PRU) to In Line from Underperform with a price target of $140, up from $117. While Evercore has been somewhat concerned that the next Prismic deal Prudential announces will be a more defensively oriented Japan internal risk transfer deal, it now thinks that most investors are prepared for that and have factored this into valuation.
• Compass Point upgraded BXP (BXP) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $88, up from $80. While Compass believes BXP’s West Coast office exposure has held back shares due to weaker office fundamentals, it believes a slow rebound in tech demand, largely spurred by artificial intelligence, could help tech leasing demand increase

Top 5 Downgrades:

• KeyBanc downgraded Papa John’s (PZZA) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The fourth quarter is shaping up to be another difficult period for the brand, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• KeyBanc downgraded Zeta Global (ZETA) to Sector Weight from Overweight and removed the firm’s prior December 2025 price target. The firm believes that with the short thesis mounting and, as reflected in the share reaction, gaining traction, it does not anticipate the stock to trade on fundamentals until more clarity can be given.
• UBS downgraded Ibotta (IBTA) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $65, down from $90. The company called out exhausting advertiser budgets in Q3 such that it will not see typical Q4 seasonality, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• UBS downgraded Blink Charging (BLNK) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $2, down from $3. The firm sees a higher probability of slower EV adoption negatively impacting Blink’s product sales outlook.
• Mizuho downgraded Realty Income (O) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $60, down from $64, as part of a broader research note. The firm is turning less constructive on Tripe Net REITs as expectations of higher inflation and a “higher for longer” rate environment should weigh on the sector’s investment spreads and growth potential, marking the end of the “pivot party.”

Top 5 Initiations:

• Citi initiated coverage of Regeneron (REGN) with a Neutral rating and $895 price target. Multiple clinical data readouts should “keep investors engaged” over the next 12-24 months and while Eylea-HD, or high dose, is “off to a good start,” standard Eylea headwinds could lead to declining franchise growth, the firm tells investors.
• Citi initiated coverage of Biogen (BIIB) with a Neutral rating and $190 price target. \ The firm says Biogen’s pipeline still looks to have higher clinical risk overall versus the company’s big biotech peers, “but this also conveys significant option value.”
• Citi initiated coverage of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) with a Buy rating and $575 price target. The firm believes Vertex is positioned to remain a leader in the cystic fibrosis, or CF, space, with its current product portfolio of Trikafta, Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the anticipated approval of the vanza triple which has a PDUFA goal date of January 2, 2025.
• Citi initiated coverage of Amgen (AMGN) with a Neutral rating and $335 price target. The company’s growth picture hinges on MariTide clinical success and to a lesser degree, the trajectory for several newer products, the firm notes.
• Barclays initiated coverage of Fabrinet (FN) with an Equal Weight rating and $292 price target. The firm believes the upside is “baked in at the current premium valuation.”