Dollar Tree downgraded, eBay upgraded: 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:

• Bernstein upgraded eBay (EBAY) to Outperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of $70. The firm believes the recent pullback in the shares offers a better entry point.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Carvana (CVNA) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $260, up from $110. Q3 results were “far stronger than expected and largely justify the stock’s re-rating,” says the firm, which adds that its previous $220 bull case is “playing out.”
• Wedbush upgraded HomeStreet (HMST) to Outperform from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $12 after the shares sold off heavily last week following the announcement that FirstSun Capital’s (FSUN) pending offer for HomeStreet was facing regulatory headwinds. Wedbush believes this could open the door for another suitor to potentially acquire HomeStreet at potentially a similar valuation.
• Truist upgraded MasTec (MTZ) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $173, up from $133. MasTec has been one of the best performers among the analyst’s coverage year to date, but the firm still believes there is a significant opportunity for the stock to re-rate as the top line and margin performance improves for the company’s Power Delivery, Clean Energy & Infrastructure, and Communications segments.
• JMP Securities upgraded Century Casinos (CNTY) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $5 price target. The firm sees a turning point for Century Casinos following the capex cycle.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Telsey Advisory downgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $75, down from $95. The firm says the departure of CEO Rick Dreiling reduces its confidence in the story and limits its visibility on Dollar Tree’s strategy and execution ahead.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Marqeta (MQ) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $5, down from $7. The firm says that while Q3 results were relatively in-line, a big Q4 guide down and commentary on regulatory headwinds/client in-sourcing sent shares down after hours. KeyBanc and Deutsche Bank also downgraded Marqeta to Neutral-equivalent ratings.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Celanese (CE) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $115, down from $165, following quarterly results. The firm is moving to the sidelines following significant cuts to its 2024 and 2025 earnings outlook, and as it believes the path to mid-cycle earnings will be longer than anticipated.
• Leerink downgraded Ideaya Biosciences (IDYA) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $27, down from $41, following the Q3 update. The firm cites uncertainty in key programs darovasertib and IDE397.
• KeyBanc downgraded Retail Opportunity (ROIC) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the recent rally.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Seaport Research initiated coverage of First Solar (FSLR) with a Neutral rating and no price target. While confident that future orders will be there to fill rising capacity based on First Solar’s end-Q3 backlog and mid-to-late-stage pipeline of opportunities, the stock faces “several near-term uncertainties and risks” and is already discounting a 20% premium to its comp group, the firm tells investors.
• Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Krispy Kreme (DNUT) with an Equal Weight rating and $14 price target. The company’s McDonald’s (MCD) partnership is an “interesting catalyst” to support its expansion strategy, but not entirely unappreciated in the shares, and flow-through to key metrics will take time to show, the firm says.
• JPMorgan initiated coverage of Upstream Bio (UPB) with an Overweight rating and $38 price target. The firm sees the company’s lead asset verekitug as the sole driver for shares over the mid to long term as the clinical profile matures. Piper Sandler also started coverage of Upstream Bio with an Overweight rating and $75 price target.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Alarm.com (ALRM) with a Buy rating and $65 price target. The company has a “durable growth profile and solid profitability,” but the stock is trading at a discount due to concerns on competition and the ADT relationship, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Bernstein initiated coverage of Eaton (ETN) with an Outperform rating and $382 price target as part of a broader research note launching coverage on select names in low/medium voltage electrical equipment sector. Bernstein believes Eaton has “exposure to the right markets” with 70% of its sales tied to electrical equipment, and with 40% of that tied to data centers, reshoring, and electric grid. The firm also started coverage of Hubbell (HUB) with an Outperform rating and $535 price target