Dollar Tree downgraded, Lululemon 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:

• HSBC upgraded Lululemon (LULU) to Buy from Hold with a $425 price target following the Q1 earnings report. The company’s fiscal 2024 guidance is broadly unchanged while the recent stock selloff implied the market may have been bracing for some downward revision, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Citi upgraded eBay (EBAY) to Buy from Neutral with a $64 price target after resuming coverage following a period of rating suspension. The firm sees an improved growth outlook and expects a return to margin expansion as well as upside to earnings estimates from share buybacks post the Adevinta sale.
• Redburn Atlantic upgraded United Airlines (UAL) to Buy from Neutral with a $70 price target. The firm upgraded United on its updated earnings forecast, saying the company’s lower capex will drive robust free cash flow generation.
• Jefferies upgraded Capital One (COF) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $165, up from $145. The firm sees a “win-win” for owning the shares as a standalone company or potentially combined with Discover (DFS).
• UBS upgraded C.H. Robinson (CHRW) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $90, up from $71. The firm expects the company’s initiatives to support cost reduction and improving execution.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Citi downgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $120, down from $163. While the Family Dollar turnaround has been on “shaky ground” for several quarters, the decision to explore strategic alternatives shows that management lacks confidence in the fix, signaling more structural issues than previously expected, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• MoffettNathanson downgraded Shopify (SHOP) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $65, down from $74. The firm sees continued downside risks to forecasts given Shopify’s “bumpy” road ahead.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Couchbase (BASE) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $18, down from $30. The firm sees an increasingly competitive landscape “with a seemingly elevated valuation” for Couchbase
• DA Davidson downgraded Sprinklr (CXM) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $9, down from $16. Sprinklr reported a modest beat this quarter but lowered its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance as a result of a softer than expected demand environment which is assumed to be the norm through the rest of the year, the firm tells investors in a research note. Cantor Fitzgerald also downgraded Sprinklr to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $10, down from $16.
• JMP Securities downgraded HashiCorp (HCP) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target after the company entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by IBM (IBM) for $35 per share.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Zeekr (ZK) with a Buy rating and $35 price target. Zeekr is a leading, premium smart electric vehicle maker in China with a well-established premium brand and leadership in electrification and auto industry innovation, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Iqvia (IQV) with a Buy rating and $270 price target. The firm sees Iqvia as a well-diversified business well positioned for share gains with a market leading position in data and technology. Goldman Sachs also started coverage of Icon (ICLR) and Charles River (CRL) with Buy ratings, and Fortrea Holdings (FTRE) with a Neutral rating.
• Mizuho initiated coverage of TreeHouse (THS) with a Neutral rating and $37 price target. The firm says TreeHouse’s new model has yet to demonstrate greater resilience against traditional private label volatility and the downside risks to its growth targets “are tangible.”
• Bernstein initiated coverage of Diamondback Energy (FANG) with an Outperform rating and $243 price target. The firm sees Diamondback as the “last and best oil sandbox.”
• B. Riley analyst David Bain resumed coverage of DoubleDown (DDI) with a Buy rating and $24 price target. The firm believes DoubleDown’s core business stabilization, net free cash flow generation, balance sheet optionality, expected revenue and EBITDA growth, and upward estimate revision potential create a “scarce investment opportunity in the current market environment.”