Dollar Tree downgraded, Roku 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:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Roku (ROKU) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $72, up from $50. The firm thinks The Roku Channel will contribute to stronger growth as Roku improves monetization through third parties service providers.
• Barclays upgraded Nordstrom (JWN) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $23, up from $18. The firm cites the proposed take-private transaction for the upgrade.
• JPMorgan upgraded XPeng (XPEV) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $11.50, up from $8. The company’s upcoming new models in Q4 – Mona M03 and P7 plus – should increase quarterly deliveries from about 45K units in Q3 to about 80K in Q4, which will then be followed by full year contribution in 2025, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Ascendis Pharma (ASND) to Outperform from Perform with an $180 price target. The firm upgrades the shares ahead of Yorvipath’s U.S. launch for hypoparathyroidism in Q1 of 2025 and this month’s top-line results from TransCon CNP’s Phase 3 trial in achondroplasia.
• Wedbush upgraded Beazer Homes (BZH) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $45, up from $41. The firm believes Beazer is on track to accomplish management’s long-term goals of community growth and de-leveraging the balance sheet.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Loop Capital downgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged $65 price target. The company has cut its guidance for the second time this year, with the Dollar Tree segment’s underperformance particularly troubling and counter to the management’s assertion that its miss was solely due to weak Easter results, the firm tells investors in a research note. BMO Capital also downgraded Dollar Tree to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $68, down from $130.
• Wolfe Research downgraded General Motors (GM) to Peer Perform from Outperform. The firm sees 2025 earnings for the Detroit 3 automaker’s down versus this year, despite their invested capital bases increasing which will squeeze ROIC even more.
• RBC Capital downgraded KB Home (KBH) to Underperform from Sector Perform with an unchanged price target of $70. The firm’s pricing showed another month of weaker relative trends for KB.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Novartis (NVS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $121, up from $119. The firm cites the stock’s solid recent share price performance, consensus catching up to its earnings estimates, and limited value driving innovation catalysts in the near-term for the downgrade.
• Wolfe Research downgraded Mobileye (MBLY) to Peer Perform from Outperform. China, the company’s largest market that accounts for 29% of its revenue, is expected to have its run-rate shipments of Base EyeQ SoCs fall 40%, the firm notes.

Top 5 Initiations:

• HSBC initiated coverage of On Holding (ONON) with a Hold rating and $52 price target. The firm says the stock’s risk/reward ratio is not that compelling after the recent share price run.
• Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage of Algonquin Power (AQN) with a Neutral rating and $6 fair value estimate. While the firm likes Algonquin’s regulated portfolio for its diversification and exposure to water and wastewater and believes the “back to basics” strategy and recent announcements are positive developments, it sees this as largely reflected in the current share price.
• Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of Lifecore (LFCR) with a Buy rating and $8 price target. With the Curation Foods segment now divested and strategic review now complete, America’s drug supply chain being repatriated, the global population aging, global supply shortage of sterile-injectables, and the demand for hyaluronic acid increasing, the firm believes Lifecore Biomedical is an undiscovered CDMO that could participate in these trends.
• BTIG initiated coverage of Solventum (SOLV) with a Neutral rating and no price target. The firm says that while the company’s playbook to create value is clear, the timelines to get there “could be long.”
• Jefferies initiated coverage of aTyr Pharma (ATYR) with a Buy rating and $9 price target. The firm says the ongoing Phase 3 will report in Q3 of 2025 and potentially support the first drug approval in pulmonary sarcoidosis, if successful.