Hershey, Temu parent PDD 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 5 Upgrades:

• Seaport Research upgraded Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) to Buy from Neutral with a $16.50 price target based on a tactical call around the current steel price cycle and mounting supply-side response. The firm says that a “disciplined and robust supply-side response is still percolating through the market” and will become more evident in the near term.
• Scotiabank upgraded Thomson Reuters (TRI) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $182, up from $164. The shares are not pricing in the potential acceleration in revenue growth that the company could achieve from its investments in generative artificial intelligence capabilities, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Truist upgraded Energizer (ENR) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $40, up from $30. The firm believes Energizer will benefit from a return to stability for the battery category, a “seemingly healthy” U.S. consumer, and “overblown” leverage concerns easing.
• Roth MKM upgraded Coterra Energy (CTRA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $29, up from $25. The firm cites the company’s relatively high natural gas exposure, which it expects to “recover nicely” in 2025, its “solid” balance sheet, high returns of capital to investors and its strong execution on the oil production side for the upgrade.
• More bullish on the name, Bocom upgraded XPeng (XPEV) to Buy from Sell with a $10.05 price target on the shares.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Citi downgraded Hershey (HSY) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $182, down from $195, which implies 7% potential downside in the share price. The firm says volume weakness and “stepped up” cocoa inflation present “looming downside risk.”
• Citi downgraded PDD Holdings (PDD) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $120, down from $194. The company’s Q2 revenue miss may not be “thesis changing,” but the firm is “struggling to reconcile” whether the management’s cautious tone on outlook due intensified competition, shift of consumption patterns, and uncertain external environment reflects “actual challenges” from diminishing return on its “value-for-money” moat or trying to manage competition and investor expectation through “low profile” approach.
• B. Riley downgraded Cinemark (CNK) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $31. The firm says that while its downgrade is not based on any adverse changes to its fundamental view on Cinemark, it will look for either a more attractive entry point for the shares or a reason to become more enthusiastic around the stock’s valuation drivers.
• Barclays downgraded SiTime (SITM) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $90. The firm says SiTime is one of the more expensive names in its coverage with estimates likely still too high for 2025.
• JPMorgan double downgraded Vasta Platform (VSTA) to Underweight from Overweight without a price target. The firm cites its relative preference in the Brazilian education sector and lowered estimates for the downgrade. It now expects stability in Vasta’s margins versus expansion previously, saying it is costing the company more to grow than anticipated.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Apollo Global (APO) with a Buy rating and $153 price target. The stock’s valuation discount reflects the balance sheet-intensive approach of the business and suggests concerns around the credit exposure Apollo carries in the event of broader economic and credit quality deterioration, the firm tells investors in a research note. Redburn also started coverage of KKR (KKR) and Carlyle (CG) with Buy ratings.
• Barclays initiated coverage of BlackRock (BLK) with an Overweight rating and $985 price target. The firm says the company is well aligned with key thematic growth areas.
• Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Blackstone (BX) with a Neutral rating and $134 price target. The firm says that despite investors’ real estate worries, Blackstone still commands a premium valuation to the sector.
• Barclays initiated coverage of T. Rowe Price (TROW) with an Underweight rating and $99 price target. Organic growth remains challenging at T Rowe, and while the company has a sizeable retirement franchise that could benefit from demographic trends, the company is also experiencing ongoing equity outflows and fee pressure given its limited exposure to faster-growth areas like ETFs and alternatives, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Evercore ISI resumed coverage of Krispy Kreme (DNUT) with an In Line rating and $13 price target. The firm says the difference between its $13 per share base case and $18 per share upside scenario may depend on the success of the McDonald’s (MCD) rollout.