Nvidia initiated, Target 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:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Target (TGT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $206, up from $149, post the Q4 report. The company’s initial 2024 guidance appears reasonable, while leaving room for upside, the firm tells investors in a research note. HSBC also upgraded Target to Buy from Hold with a price target of $195, up from $140.
• Berenberg upgraded Honeywell (HON) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $240, up from $195. In the context of the stock’s current valuation, the firm sees Honeywell’s growth algorithm as attractive.
• Wolfe Research upgraded GitLab (GTLB) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $75 price target. Following GitLab’s print, which sent shares down 21%, the firm sees a “story of potentially being one of the fastest growers in software this year with multiple product catalysts and significant upside from pricing.”
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive (PGR) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $227, up from $185. Progressive’s “strong culture” of technology innovation, favorable competitive environment, and gradual business mix shift should give it the ability to outgrow the market, the firm argues.
• Leerink upgraded Regenxbio (RGNX) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $37, up from $24. With the Phase 1/2 AFFINITY DUCHENNE update, RGX-202 has accumulated enough data to suggest a path to a differentiated role in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, the firm says.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Berenberg downgraded Rockwell Automation (ROK) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $290, down from $330. Following a “soft” Q1, there is an unusually high second half bias to the company’s earnings this year, implying near-term earnings risk is more skewed to the downside, the firm says.
• CLSA downgraded Nio (NIO) to Outperform from Buy with a price target of $6, down from $9.80. The firm says that while Nio has made steady progress on the construction of its battery swapping network, it sees slower growth, driving reduced estimates.
• RBC Capital downgraded ChargePoint (CHPT) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $3, down from $3.50. While the company’s fiscal Q2 results slightly beat expectations, the Q1 guidance shows continued revenue pressure as a result of sluggish macro demand, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Canaccord downgraded TTEC Holdings (TTEC) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $13, down from $30. The firm says the macro environment remains tough and TTEC’s clients remain reticent about committing to service volume levels more than a month or two out.
• BofA downgraded Old Dominion (ODFL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $446, up from $443. The firm sees limited upside given the stock’s elevated multiple and the fact that volume growth has lagged BofA’s forecast, the firm says.

Top 5 Initiations:

• CICC initiated coverage of Nvidia (NVDA) with an Outperform rating and $870 price target. Nvidia is reaping benefits from its increasing cloud capex and the short supply of computing power for the training of large language models, or LLMs, in the market and the firm expects it to maintain its leading position in AI computing on technological strengths and ecosystem advantages.
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Casey’s General Stores (CASY) with an Outperform rating and $345 price target. Casey’s is well positioned to leverage its scale advantage and consolidate a “large and fragmented” convenient store market, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Argus initiated coverage of Supermicro (SMCI) with a Buy rating and $1,350 price target. The firm is positive on the company’s position as a leading computer and server provider for the age of generative AI, also noting that it provides GPU-based systems for deep learning, high performance computing, and other applications.
• Needham initiated coverage of Pure Storage (PSTG) with a Buy rating and $66 price target. Pure Storage has persistently gained market share from competitors with its “differentiated” direct-to-flash storage offering, the firm notes.
• Craig-Hallum initiated coverage of WisdomTree (WT) with a Buy rating and $12 price target. The firm believes significant growth potential in managed models remains and says the company’s first-mover advantage in blockchain “presents a practical, outsized risk/reward.”