Nvidia upgraded, CrowdStrike 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:

• Phillip Securities upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to Buy from Accumulate with a $645 price target, up from $440. Data center growth drove the strong revenue beat in Q2 and even stronger Q3 guidance, the firm notes, adding that a “market monopoly” is driving “blowout results” for Nvidia.
• Evercore ISI upgraded JetBlue (JBLU) to In Line from Underperform with a $4.50 price target following the 35% decline in shares since the firm’s previous downgrade in July.
• Truist upgraded Church & Dwight (CHD) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $105, up from $95. The firm believes Church & Dwight’s Q2 results are a sign that the company and its categories “are largely out of the woods from the post-pandemic reversion.”
• BTIG upgraded Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) to Buy from Neutral with a $139 price target. The shares have pulled back 13% since the Q2 earnings call and now sit at the lowest level relative to Stryker (SYK) over the last 20 years on a price-to-earnings basis, the firm says,
• William Blair upgraded AppFolio (APPF) to Outperform from Market Perform without a price target. The firm has grown “increasingly supportive” of the company’s strategic and financial direction.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Crowdstrike (CRWD) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $167, down from $178. The firm is cautious on the shares into the fiscal Q2 earnings report this week, saying consensus estimates for a second half of 2023 and 2024 rebound “appear high in light of a more difficult demand environment.”
• Bernstein downgraded L3Harris Technologies (LHX) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $210, down from $239. The firm still expects strong sales growth for L3Harris, supported by rising backlog, but says the problem remains on margins with supply chain issues, inflation on fixed-price contracts, and execution.
• BTIG downgraded Upwork (UPWK) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. With the shares up 41% year-to-date, the catalysts have played out with Upwork making a take rate-accretive changes to its commission structure earlier this year as well slashing its fiscal 2023 brand marketing spend, the firm says.
• Truist downgraded Essex Property Trust (ESS) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $266, up from $255. This is “largely a valuation-driven downgrade of a recent outperformer,” says the firm.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Atmos Energy (ATO) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $128, down from $132, following strong year-to-date performance. With shares trading at 18% price-to-earnings premiums to LDC peers, the firm is moving to the sidelines.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of NextGen Healthcare (NXGN) with an Overweight rating and $21 price target. The firm sees the company’s suite of offerings as well positioned for the shift of U.S. healthcare into value-based care and shared savings.
• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Workiva (WK) with an Outperform rating and $120 price target. Strengthening fundamentals, a “sticky” installed base, disparate competition, and an expanding total addressable market aided by global regulatory changes, gives Workiva the opportunity to stretch its leadership position, and drive accelerating growth and rapidly expanding margins, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Raymond James resumed coverage of Duolingo (DUOL) with a Market Perform rating and no price target. The firm sees the stock’s risk/reward as “only slightly favorable” with the shares up 90% year-to-date.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage of Tetra Tech (TTEK) with an Outperform rating and $181 price target. Tetra Tech is a specialized engineering company that offers investors “unique sustainability-aligned end-market exposure, a strong track record of growth, and a significant U.S. presence, positioning it well amidst the current infrastructure investment cycle,” the firm says.
• Canaccord initiated coverage of Surf Air Mobility (SRFM) with a Buy rating and $3 price target. By developing hybrid and electric powertrains to modify existing aircraft, Surf has created a viable path to lower operating costs enough to make regional air mobility travel economically attractive, says the firm.