Voyager upgraded, HP 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 Rating Changes:

• Wedbush upgraded Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $11, up from $7, after a new analyst assumed coverage of the stock. The firm added the company’s tau antibody for Alzheimer’s disease program and the AAV-mediated siRNA program for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene into its valuation. Voyager’s clinical and preclinical data that became available recently should allow for improved visibility into potential clinical outcomes for both programs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. With the pipeline moving forward closer to clinical entries and data readouts, and the shares trading near 52-week low, Wedbush believes Voyager represents an attractive investment opportunity “for investors with patience that are willing to tolerate the high risks associated with early stage clinical programs for neurodegenerative disorders.”
• HSBC downgraded HP Inc. (HPQ) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $38, down from $39, following the fiscal Q4 report. HP expects cost pressure to continue in the first half of 2005 and this, in addition to seasonality, was one of the key drivers of weak Q1 guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. As such, HSBC is taking a “cautious stance given the near-term hit on profitability due to higher input costs.”
• HSBC downgraded Autodesk (ADSK) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $290, down from $299. Q3 results were weaker than the firm expected and the stock has an “expensive relative valuation,” the analyst tells investors. The firm sees a “continued moderation in earnings growth” at Autodesk and prefers Dassault Systemes (DASTY), which it notes is “trading at a much lower multiple despite having comparable growth.”
• RBC Capital downgraded Applied Therapeutics (APLT) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $4, down from $12. The complete response letter for govorestat in galactosemia is disappointing and “creates significant uncertainties” around a future path forward for the drug in that indication, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm still sees “meaningful residual value” from sorbitol dehydrogenase deficiency where a new drug application submission is expected in Q1. However, there remains uncertainties as to whether Applied can assemble a convincing enough data package, and this will take time to play out, says RBC. It sees the shares trading in-line from here in the near-term.
• B. Riley downgraded RumbleON (RMBL) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $7. The firm says that with the shares up 70% since the Q3 report, and a lack of comfort in the powersports demand recovery timeline needed to look beyond 2025 estimates or raise the target multiple, it is moving to the sidelines. Riley has concerns around the potential demand recovery timeline for the recreational marine industry. It will look for improved powersports demand visibility or a more attractive entry point to again become positive on the shares.