Wall Street Roundup: Bullish & Bearish Calls Of The Day

The recent run-up in stocks, an expected economic expansion, and hopes of recovery in consumer demand have kept analysts busy as they continue to shuffle their recommendations.

Between the ups and downs in the market, TipRanks, through its comprehensive research tools, continues to scan and examine the prospects of your favorite stocks, bringing you the latest analyst action on them.

Without further ado, let’s delve deeper into a few of the noteworthy bullish and bearish calls of the day.

Upgrades

Oppenheimer analyst Christopher Glynn has upgraded Roper Technologies (ROP) to Buy from Hold, given “positive view of FCF growth profile and increasingly affordable FCF yield, anchored by operating progress around recent heavy acquisition activity and anticipated broadening organic growth profile in coming quarters,” the analyst said in a research note. Glynn also established a price target of $460 on the stock.

Furthermore, TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 100% Bullish on ROP, compared to a sector average of 69%

A pop culture consumer products company, Funko (FNKO), also received an upgrade from BMO Capital analyst Gerrick Johnson to Hold from Sell on the company’s “innovative new product lines.” Johnson also lifted the stock’s price target to $16 from $5.

Overall, the Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on FNKO based on 2 Buys and 5 Holds. The average analyst price target of $17.61 implies downside potential of about 4.8% to current levels.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Richard Close raised the rating on Ontrak (OTRK) to Buy from Hold and lifted the price target to $46 from $32, following Jonathan Mayhew’s appointment as new CEO.

Wall Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on OTRK based on 4 Buys and 2 Holds. The average analyst price target of $47.00 implies upside potential of about 36% to current levels.

Cowen & Co. analyst Karl Ackerman lifted Seagate Technology’s (STX) rating from Hold to Buy and raised the price target to $95 from $66. In a note to investors, the analyst said, “We are increasingly convinced STX is transitioning from a period of secular declines toward a multiyear period of growth.”

Like Ackerman, TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 90% Bullish on STX, compared to a sector average of 69%

Alcoa (AA) received an upgrade from Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Terry. Terry raised the rating from Hold to Buy and even lifted the price target to $36 from $22, citing strong balance sheet position and attractive free cash flows. The analyst expects the company to beat 1Q results.

Overall, the Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AA based on 2 Buys and 3 Holds. The average analyst price target of $28.30 implies downside potential of about 8.8% to current levels.

Another Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Mullan upgraded McDonald’s (MCD) from Hold to Buy and raised the stock’s price target to $244 from $232. The analyst said, “Over the balance of this year, we think that continued momentum in the U.S. business as well as an arguably underappreciated market share opportunity in the IOM [International Operated Markets] segment should lead to upward revisions to consensus EPS, specifically in 2022e and potentially in 2023e as well.”

Furthermore, MCD scores a “Perfect 10” from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.

Downgrades

Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Schenkel downgraded GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) from Buy to Hold but lifted the price target to $24.05 from $23.00 after Roche Diagnostics made an all-cash acquisition offer of $1.8 billion for GenMark Diagnostics.

From TipRanks’ Smart Score ranking, GenMark gets a 3 out of 10, suggesting that the stock is likely to underperform market expectations.

Truist Financial analyst Tristan Richardson downgraded Plug Power (PLUG) to Hold from Buy following the company’s financial restatements for FY18 and FY19. Due to accounting error news, shares of Plug Power are down over 20% in Wednesday’s pre-market trading session.

Furthermore, TipRanks data shows that financial blogger opinions are 58% Bullish, compared to a sector average of 69%.

Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Kuske downgraded Mercer International (MERC) to Hold from Buy, citing the recent run in its stock and uncertainty related to pulp prices over time. Meanwhile, the analyst lifted the price target to $18 from $16 on the stock.

However, the Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on MERC based on 3 Buys and 2 Holds. The average analyst price target of $16.80 implies upside potential of about 11.3% to current levels.

Guggenheim analyst Glen Santangelo downgraded CVS Health (CVS) to Hold from Buy, as the analyst sees balanced risk/reward after the stock recovery.

TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Negative stance on CVS, with 3% of investors reducing their exposure to CVS stock over the last seven days period.

National Bank analyst Mike Parkin slashed Kirkland Lake Gold’s (KL) rating to Hold from Buy and lowered the price target from C$65 to C$56 (or $44.96), as the analyst expects the upcoming interim Detour Lake technical report to be a dampener.

TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that investors currently have a Very Negative stance on KL, with 2.2% of investors reducing their exposure to KL stock over the last seven days period.

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