Anika Begay
Here are the top calls on Wall Street for Wednesday: Deutsche Bank Upgrades Moderna from Sell to Hold Deutsche Bank said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for Moderna shares. “a more challenging Winter’s Tale, but up to Hold.” BTIG Upgrades TrueCar from Neutral to Buy BTIG said it is bullish on the car pricing Internet company’s shares. “We are upgrading TRUE shares from Neutral to BUY with a PT of $3.75.” Seaport Upgrades Sphere from Neutral to Buy Seaport said the Las Vegas-based entertainment company has an attractive entry point. “Sphere Entertainment is another favorite experience economy stock that has been shorted during the market decline.” Baird Upgrades Builders First Source from Neutral to Outperform Baird said the building materials company is well-positioned. “With guidance reset and key headwinds/headwinds (multifamily sales/margin normalization and scaling back single-family starts) set to fade in 2025, we see a good setup for BLDR.” Barclays Downgrades Retail from Positive to Neutral Barclays downgraded the sector due to “promotions suggesting weakening demand.” “We downgrade Retail from Positive to Neutral due to eroding inventory margin recovery as promotions intensify and demand weakens.” TD Cowen Downgrades Molson Coors from Buy to Hold TD Cowen said the beer market is shedding share price gains. “We downgrade Molson Coors from Hold and lower our PT to $58.” Wells Fargo Downgrades Amgen from Overweight to Equivalent Wells said in its downgrade of Amgen that the thesis has “unfolded” for the biotech company. “The thesis has played out. The risk/reward trade-off is not compelling enough to maintain an Overweight rating.” B. Riley Downgrades TripAdvisor to Neutral from Buy B. Riley said it sees deteriorating growth. “We are downgrading Tripadvisor, Inc. from Buy to Neutral to reflect a deterioration in Core revenue and margin growth (e.g., Tripadvisor brand), implied by management’s outlook.” Piper Sandler Reiterates Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia to Overweight Piper said Wednesday it likes both semi-financial stocks. The company said AMD is a top pick. “We include names that we believe will benefit the most from secular shifts set to occur over the next 1-3 year horizon. These include NVDA and AMD in the computer sector, as well as ON given its exposure to silicon carbide and other company-specific drivers.” Citi Adds Positive Catalyst Watch on Amer Sports Citi has opened a Positive Catalyst Watch on Amer and says the sporting goods company has an attractive risk/reward ratio. “With shares down 25% since late June on concerns about a China slowdown, we believe the risk/reward ratio is favorable in 2Q EPS. We are opening a Positive Catalyst Watch out to 30 days.” Wells Fargo Upgrades Globus Medical from Equal Weight to Overweight Wells says the medical technology company’s integration with NuVasive is going well. “We are upgrading GMED from Equal Weight to Overweight and raising our price target from $60 to $78 as the integration with NuVasive is progressing better than we expected.” Wells Fargo Names Uber a Top Pick Wells said the ride-sharing company remains a top idea for the company after earnings. “Uber remains the top pick of 2H. See the bear case of decel and AV [autonomous vehicle] Terminal risk has been extensively addressed by YE24. View Q2 results/Q3 guidance to refute deceleration fears, point one of the bear case.” Raymond James Starts Natural Gas Services Group as Strong Buy Raymond James said the natural gas company is well positioned. “Natural Gas Services Group (NGS) is a leading provider of contract natural gas compression in the United States.” TD Cowen Starts Abacus Life as Buy TD Cowen said the company has an “attractive business model.” “We start coverage on leading life insurance settlement provider Abacus Life (ABL) at Buy with a $14 price target, implying 51% upside potential.” Bank of America Reiterates Apple as a Buy The firm said survey checks show App Store revenue “remains strong” for Apple. “Sensor Tower data indicates global App Store revenue remains strong, global revenue increased 11% year-over-year in July.” Citi Reiterates Target as buy Citi said it is bullish ahead of Target’s earnings on Aug. 21. “Based on our quantitative team’s crowding analysis, the stock is significantly less crowded from a long-term perspective than it was prior to Q1 earnings, and we believe investor skepticism has increased. As a result, and given the stock is down 11% MTD, we believe the setup is favorable heading into earnings.” Bank of America Downgrades Super Micro Computer to Neutral from Buy The company said it sees margin pressure following Tuesday’s earnings. “Despite higher overall revenue in F25, GM [gross margin] gradually returns to normal range (14-17%) by the end of F25 as 1) manufacturing efficiency improves and SMCI ships more liquid-cooled racks, 2) as customer mix improves…” Bank of America Reiterates Rivian as Buy Bank of America said it is holding the stock after Tuesday’s earnings. “RIVN is still in the right place/time with the right product/strategy.” Goldman Sachs Reiterates Sunrun as Buy Goldman said Sunrun is well-positioned for cash generation after its earnings report Tuesday. “Looking ahead, we expect this strong cash flow to support continued market share gains.” Bernstein Upgrades Arm to Market Perform from Underperform Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $100 per share from $92 and upgraded Arm primarily on valuation. “With Arm’s share price down about 40% in four weeks and increased confidence in mobile royalty growth, we believe it is necessary to revise our valuation argument.” Mizuho Upgrades Vertiv from Neutral to Outperform Mizuho said the multinational company has strong fundamentals. “Raised VRT to Outperform – Fundamentals still hot despite AI valuation cooling.” Deutsche Bank raises Aramark from Hold to Buy Deutsche Bank said the food and accommodation services company is a “cleaner story.” “We are raising ARMK from Hold to Buy and raising our PT to $39 (from $36).”
