This Week, From The Analyst Community

Stock analysts can provide valuable insight into the sentiment around a certain stock or sector and shed some light on what is possible or likely for a stock.  Stirrings in the analyst community can sometimes be early signs of stock movement.  Which is why our team reviews dozens of analyst research reports each and every day with the goal of finding new investment ideas for our readers. 

Of the hundreds of reports we reference weekly, some stand out among the others for various reasons.  Our team has sifted through this week’s reports and whittled it down to the most pertinent moves.   

Read on for the details on some of the most impactful moves taken by analysts over the past week.   



Monday, April 18th

  • UBS analyst Myles Walton downgraded United Airlines (UAL) from Buy  to Neutral with an unchanged $51 price target.  Following the stock’s year-to-date 30% run-up, the analyst sees “less compelling upside,” as confidence in strong bookings offsetting peak fuel has “played out.”
  • SMBC Nikko analyst Srini Pajjuri downgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) from Outperform to Neutral with a price target of $155, down from $215. The analyst believes near-term risk to estimates, if any, is priced into the stock at current levels, but struggles to find many positive catalysts in the next 6-12 months for Qualcomm shares.
  • UBS analyst Myles Walton upgraded Delta Air Lines (DAL)  from Neutral to Buy with a price target of $53, up from $44. The analyst cited the company’s “much better than expected” second quarter operating revenue to seat miles ratio that implies a 12% improvement relative to the second quarter of 2019.

Tuesday, April 19th

  • Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded Electronic Arts (EA) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $145, down from $183. With a newly appointed CFO and estimates below the Street in the coming years, the analyst is looking for greater clarity on EA‘s path for growth and margin trajectory over the long-term.
  • Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded Roblox (RBLX) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $50, down from $108, after assuming coverage of the name. Sheridan sees Roblox as the “most intriguing company” in the gaming universe with a “unique set of challenges” in the near-term from slowing growth, tough compares and normalization of margins.
  • Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett initiated coverage of Alphabet (GOOGL; GOOG) with a Buy rating and $4,183 price target. Crockett contends that “no company is better positioned to leverage what is working online right now, and avoid what isn’t” than Alphabet, given its advantaged positioning for new ad privacy restrictions, leadership in viral video and emerging success in cloud services.


Wednesday, April 20th

  • JPMorgan analyst Jeremy Tonet upgraded Exelon (EXC) from Neutral to Overweight with a price target of $55, up from $47.  Tonet told investors in a research note that in its transition to a pure-play regulated utility, Exelon has refocused its core operations around an “advantaged” transmission and distribution portfolio with leverage to infrastructure renewal efforts across an aging urban network and long-term electrification “tailwinds.”
  • Bank of America analyst Nat Schindler double downgraded Netflix (NFLX)  from Buy to Underperform with a price target of $300, down from $605, after the company reported negative subscriber additions as all regions saw declines in paid net adds except Asia-Pacific. Citing similar reasons, Pivotal Research analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak double downgraded Netflix to Sell from Buy with a price target of $235, down from $550. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler, JPMorgan, Stifel, Oppenheimer, Atlantic Equities, KG Securities and UBS also downgraded the stock to Neutral-equivalent ratings following quarterly results.
  • UBS analyst Andrew Monk initiated coverage of Cano Health (CANO) with a Buy rating and $15 price target. The analyst cited “ample white space and strong payor demand” to support the company’s path to double its current clinic count of 130 by 2024. Monk also started coverage of Oak Street Health (OSH) with a Neutral rating and a price target of $26.

Thursday, April 21st

  • Truist analyst Youssef Squali downgraded Twitter (TWTR)  from Buy to Hold with an unchanged $50 price target. The analyst cited the stock approaching Elon Musk’s $54.20 per share offer, which he deems to be “fair.”
  • Tudor Pickering analyst Oliver Huang initiated coverage of ChargePoint (CHPT) with a Buy rating and $22 price target. The analyst also started coverage of EVgo (EVGO) with a Buy rating and a price target of $16, and Blink Charging (BLNK) with a Hold rating and a price target of $24.
  • RBC Capital analyst Biraj Borkhataria upgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM) from Sector Perform to Outperform with a price target of $100, up from $90. The analyst noted that the company is the largest refiner among the majors and it screens well on upstream portfolio longevity, an area that will likely be under increased scrutiny in a high commodity price environment. Conversely, Borkhataria downgraded Chevron (CVX) from Outperform to Sector Perform with a price target of $165, up from $160.


Friday, April 22nd

  • JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker double upgraded United Airlines (UAL) from Underweight to Overweight with a price target of $76, up from $60. According to Baker, airline equities have rebounded as much as 60% from the recent fuel-panic lows achieved when demand trends were “grossly misunderstood,” but he does not believe investors have missed the recovery, saying history suggests “we’re nowhere near the point of demand destruction.” The analyst does not believe investors need United Airlines to achieve the $9.50 in earnings per share implied by a 9% pretax margin for the stock to work from current levels and thinks the equity can outperform, even if management misses its guidance. Argus analyst John Staszak also upgraded United Airlines (UAL) from Hold to Buy with a $59 price target.
  • Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss initiated coverage of Spire Global (SPIR) with an Outperform rating and $4 price target. Prentiss believes the low share price for the space-based data and solutions company, which operates a constellation of 70-100 Low-Earth Orbit, or LEO, nano-satellites, offers an attractive entry point given the long-term value creation potential he sees.

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