Salesforce downgraded, Charter upgraded: 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:

• Citi upgraded Charter (CHTR) to Neutral from Sell with a $350 price target. Valuation has receded, the core broadband operating environment for Q3 seems stable with prior commentary, and ACP retention seems to be going better than expected for the category, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Jefferies upgraded Williams-Sonoma (WSM) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $156, up from $148. The firm sees greater than15% upside ahead with earnings outperformance and a valuation re-rating.
• Wells Fargo upgraded One Gas (OGS) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $80, up from $71. The firm is “encouraged” by the company’s recent regulatory and cost trends and likes its “strong credit metrics, pure play strategy and gas-friendly landscape.”
• Wolfe Research upgraded Antero Resources (AR) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $37 price target. Following a broad sector decline that has seen Antero pull back nearly 16% since mid-July, the firm sees improved risk-reward that now has near-dated gas price risk discounted.
• Erste Group upgraded AstraZeneca (AZN) to Buy from Hold, citing strong sales growth for the company’s oncology products

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Erste Group downgraded Salesforce (CRM) to Hold from Buy, saying the company’s sales growth this year and next will be lower than in previous years.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $105, down from $122. The firm sees a faster growth rate for banks with a more capital markets skew as a percent of total revenue than Morgan Stanley.
• BofA downgraded Novartis (NVS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $130, down from $135. The firm says Novartis has slower catalysts in the second half of 2024 as well as some risks.
• Piper Sandler downgraded Supernus Pharmaceuticals (SUPN) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $36, down from $41. The firm says the sizable uptick in prescription growth for Qelbree that it expected amid the back-to-school season “has not quite come to pass.”
• Truist downgraded ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $60, down from $80. Closure delays of the Alimera Sciences (ALIM) acquisition imply potential post due diligence issues, likely on manufacturing deficiencies of Yutiq, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Guggenheim initiated coverage of Elastic (ESTC) with a Buy rating and $100 price target, implying 39% potential upside. The firm says the generative artificial intelligence market should provide “sustainable tailwinds” to the company, even if the anticipated near-term benefit is overblown.
• JPMorgan initiated coverage of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) with an Overweight rating and $80 price target. The firm also placed the shares under a “positive catalyst watch” ahead of the Phase 1 data readout for the oral-2735 drug at Obesity Week, November 3-6.
• Seaport Research initiated coverage of Badger Meter (BMI) with a Buy rating and $235 price target. The company is a “proven innovator” in the water metering market and has several competitive advantages which have generated market share gains over the last several years, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Citi resumed coverage of Pacs Group (PACS) with a Buy rating and $45 price target. The firm continues to view Pacs well positioned as one of the largest skilled nursing facilities operators in a “highly fragmented market.”
• BofA initiated coverage of Haemonetics (HAE) with a Neutral rating and $85 price target. The medical device maker primarily focused on plasma collection and vascular closure should benefit from strong underlying market growth trends, which should ultimately help to expand margins, but the firm thinks Street margin expectations for the rest of fiscal 2025 and 2026 are “likely too high.”