Wall Street Analysts' Top Calls: Upgrades, Downgrades, and Price Targets

Wall Street analysts have issued various research calls, including upgrades for Mondelez, Elanco, Amicus, CSX, and Cars.com, and downgrades for Starbucks, Teradyne, Shake Shack, Zoetis, and Progressive. Jefferies upgraded Mondelez to Buy with a $78 price target, citing strong Easter sales and share gains in key markets. Jefferies also downgraded Starbucks to Underperform with an unchanged $76 price target, citing that the stock has gotten ahead of improving fundamentals. JPMorgan downgraded Teradyne to Neutral with a $102 price target, citing uncertainty in the macro environment.

Wall Street analysts have issued a mix of upgrades and downgrades on several key stocks, reflecting a nuanced view of the market. Mondelez International (MDLZ) and Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) were among the notable upgrades, while Starbucks Corporation (SBUX), Teradyne (TER), and Shake Shack (SHAK) faced downgrades.

Jefferies upgraded Mondelez International to Buy with a price target of $78, citing strong Easter sales and share gains in key markets [1]. The firm noted that Europe channel data supports the claim. Meanwhile, Jefferies downgraded Starbucks to Underperform with an unchanged price target of $76, stating that the stock has gotten ahead of "reasonable expectations for improving fundamentals" [1].

JPMorgan downgraded Teradyne to Neutral with a price target of $102, attributing the move to uncertainty in the macro environment and its impact on customer decisions on capital projects for semiconductor equipment [1]. Jefferies also downgraded Shake Shack to Underperform with a price target of $120, indicating that investor optimism around the company's near-term same-store sales recovery is more than reflected in the stock following the recent rally [1].

Elanco Animal Health was upgraded by Leerink to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $18, up from $14.50. The firm is gaining conviction in the company's Pet Health launches, particularly Credelio Quattro in the U.S., and remains positive on the growth prospects within Farm Animal [1].

Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $108, up from $102. The firm cited its favorable view of Amicus' intellectual property position heading into summary judgment with Aurobindo and longer-term confidence in patients switching from Nexviazyme/Lumizyme to PomOp [1].

CSX Corporation (CSX) was upgraded by BofA to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $42, up from $34. The upgrade was based on a report by digital news platform Semafor that Union Pacific (UNP) hired an investment bank to explore an acquisition of an Eastern railroad [1].

Cars.com (CARS) was upgraded by JPMorgan to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $14. The firm cited valuation and reduced cyclical risk for the upgrade [1].

These research calls reflect a range of analyst views on the current market conditions and the prospects of these companies. Investors should carefully consider the reasons behind each call and how they align with their own investment strategies.

References:

[1] https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/starbucks-downgraded-oracle-initiated-wall-streets-top-analyst-calls-thefly