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A UPS driver pushes a load of packages from his truck to a building in downtown Los Angeles, California, July 22, 2019.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:
Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’
Following the company’s earnings results, Credit Suisse upgraded the stock but said it still had concerns about “competitive” challenges.
“We are raising our rating on AT&T shares from Underperform to Neutral as near-term negative catalysts have played out, primarily video subscriber losses having hit what we believe are peak levels in 2Q19/3Q19. “
Bank of America upgraded UPS to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’
Bank of America upgraded UPS and said it saw “upside” in the company if it can “hold” its margins.
“We raise our rating to Buy from Neutral, and increase our PO to $130 from $115, on a 16x lower end of range target multiple. We increase our 2019 and 2020 EPS estimates 1% each, to $7.55 and $8.15, from $7.50 and $8.10, respectively. We believe the structural shift will continue to provide upside if UPS can hold its margins. “
Bank of America downgraded Electronic Arts to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’
Bank of America said it saw less “upside” in the game maker’s Live Services.
“The basis for our positive view was that Apex could be a source of significant upside in FY20 and sentiment would improve with EA the only publisher accelerating EPS growth Y/Y. As Apex has moderated sharply, we now not only see less upside to Live Services, but we see a risk to Street ests. if FIFA doesn’t accelerate. “
Bank of America upgraded Activision Blizzard to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’
Bank of America said the game maker was on the cusp of having one of the more “potent” content slates in to the future.
“Upgrading to Buy from Neutral and taking PO to $56 vs. $54 on 21x ’20 EPS vs. EA at 18x. Our positive view is based on: 1) improving competitive outlook for CoD; 2) mobile catalysts (CoD late-3Q/Diablo late-4Q); 3) enthusiasm into BlizzCon in Nov; 4) P/E near multi-year low; and 5) our multi-factor stock screen. ATVI is on the verge of an inflection where the investment in people/content this year translates into one of the more potent content slates in the group over the next several years; justifying the premium to EA. “
Wells Fargo downgraded Dollar General to ‘market perform’ from ‘outperform’
Wells Fargo downgraded stock and said it still had a “positive” outlook on the table but the risk/reward is now more “balanced.”
“DG has had an epic run as solid results, smart operational moves, a strong defensive position, and the market’s bid for quality large cap names has driven a 29% gain in the stock YTD (vs. 5% for the XRT and 20% for the S&P500) and a 90% increase in the last two years (+22% for S&P500). While we applaud management’s overall execution and generally have a positive outlook on the company, the risk/reward now looks to be balanced at best and we believe it makes sense to take money off the table. Fundamentally, the story is good, in our view, but there are risks. High market expectations for earnings, a mixed performance record against consensus, and a rich valuation further complicate the outlook for the stock. “
BTIG upgraded Etsy to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’
BTIG said it saw several “positive” recent developments with the company and had a “better” outlook.
“We are upgrading ETSY to Buy from Neutral with a $79 PT. Since we downgraded ETSY to Neutral on March 7 at $67.24 after ETSY hit our prior $67 PT, shares have marked time, returning +1% vs. S&P 500 +10% and NASDAQ +12%. “
Buckingham downgraded Caterpillar to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’
Buckingham downgraded Caterpillar after the company’s “weaker” than expected earnings results.
“We are lowering our 2019 EPS estimate to $12.10 to reflect the Q2 miss versus out estimate (-$0.26), but maintained our 2020 EPS estimate of $12.55. While our 2H19 estimates did not materially change and we continue to believe that several of Caterpillar‘s end markets still have growth potential over the coming years (barring a global economic recession), we are struggling to identify a catalyst to drive the stock significantly higher from current levels in the near term. “
MoffettNathanson downgraded Dish to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’
MoffettNathanson said Dish is the biggest loser on the heels of the Sprint and T-Mobile deal.
“The biggest loser here is Dish Network, or rather, Dish Network’s investors. Over the next year, DISH valuations, which are today universally based on price per MHz-POP spectrum comps, will be replaced with DCF valuations of Dish’s wireless operating business. Welcome to the wireless business, Dish! We are downgrading Dish Network to Sell with a target price of $30. “
