Stocks were mostly lower on Thursday after a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:disappointing business forecast from retail giant Walmart (WMT). The S&P 500, which 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:closed at a record high on Wednesday, was down 0.6% late Thursday afternoon, as was the Nasdaq Composite.💧 The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 1.1% lower.
Below, 🎐we look at the biggest analyst upgrades and downgrades of the day.
Roku Earnings Win Over Jefferies Analysts
Streaming platform provider Roku (ROKU) won over at least one bear with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:last week’s earnings report. Jefferies analysts on Thursdꦦay upgraded the stock to “Hold” from “Underperform” and raised their price target to $100 from $55.
“The bear case has weakened as Roku out-grew many ad peers in the Q, profitability is inflecting, and Roku retains multiple tailwinds to growth in FY25,” the analysts wrote. Those tailwinds, the analysts said, include “strengthening partnerships with Yahoo / Google,” the platform’s potential for higher fill rates versus peers, and “management’s commit🍨ment other than cost discipline.”
Jefferies’ new price target implies just 4% upside from Roku’s closing price on Wednesday. For Jefferies to raise their target further, “Roku will likely have to outperform its guide and give investors confidence these are not one-time benefits.”
SolarEdge Catches 1 Upgrade, 2 Downgrades
SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) got an upgrade to “Equal-weight” and a 64% price target 🐎boost from Morgan Stanley on Thursday.
The analysts cited management's recent decisions to shutter its unprofitable battery storage business and enforce headcount reductions as evidence of their commitment to improving profitability and free cash flow. Those efforts should help the company avoid issuing new equity to cover nearly $350 million of debt coming due in September, the analysts said.
The analysts acknowledged that SolarEdge faces a “long and potentially bu๊mpy road ahead...given the unstable demand outlook for residential solar, particularly in Europe, coupled with heightened competition in the region.” But the absence of imminent negative catalysts and a likely improvement in free cash flow supported their decision to upgrade the stock and lift their pr🍌ice target from $11 to $18, about 8% below the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.
Not everyone on Wall Street agrees with Morgan Stanley. Northland Capital and BMO Capital Markets both downgraded SolarEdge to “Underperformꦿ” on Thursday. Both firms ha𓃲ve assigned the stock a $15 price target.
SolarEdge shares were down nearly 11% Thursday afternoon.
Other Notable Rating Changes
Other stocks that saw analyst updates Thursday included Lam Research (LRCX), which Susquehanna upgraded to “Positive” from “Negative.” The firm also lifted its priceꦅ target by 67% to $125, nearly 40% above the stock’s closing price Wedn🐠esday.
NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) stock was upgraded to “Buy” by Citigroup analysts, wh🏅o also boosted their price target by 33% to $290.&n🎃bsp;
BTIG Research upgraded shares of Snowflake (SNOW) to “Buy” and reiterated their $ཧ220 price target, implying 18% upside from W🌃ednesday’s close.
Among stocks that received downgrades on Thursday were chemicals company Celanese (CE), which plummeted yesterday after 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the company warned demand challenges are likely to persist in the n🍷ear te🏅rm. RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to “Sector Perform” and slashed their price target by 33%.
Axon Enterprise (AXON) had its rating from Craig Hallum downgraded to “Hold,” but the firm maintained its $625 price objective. Axon shares slid from an all-time high yesterday after a downgrade from Northcoast Research, which cited growing competition from one-time Axon partner Flock Safety. Shares have also been weighed on by anticipation that its growing business with the federal government could be jeopardized by 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:expected cuts to military spending. As of Thursday afternoon, Axon stock was down more than🦩 25% from Tuesday’s record close.