Metals Company upgraded, CoreWeave initiated: 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:

• JPMorgan upgraded Yum! Brands (YUM) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $162, down from $170. The firm cites the company’s “sustained” 4% unit growth, “strong” free cash flow generation, and pulled back valuation for the upgrade.
• Jefferies upgraded Stellantis (STLA) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $13.20, up from $10.25. Data suggests the company’s “earnings slide is about to turn,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $27, up from $25. The firm now sees a more balanced risk/reward, saying the company’s previously announced review of strategic alternatives could result in upside risk.
• Wedbush upgraded Metals Company (TMC) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $11, up from $6, citing “significantly increased confidence” in the long-term growth story following the executive order signed by President Trump at the end of April.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Duke Energy (DUK) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $132, up from $125. The firm has become more constructive on the company’s outlook from a load growth, generation capex, regulatory and balance sheet perspective.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging (GPK) to Neutral from Outperform.
• BTIG downgraded NuScale Power (SMR) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The firm continues to like the stock longer term, but says some catalysts have already played out, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission awarding standard design approval at the end of May, Congress continuing to support U.S. nuclear power development tied to the Inflation Reduction Act, and positive election results in Romania.
• Raymond James downgraded GMS Inc. (GMS) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. With the shares trading well above the only publicly quantified offer price from QXO (QXO), limited incentive for another buyer to put forth a bid well above where shares currently trade, and the unlikelihood of QXO to raise its offer even in the event of an over-the-top bid, GMS’s risk/reward is more balanced, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded WEC Energy (WEC) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $100, down from $106. The firm cites the stock’s outperformance over the past 12 months and on a year to date basis for the downgrade.
• Barclays downgraded Omnicom (OMC) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $80, down from $105. The firm came away from the Cannes ad festival last week more bearish than before on the advertising agencies.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Argus initiated coverage of Duolingo (DUOL) with a Buy rating and $575 price target. The firm is positive on the company’s “impressive” record of growth and profitability while noting that its recent results are “trending positively.”
• B. Riley last night initiated coverage of Nextdoor (KIND) with a Neutral rating and $2 price target. With 100M signed-up neighbors globally and coverage of approximately one-third of U.S. households, Nextdoor’s platform connects people to their local neighborhoods and offers a unique play on the advertising opportunity associated with its hyper-local social platform, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Canaccord initiated coverage of Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) with a Buy rating and $330 price target. The company has developed a portfolio of brands that maintain a leading or “podium position” in many of the largest and fastest growing betting markets around the world through a series of acquisitions, the analyst says.
• H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of CoreWeave (CRWV) with a Neutral rating and no price target. The firm believes the stock “may need a minute to breathe after a five-fold breakout versus a period-comp 25% Nasdaq rise.”
• DA Davidson initiated coverage of ServiceNow (NOW) with a Buy rating and $1,150 price target. ServiceNow has been a market leading business automation provider for “over two decades” and is now in the early stages of disrupting the CRM market, which is undergoing “a once in a generation shift due to AI,” the analyst tells investors.