Tempus AI initiated, Helios downgraded: 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:

• Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $42, up from $37. With the bank’s net interest income set to trough in Q2 and then inflect higher for a sustained period, there is less reason to single the stock out for underperformance, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• JPMorgan upgraded C.H. Robinson (CHRW) to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $87, up from $76. The company’s execution should continue improving based on process improvements alone with the potential to help Robinson also navigate through the freight cycle more effectively, the analyst says.
• Mizuho upgraded Regency Centers (REG) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $67, up from $61. The analyst sees a favorable setup for the shopping center real estate investment trusts heading into the Q2 results and views Regency’s risk/reward as favorable.
• Scotiabank upgraded SL Green Realty (SLG) to Sector Perform from Underperform with a price target of $53, up from $43. Midtown New York City has been a more active office market than others in the analyst’s coverage and the firm expects continued leasing progress will support valuation and sentiment on the stock, but a valuation premium to office REIT peers and higher leverage keeps the firm from being more positive on the stock.
• HSBC upgraded Corning (GLW) to Hold from Reduce with a $37 price target.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• KeyBanc downgraded Helios Technologies (HLIO) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target after the company placed its CEO on leave pending an ongoing investigation being conducted by the board with the assistance of outside legal counsel.
• Wolfe Research downgraded Paramount (PARA) to Underperform from Peer Perform with a $10 price target. With David Ellison agreeing to spend about $8.4B for control of Paramount and a merger with Skydance through a $4.8B, all-stock transaction, and a breakup of the company off the table, the investment debate simplifies to whether Paramount can invest profitably in direct-to-consumer and if forecasts are “low enough,” the analyst tells investors.
• Argus downgraded Chewy (CHWY) to Hold from Buy.The stock is up 48% over the past quarter compared to flat results for the Russell 2000 index, and its trading volume and volatility should increase due to a shift in stock ownership.
• H.C. Wainwright downgraded HilleVax (HLVX) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $2, down from $28. The company announced misses across endpoints for the Phase 2B NEST-IN1 infant trial, assessing virus-like particle vaccine candidate HIL-214 in development for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis related to norovirus infection, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Stifel also downgraded HilleVax to Hold from Buy with a price target of $3, down from $34.
• JPMorgan downgraded Werner (WERN) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $32, down from $36. The firm expects the largest part of the company’s business, dedicated trucking, will face increased competition as carriers keep searching for freight and some shippers push for cost savings. UBS also downgraded Werner to Neutral from Buy with a $39 price target.

Top 5 Initiations:

• JPMorgan initiated coverage of Tempus AI (TEM) with an Overweight rating and $42 price target. As a leader in the clinical oncology diagnostics space, Tempus develops and commercializes a portfolio of sequencing-based tests for the detection and management of cancer that serves a $70B total addressable market in its genomics business, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Tempus AI was also initiated at Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, BofA, Needham, and William Blair, among other firms.
• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Equifax (EFX) with an Outperform rating and $275 price target. The firm believes Equifax stands to benefit most from a gradual recovery in mortgage volumes in fiscal 2025, which can allow it to begin increasing capital returns for the first time since the data breach.
• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Monday.com (MNDY) with an Outperform rating and $300 price target. The firm says that as the “growth narrative gets evermore scarce” in software-as-a-service, investors need a product cycle, the ability to take price and enter new buying centers, and do all of that while having robust incremental margins.
• JMP Securities initiated coverage of IAC (IAC) with an Outperform rating and $78 price target. The analyst sees IAC as “materially undervalued” when considering the sum of its parts and “strong track record” of delivering shareholder returns.
• Benchmark initiated coverage of Jumia Technologies (JMIA) with a Buy rating and $14 price target based on a belief that the company is poised to benefit from a demographic transformation set to catalyze multi-year and potentially multi-decade e-commerce growth as a “leading” African e-commerce platform.