Kohl's, Visa Downgrades Among Today's Top Calls On Wall Street
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Research analysts at Wall Street's largest banks issue recommendations on whether a stock should be bought, held, or sold. Our team of financial market experts scours hundreds of research notes daily to uncover the best trading ideas. Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
Sell Kohl's
UBS analyst Jay Sole downgraded Kohl's (KSS) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $38, down from $66. Rising inflation is the main reason cited for the downgrade. Inflation has become a big theme over the past two months which warrants a thesis change on Kohl's, Sole tells investors in a research note.
The analyst believes inflation, along with the combined impact of lapping fiscal stimulus, a likely industry-wide inventory build, and rising interest rates will pressure the company's sales and margins much more than the market expects. He thinks earnings misses will "catalyze a down stock move" for Kohl's.
Shortened Cash-To-Card Conversion Runway
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev downgraded Visa (V) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $220, down from $255. COVID-19 has "dramatically and likely permanently" shortened the cash-to-card conversion runway, which has driven 45% of Visa's revenue growth and has historically been the single most important driver of revenue growth, Dolev tells investors in a research note.
The analyst is also concerned that "secular challenges from new competitors will increasingly nibble" at Visa's volumes. Those include the advent of account-to-account payment companies like Plaid, real-time payments initiatives like FedNow, as well as mega-trends like buy-now-pay-later and DeFi, explains Dolev.
AT&T Downside Risks 'More Limited'
Wells Fargo analyst Eric Luebchow upgraded AT&T (T) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $27, up from $26. With the shares down 12% in 2021, the "downside risks are more limited," Luebchow tells investors in a research note. The analyst expects "sustained strength" in AT&T's core wireless business that should deliver "industry-leading" service revenue growth in 2022.
He sees a pathway for the company's remaining pieces to deliver 5% earnings growth and over 10% free cash flow growth through 2025. The remaining AT&T is trading at a 1-2 times EBITDA discount to Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) despite a prospective yield of 6% that "should be securely covered," contends Luebchow.
'Global Media Powerhouse'
BofA analyst Jessica Relf Ehrlich upgraded Discovery (DISCA) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $45, up from $34. The merger with WarnerMedia has the potential to create a "global media powerhouse" driven by creative and content leadership, Relf Ehrlich tells investors in a research note.
The analyst believes Warner Bros. Discovery has the potential to be the "most dynamic global media company" and that Discovery's risk/reward profile is "extremely favorable" at current share levels. She sees potential for significant revenue and cost synergies.
Planet Labs
Piper Sandler analyst Weston Twigg initiated coverage of Planet Labs (PL) with an Overweight rating and $10 price target. The company is leading the "Digitization of Everything via its unique earth imagery data," Twigg tells investors in a research note.
Planet Labs has a constellation of over 200 satellites, capturing every point of land on earth daily, the analyst says. He believes the company is an "early segment leader, with a complete constellation and proprietary data platform, providing it with significant competitive advantage."
Meanwhile, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives initiated coverage of Planet Labs with an Outperform rating and $10 price target. Planet's unique product offering places the company in a great position to establish market share in multi-trillion-dollar global economic shifts, digital transformation, and sustainability transformation, Ives tells investors in a research note.
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