Rivian Gets Upgrade from UBS After Recent Plunge
Rivian Upgraded to Buy at UBS
UBS has upgraded electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian Automotive to Buy from Neutral, with a slightly lower price target of $24. This comes after the company experienced a 20% drop last week due to a green convertible note issue worth $1.5 billion. UBS analysts believe that with this capital raise out of the way, the market can refocus on the company’s improving fundamentals. They also anticipate that Rivian won’t need another capital raise until the end of 2025. As a result of the upgrade, Rivian’s shares were up 4.8% to $19.68 in recent trading.
EA Receives Upgrade to Buy at BofA
Electronic Arts (EA) has been upgraded by BofA from Neutral to Buy, with a price target increase of $5 to $150. The analysts at BofA believe that after a challenging period, EA’s risk balance looks appealing again. They expect the company to benefit from the rebranding of its FIFA game to EA SPORTS FC, which could result in upside to current estimates and guidance. Additionally, BofA predicts that EA will experience above-trend growth in the PC/Console game market, leading to upward revisions of earnings estimates in the coming years. EA’s shares were up 3% to $128.35 following the upgrade.
AutoZone Receives Outperform Rating from TD Cowen
TD Cowen has initiated coverage on AutoZone with an Outperform rating and a price target of $2,975. The analysts at TD Cowen are optimistic about AutoZone’s strong revenue growth potential. They project a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% between FY23-FY27, which is higher than trends in the decade prior to the pandemic. TD Cowen also believes that AutoZone’s commercial “do-it-for-me” business, stable comparable-store sales, international expansion, and the expansion of mega hubs will contribute to its growth. Furthermore, the analysts are bullish on AutoZone’s initiatives to improve delivery speed. AutoZone’s shares were up 0.6% to $2,581.36 following the rating initiation.
EXACT Sciences Upgraded to Overweight by Piper
Piper Sandler has upgraded EXACT Sciences from Neutral to Overweight, with a price target of $90, representing a 40% increase from the previous day’s close. The analysts at Piper highlighted the robust year-over-year growth of Cologuard, EXACT Sciences’ at-home colon cancer screening test, which is estimated to be 29% for 2023. Piper also expects EXACT Sciences’ annual revenue to exceed 10% growth for the next five years. They believe the recent slide in the stock price presents a compelling entry point, and there may be upside to their own earnings estimates. Additionally, Piper noted that EXACT Sciences is likely to be minimally impacted by macroeconomic and regulatory factors. EXACT Sciences’ shares were up 3.2% to $66.49 after the upgrade.
Oracle Upgraded to Outperform by Evercore ISI
Evercore ISI has upgraded Oracle from In Line to Outperform and raised its price target to $135. The analysts at Evercore believe that the recent stock pullback presents an attractive entry point for investors. They expect Oracle’s revenue and earnings growth to improve due to higher revenue from its cloud solutions. Evercore also sees potential long-term growth opportunities in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), with estimated growth rates of 50% CAGR from fiscal 2023-2026. They believe the macroeconomic environment is favorable for integrated software suites, which will support steady growth in Oracle’s applications segment and drive revenue from database/OCI as customers transition to the cloud.
In conclusion, Rivian’s recent plunge has led to an upgrade from UBS, while EA, AutoZone, EXACT Sciences, and Oracle have also received positive rating changes from BofA, TD Cowen, Piper Sandler, and Evercore ISI, respectively. These upgrades reflect the analysts’ optimism about the companies’ future prospects and potential for growth.
