Unilever price target raised to 3,900 GBp from 3,800 GBp at Jefferies
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Snap downgraded, Leidos upgraded: 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 5 Upgrades: Jefferies upgraded Leidos (LDOS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $205, up from $185. The firm cites the potential for Leidos to benefit from Department of Defense priorities such as FAA, Maritime, and Golden Dome as well as the company's position as an "AI beneficiary" and upside from valuing Defense Systems on a Defense Tech multiple. Wells Fargo upgraded Incyte (INCY) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $89, up from $67. The firm believes the company's Phase 1 update for myelofibrosis in Q4 will be positive. Baird upgraded (MNDY) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $310, up from $280. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade following the recent pullback. Stephens upgraded BellRing Brands (BRBR) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $50, down from $68, after the company posted Q3 sales and EBITDA ahead of expectations. Wells Fargo upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) to Overweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $460. The firm views the pullback in the shares as providing a good entry point. Top 5 Downgrades: Citizens JMP downgraded Snap (SNAP) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target following the Q2 report. Snap's advertising revenue grew just 4% year-over-year in the quarter, suggesting a loss of market share to other scaled ad platforms, the firm tells investors in a research note. UBS downgraded Gartner (IT) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $270, down from $480. The firm cites the company's contract value growth for the downgrade. Jefferies downgraded CACI (CACI) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $535, down from $570. The firm forecasts 5% revenue growth for FY26, decelerating sharply from 9% organic growth in FY25, with further deceleration risk on EITaaS. Piper Sandler double downgraded Kemper (KMPR) to Underweight from Overweight with a price target of $50, down from $75. The company's Q2 results were below expectations as policy-in-force growth for the private passenger auto business decelerated along with a material unfavorable reserve development in its commercial insurance business, the firm tells investors in a research note. Canaccord downgraded Vivid Seats (SEAT) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $23, down from $80. The firm cites estimates meaningfully and downgraded the shares citing Vivid's competitive pressure and limited near-term catalysts. Top 5 Initiations: Goldman Sachs reinstated coverage of Shift4 Payments (FOUR) with a Buy rating and $104 price target, which offers 20% upside, following the close of the Global Blue acquisition. The firm views Shift4 as a top growth story and is constructive on the company's approach to acquisitions. Wells Fargo resumed coverage of Alcon (ALC) with an Equal Weight rating and $93 price target. The firm notes that the cataract market was likely weak in Q2 and potential growth acceleration from new product cycle may take longer to materialize. Raymond James initiated coverage of Palvella Therapeutics (PVLA) with an Outperform rating and $54 price target. Given the validated activity of rapamycin, proof-of-concept data in Phase 2, and the high unmet need and patient demand as seen in the over-enrolled SELVA Phase 3 study, QTORIN rapamycin has the potential for blockbuster launch in microcystic lymphatic malformations, with a second potential blockbuster in cutaneous venous malformations, the firm argues. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Indivior (INDV) with a Buy rating and $27 price target. The firm sees a favorable risk/reward at current share levels, saying the durability of Sublocade revenue in the growing long-acting injectable market for opioid use disorder is underappreciated. Leerink initiated coverage of Xilio Therapeutics (XLO) with an Outperform rating and $72 price target. The firm believes Xilio is among the industry leaders of developing protease-masked biologics. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
5 hours ago
- Business Wire
AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Lloyd's Syndicate 3000
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of 'aa-' (Superior) of Lloyd's Syndicate 3000 (Syndicate 3000) (United Kingdom). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings of Syndicate 3000 reflect the balance sheet strength of the Lloyd's market, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as the market's strong operating performance, very favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The Lloyd's market rating is the floor for all policies written at Lloyd's, reflecting the Lloyd's chain of security and, in particular, the role of the Central Fund, which partially mutualises capital at the market level. Markel Group Inc. (Markel) is the ultimate parent company of Lloyd's Syndicate 3000's managing agent, Markel Syndicate Management Limited, and of its corporate member, Markel Capital Limited. Syndicate 3000 is important to Markel as its main underwriting centre for marine, professional and financial lines written in the London market. For the 2025 year of account, Markel increased the syndicate's capacity to GBP 860.9 million from GBP 736.0 million. The technical performance of Syndicate 3000 has been weaker than that of the overall Lloyd's market in recent years, with a five-year average combined ratio of 98.2% (2020-2024), compared with 92.0% for the Lloyd's market. However, the syndicate's underwriting profitability has improved in 2023 and 2024, translating into combined ratios of 88.4% and 80.5%, respectively. Lloyd's is expected to report strong operating performance across the underwriting cycle, taking into account potential volatility due to its catastrophe exposure. The business profile of all syndicates is inextricably linked to that of Lloyd's, which has an excellent position in the global general insurance and reinsurance markets. The collective size of the Lloyd's market allows Syndicate 3000 to compete under the Lloyd's brand with international groups. Syndicate 3000 writes a diversified portfolio by geography and line of business with gross written premium of GBP 785.5 million in 2024. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Is Trading Up Today
What Happened? Shares of tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) jumped 2.6% in the afternoon session after investor optimism continued as the company received a series of analyst price target upgrades. The move followed the company's strong fourth-quarter earnings report from the prior week. On July 30th, the technology giant posted revenue of $76.4 billion and earnings per share of $3.65, which surpassed analysts' estimates. The growth was powered by a significant jump in its Azure cloud business, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence. Microsoft also announced plans for a record $30 billion in capital spending for the first quarter, signaling a commitment to expanding its AI infrastructure. In response to the strong performance and outlook, several analysts, including those at Truist, UBS, and Jefferies, increased their price targets for the stock. Also, a surprisingly weak July jobs report fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates to support the economy. Data released on Friday showed the U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, significantly below forecasts, with downward revisions to previous months compounding concerns of a slowdown. This weaker-than-expected economic data is paradoxically lifting investor spirits. The logic follows a 'bad news is good news' narrative, where a faltering labor market could compel the Federal Reserve to act sooner to stimulate the economy. Following the report, the probability of an interest rate cut at the Fed's September meeting surged, with the CME FedWatch tool indicating traders now see an 85% chance. Lower interest rates generally reduce borrowing costs for companies and consumers, which can encourage spending and investment, thereby boosting stock prices. The rally comes after a sharp sell-off last week driven by the same jobs data and new tariff announcements. After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $534.35, up 2% from previous close. Is now the time to buy Microsoft? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. What Is The Market Telling Us Microsoft's shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock gained 4.5% on the news that the company reported impressive fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, fueled by significant growth in its cloud and artificial intelligence divisions. The tech giant's Intelligent Cloud segment saw revenue increase by 26% to $29.8 billion, with its Azure cloud platform leading the charge. Management highlighted strong customer adoption of AI-powered services and forecasted record spending to further build out its AI infrastructure. Microsoft revealed that Azure and its associated cloud services brought in over $75 billion in the past fiscal year, marking a 34% increase from the previous year. In a clear indication of its commitment to AI, Microsoft announced plans to invest over $30 billion in capital expenditure in the next quarter alone to enhance its AI infrastructure. Microsoft is up 27.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $534.35 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Microsoft's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,505. Unless you've been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story. Sign in to access your portfolio
