6 analyst picks of the day: Walmart stock pops, Fluence upped to Buy

By Davit Kirakosyan

-- Here is Member Centeryour daily Pro Recap of the biggest analyst picks you may have missed since yesterday. Start your free 7-day trial of InvestingPro to get this news first.

Walmart gets an Evercore upgrade

Walmart (NYSE:) was on the rise in premarket after Evercore upped the mega-retailer to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $160, up from the prior $145.

The firm sees the potential for traffic and margins to expand over the next two years, a result of the “management’s diligent work to pivot the business to omnichannel, divest non-core assets, and invest in productivity.”

“The traffic turn appears to be building, and with consumers across the demographic spectrum making wallet allocation choices after several years of record nominal retail spending, Walmart is poised to regain share,” Evercore analysts wrote in an upgrade note.

WMT shares were recently up 1.6% in premarket trading Thursday.

Fluence Energy upgraded at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs upgraded (NASDAQ:) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $29.00 from $25.00, driven by (1) better visibility on an improving gross margin trajectory and ability to achieve adjusted EBITDA break-even, (2) upside from IRA battery production tax credits, and (3) continued execution on high growth in the energy storage market.

Shares are up more than 7% premarket today.

Erasca initiated at Buy, shares surge

Mizuho Securities initiated coverage on (NASDAQ:) with a Buy rating and a price target of $9.00, noting it likes the big pipeline of targeted drug candidates that can participate in the multi-billion market of precision drugs, and the willingness to acquire novel candidates such as the recent deal to add naporafenib to the pipeline.

Although the shares have struggled this year due to the impact of the dilution from naporafenib deal, the firm finds the pipeline, potential markets, upcoming data points, and long cash runway to be highly attractive factors.

Shares rose 8% yesterday and are trading more than 5% higher premarket today.

Shoals Technologies upgraded to Neutral on a more balanced risk-reward

Goldman Sachs upgraded Shoals Technologies (NASDAQ:) to Neutral from Sell and raised its price target to $22.00 from $20.00.

According to the firm, its previous Sell thesis was predicated on downside risks to consensus revenue/EPS expectations. Following Q4/22 results, it would appear consensus expectations and valuation have both come down significantly, and the firm sees a more balanced risk-reward profile now warranting a more Neutral stance on the stock.

2 more upgrades

JPMorgan upgraded Philip Morris International (NYSE:) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $116.00 from $109.00.

Canaccord Genuity upgraded (NYSE:) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $67.00.

Senad Karaahmetovic contributed to this report.

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