Chevron upgraded to Buy
Mizuho Securities upgraded Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $209.00 from $205.00, noting it is still constructive on exploration and production firms within the Oil & Gas sector.
The U.S. Oil & Gas sector has performed better than the S&P 500 by around 13% since June 25. While higher commodity prices and an improving macroeconomic outlook have certainly played a role, Mizuho mentioned that there are also secular tailwinds in the Energy sector that bolster their confidence in longer-term cash generation. “Near-term margins for Refiners are strong, and our 3Q23 EBITDA estimates are ~59% higher than current consensus,” added the firm.
Coherent upgraded to Buy following disappointing guidance
Rosenblatt upgraded Coherent (NYSE:COHR) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $45.00 (from $55.00).
Shares plunged nearly 30% yesterday after the company reported its Q4 results, and provided a weaker-than-expected guidance.
Rosenblatt mentioned they believed that Coherent stands to gain in the long run from AI networking. However, they assessed that near-term numbers had to go meaningfully lower due to a substantial reduction in Telecom inventory and macro weakness in industrial Lasers.
“We find the 800G Datacom orders to be promising, and we are also upbeat on COHR’s active optical cable opportunity for shorter-distance connections in AI Data Centers, but there are still questions of timing.”
Two more upgrades
JPMorgan upgraded Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $264.00 from $251.00.
JPMorgan maintained a neutral stance on the company’s story since the announcement of the DoublePoint merger in May 2021. However, they now observe a better risk-reward profile due to the combination of strong and improving well productivity, a shift towards longer laterals, and favorable cost trends.
“We think the company can deliver nearly 5% oil growth at flat capex in 2024 with potential upside to our forecasts if the company can sustain productivity at 2023 levels.”
Alcon (NYSE:ALC) shares gained more than 3% pre-market today after JPMorgan upgraded the company to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $89.30 from $79.80.
Earlier this week, the company reported its Q2 results, with EPS and revenues coming in better than the consensus estimates.
