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 Fly.

Top Upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Nike (NKE) to Outperform from Perform with a price target of $120, up from $110. Nike over the past several quarters has “struggled significantly amid a confluence of unfavorable external and internal hindrances,” which have weighed meaningfully upon sales growth and profit expansion, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $62, up from $49.50 as part of a broader research note on U.S. Metals & Mining names. Global decarbonization and electrification trends, rising geopolitical tensions testing legacy supply chains and increasingly challenging conditions to develop new supply continue to underpin a positive outlook for the mining sector in the coming years.

• RBC Capital upgraded Outset Medical (OM) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $6, up from $5. Outset is trading at a deep discount to its historical averages and shares are down 33% this year, the analyst noted.

• DA Davidson upgraded Prestige Consumer (PBH) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $93, up from $65. After having met with management, the firm believes the company can make their guidance and that the Clear Eyes supply chain issues are temporary.

• Craig-Hallum upgraded Penn Entertainment (PENN) to Buy from Hold with a $30 price target. The firm, which notes it has been critical of the company’s capital allocation and “overpromising/underdelivering in Interactive,” adds that it has “always argued there were highly valuable assets and significant stock upside potential” and it now sees recent activist involvement and M&A rumors providing a floor on valuation.

Top Downgrades:

• JPMorgan downgraded CME Group (CME) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $187, down from $206. FMX is entering the U.S. interest rate futures market in late summer and will compete with CME in its flagship futures contracts, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman (NOC) to Market Perform from Outperform with a $477 price target. The firm says the catalysts for investors “will come later.”

• Monness Crespi downgraded Palantir (PLTR) to Sell from Neutral with a $20 price target. The analyst cites the stock’s “gluttonous valuation” for the downgrade.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Vasta Platform (VSTA) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $3, down from $4.50. The analyst believes the Brazil education services sector may stay at lower multiples.

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Top Initiations:

• DA Davidson initiated coverage of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) with a Buy rating and $380 price target. The firm also named the stock to its “Best-of-Breed Bison” list that “attempts to identify the highest quality companies with strong competitive positioning and exceptional financials.”

• Daiwa initiated coverage of GE Vernova (GEV) with an Outperform rating and $201.50 price target. The firm believes the gas turbine combined cycle, or GTCC, industry is “currently in a sweet spot” due to the global availability of low-cost natural gas on a scale, the COP28 endorsement of GTCC in the energy transition, deteriorating grids driving demand back to baseload power and and uptick in GenAI electricity demand, leading it to contend that GTCC will play a more important role in the global energy transition than the market expects.

• Benchmark initiated coverage of Intchains Group (ICG) with a Buy rating and $10 price target. The Web3 infrastructure provider with a niche focus on designing application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC, chips used in blockchain applications, including mining equipment, diversified into crypto mining equipment and expanded its global reach through its acquisition of Goldshell earlier this year, the analyst tells investors.

• Susquehanna initiated coverage of Marriott (MAR) with a Neutral rating and $255 price target as the firm began coverage of five hotel stocks, all with Neutral ratings, citing concerns that macro and geopolitical risks will limit growth into 2025. Valuations for the “Big 3” hotel brands, or Marriott, Hilton (HLT) and Hyatt (H), are “already full,” while Choice Hotels (CHH) and Wyndham Hotels (WH) are “show me stories,” the analyst tells investors.

• Truist initiated coverage of Viking Holdings (VIK) with a Hold rating and $38 price target. Viking is “the cruise sector leader in many categories,” including ROIC, capacity growth, earnings growth, balance sheet, and potential first to return capital to shareholders since COVID, but with shares up about 30% since the IPO, the firm sees more limited upside at the moment despite its above-consensus earnings projections.