Streetbeat News

Analyst Ratings

AEL

BAM

BNRE

Truist Securities analyst Mark Hughes has downgraded American Equity Investment Life Holding Co (AEL) to Hold from Buy, with an increased price target of $55. Hughes expects AEL's acquisition by Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd (BNRE) to be completed at the current offer price of ~$4.3 billion. AEL shareholders will receive $55.00 per AEL share, consisting of $38.85 in cash and 0.49707 of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (BAM) shares. Hughes estimates EPS of $6.30 in 2023 and $6.70 in 2024.

Portfolio Pulse from Lekha Gupta

July 14, 2023 | 6:34 pm

AMZN

SHOP

Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt discussed the potential partnership between Amazon and Shopify, focusing on the strategic importance of the grocery category for Amazon. Shopify recently divested its logistics business to Flexport, shifting away from in-house logistics solutions. The terms of a potential deal between Amazon and Shopify remain uncertain. Shopify's POS product and the expansion of Shop Pay to non-Shopify merchants bring it into competition with payments/fintech companies like PayPal. The growth of social commerce, particularly through TikTok, presents an exciting opportunity.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

July 14, 2023 | 6:33 pm

PDD

A significant bullish stance has been taken on PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD) by a large investor or institution, as indicated by a large position in the company's options. The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 54% bullish and 45% bearish. The whales have been targeting a price range from $50.0 to $100.0 for PDD Holdings over the last 3 months. The price of PDD is currently down -2.06% at $79.26.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:32 pm

LULU

A significant investor has taken a bearish stance on Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU), with 60% of recent trades being bearish. The price target for LULU over the last 3 months has been between $330.0 and $460.0. Morgan Stanley, Telsey Advisory Group, and Piper Sandler have all downgraded their ratings on LULU, with price targets of $424, $430, and $450 respectively. The current price of LULU is $379.89, up 0.09%.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:32 pm

CRC

XOM

Mizuho analyst Nitin Kumar reiterated a Buy rating on California Resources Corporation (CRC), raising the price target to $60 from $52. The focus of CRC's 2Q call is expected to be on its first Carbon capture and storage project, following Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Denbury. Investors are also expected to focus on the progress of the Carbon TerraVault (CTV) projects under CRC's Carbon Management Business (CMB). Despite a slowdown in permitting new oil wells in California, CRC is focusing on permits already in hand for 2023/1H24. The company also expects to benefit from gas realizations at the SoCal Border hub.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

July 14, 2023 | 6:31 pm

MRO

Benchmark analyst Subash Chandra has reiterated a Buy rating on Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), but lowered the price target to $28 from $32 due to declining commodity prices. The analyst expects MRO to generate solid FCF in Q2 2023, with strong production in Delaware. However, the EPS estimate for Q2 has been reduced to $0.44 from $0.55, and the EBITDA forecast has been lowered to $942 million from $978 million due to unfavorable commodity prices. Equity income from Equatorial Guinea is expected to be lower than guidance due to declining oil and LNG prices. MRO shares are currently trading lower by 3.6% to $24.20.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

July 14, 2023 | 6:29 pm

XOM

A significant bearish stance has been taken on Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) by a large investor or institution, as indicated by a large position in the company's options. The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 33% bullish and 66% bearish. The whales have been targeting a price range from $77.5 to $145.0 for Exxon Mobil over the last 3 months. The price of XOM is currently down -3.32% at $101.06.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:17 pm

CSCO

A significant bearish stance has been taken on Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) as indicated by unusual options activity. The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 43% bullish and 56% bearish. The whales have been targeting a price range from $35.0 to $57.5 for Cisco Systems over the last 3 months. Citigroup and B of A Securities have both downgraded their action to Neutral with price targets of $54 and $56 respectively.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:17 pm

SNOW

A significant bearish stance has been taken on Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) by a large investor or institution, as indicated by unusual options activity. The sentiment among these big-money traders is 17% bullish and 82% bearish. The targeted price range for Snowflake over the last 3 months is $155.0 to $210.0. Several financial institutions have maintained or downgraded their ratings on Snowflake, with price targets ranging from $180 to $215.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:03 pm

SPOT

A significant amount of unusual options activity has been observed for Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT), with a majority of investors taking a bearish stance. Of the 35 unusual trades detected, 77% were bearish and 22% bullish. The total amount for puts was $905,620 and for calls was $758,390. Whales have been targeting a price range from $125.0 to $240.0 for Spotify over the last 3 months. Current price of SPOT is up 1.05% at $172.89. Analysts from Truist Securities, Goldman Sachs, and Raymond James maintain their ratings while Morgan Stanley downgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $170.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

July 14, 2023 | 6:03 pm