Friday's biggest analyst calls of the day include eBay, Expedia, Tyson Foods & more

Published Fri, Apr 24 20209:41 AM EDT

Key Points

Stifel upgraded eBay to buy from hold.
Bernstein downgraded Tyson Foods to market perform from market outperform.
JMP upgraded Expedia to market outperform from market perform.
Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey to neutral from overweight.
Wedbush downgraded Dunkin' Brands to neutral from outperform.
Raymond James downgraded The Travelers Companies to underperform from market perform.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Stifel upgraded eBay to 'buy' from 'hold' Stifel upgraded the online e-commerce website and said it would be a "direct beneficiary" of store closings. "We are upgrading shares of eBay to Buy from Hold. Stay-at-home directives and widespread retail store closures have shifted a substantial portion of consumer spending online. Third party data indicates eCommerce sales have accelerated dramatically beginning in March with strong momentum continuing through April. eBay is a direct beneficiary of the current landscape and we see upside to near-term topline results as competing platforms temporarily prioritize food and household necessities and consumer demand for items desired for work and education in the home inflect higher." Bernstein downgraded Tyson Foods to 'market perform' from 'market outperform' Bernstein downgraded the stock as the company deals with plant closures due to the coronavirus crisis. "We are downgrading Tyson from Outperform to Market-Perform given increased near-term uncertainty around the company's ability to maintain production levels amidst plant closures and worker absenteeism. While we continue to expect African Swine Fever-led upside over the medium term, we believe that it is prudent to downgrade the stock in the interim." JMP upgraded Expedia to 'market outperform' from 'market perform' JMP upgraded the online travel website and said it has a "fortified" balance sheet and is making the right "organizational changes" to succeed as travel begins to "recover." "We are upgrading shares of Expedia to Market Outperform from Market Perform and establishing a $92 price target after the company solidified its balance sheet with a $4B debt and preferred equity raise, established permanent leadership with a consistent strategy, and as we believe travel demand is likely at the trough in April. While Expedia announced preliminary results that were mostly worse than we expected, we are more focused on the company's organizational changes that we expect will lead it to better compete for bookings as travel begins to recover." Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey to 'neutral' from 'overweight' Piper downgraded the stock mainly on valuation after the company posted a first quarter earnings miss. "We got more constructive on Hershey when our two concerns, cocoa costs and valuation, both had reversed to be attractive. However, while cocoa costs still look favorable, valuation now is less compelling. While we expect top-line trends to be relatively stable, we expect more upside for meal-oriented portfolios, as we expect some sustainable shifts from restaurants, which drives relatively little benefit to Hershey. We lower our 2020E EPS from $6.16 to $5.94, largely on COVID-19 headwinds, but maintain our 2021E EPS of $6.55 and our $138 target and lower our rating to Neutral." Wedbush downgraded Dunkin' Brands to 'neutral' from 'outperform' Wedbush downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. "We believe Dunkin's current valuation appropriately incorporates the balance of potential risks from its relative sensitivity to an extended economic downturn, on the one hand, and its relative strength to withstand near-term headwinds, on the other. Therefore, we lower our rating to NEUTRAL from OUTPERFORM. Raymond James downgraded The Travelers Companies to 'underperform' from 'market perform' Raymond James downgraded Travelers and said it expects coronavirus "headwinds" in many parts of the insurance company's business. "The company reported 1Q20 results that included an $86 million pre-tax charge or ~1.2 points on the combined ratio related to COVID-19. The charges reflect 1) a negative impact to earned premiums due to a reduction in audit premiums receivable, 2) increased G & A expenses resulting from a bad debt provision for billing relief, and 3) modestly higher claims and claims adjustments expenses in certain lines of business. Management singled out several lines of business that could experience continued headwinds from COVID-19 including Workers' Comp.(WC), Management Liability/Directors & Officers, Surety, and Business Interruption. In WC, a number of states have enacted changes to expand coverage under a presumption of compensability (i.e., conclusively presume frontline workers who contract COVID-19 did so at work)."