Today's most important upgrades

© Reuters.

By Davit Kirakosyan

UBS upgraded Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $163.00 from $157.00 as it believes the recent stock underperformance is “unwarranted.”

P&G has been the worst-performing stock across the firm’s HPC coverage universe year-to-date, which is partially due to the unwind in the group but also concerns around the ability of P&G to deliver outsized EPS growth/positive revisions looking ahead. UBS views concerns on the latter as misplaced and believes an earnings inflection is on the horizon looking out to 2024.

The firm thinks P&G can deliver sustained high-single-digits EPS growth on a multi-year basis, driven by “strong top-line growth and a balanced approach towards reinvestment/flow-through.”

Cowen upgraded Permian Resources Corp (NYSE:PR) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $15.00.

According to Cowen, the company stands out as differentiated, offering a mix of oil growth, FCF and ROC alongside a well-aligned management team as evidenced by co-CEOs owning approximately 6% of the equity combined.

The company reported its Q4 results last week, with revenues coming in better than the consensus estimates, while EPS missed expectations.

Shares were trading more than 3% higher intra-day today.

UBS upgraded Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $116 from $106, expecting the company to generate a 7.6% organic growth CAGR over 2022-2026, with smoke-free reaching 45% of group sales by 2025.

Given the structural long-term resilience of cigarette sales, the material upside to sales and profits from IQOS, SWMA, and the defense of its share leadership in heated tobacco, UBS views the company as best positioned among its peers.

Deutsche Bank upgraded Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $20.00.

“Coupang has stepped ahead of the competition again in 2022. 4Q, for example, was a weak period for online, with market growth of 7.5% - and the majority of that growth coming from travel, yet Coupang was able to grow at 21%, with growth across categories,” said the firm.

Shares plunged more than 7% intra-day today following the company’s reported mixed Q4 results.

Oppenheimer upgraded Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR) to Outperform from Perform. Shares surged more than 7% intra-day today after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 results.

CFRA upgraded Armstrong World Industries Inc (NYSE:AWI) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $84.00.

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