Monday's analyst calls: Big pharma upgrade, top 'clean tech' play

(This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Monday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Two of the biggest analyst calls on Monday came within the pharmaceutical and clean energy sectors. UBS raised its rating on Teva Pharmaceutical, citing a strong brand pipeline . Meanwhile, KeyBanc named hydrogen fuel cell stock Bloom Energy a top pick . Shares of Bloom Energy were little changed in the premarket, while Teva rose more than 2%. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. 6:22 a.m. ET: Raymond James double downgrades Graphic Packaging Raymond James downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging , citing price-cost pressures in 2024 that can squeeze the stock's valuation and performance. “Graphic's previously provided preliminary 2024 outlook indicates margin pressure from a price headwind in 2024, and we believe commodity cost increases amid paperboard price declines pose risk to 2024 margins,” wrote analyst Matt Roberts. “Should history rhyme, we expect shares to remain range bound in the near term, similar to the period from 2016-2017 when price-cost headwinds drove margin deterioration and constrained valuation levels.” The analyst double downgraded the consumer packaging stock to market perform from strong buy. In the long term, however, Roberts remains constructive on the company's structural margin improvement. He listed widening cost advantages and a shift from plastic to fiber products as catalysts. — Lisa Kailai Han 6:17 a.m. ET: UBS downgrades Jazz Pharmaceuticals as competitor risks emerge UBS sees risks ahead from competitors for Jazz Pharmaceuticals' sleep portfolio. “The early launch metrics for AVDL's Lumryz show that JAZZ is likely to face direct headwinds in narcolepsy,” wrote analyst Ashwani Verma in a note from Monday. The analyst downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and lowered his price target to $135 from $170, although this updated forecast still implies a potential 11% upside. Verma added that the next logical step for the company will be to focus on improving its business development efforts, although it's unlikely that any such transactions will result in stock upside. — Lisa Kailai Han 6:05 a.m. ET: Morgan Stanley remains overweight Western Digital, underweight Micron Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on Western Digital . Shares of the technology firm, which specializes in NAND data storage, are up nearly 48% in 2023. But analyst Joseph Moore's $52 price target implies 12% further upside for the stock. “Secular demand for NAND remains strong, despite near term pricing pressures. NAND business is also undervalued on a sum-of-the-parts basis,” the analyst wrote. In the same research note, Moore kept his underweight rating on shares of Micron , with his $71.50 price target corresponding to a 7% downside for the semiconductor stock. “While memory pricing is outperforming our expectations, our bigger miscalculation has been an expectation that valuation would be negatively impacted by the period of heavy losses that essentially contradicted every element of the bull case,” the analyst wrote. — Lisa Kailai Han 5:52 a.m. ET: Deutsche Bank names Saia a top pick Deutsche Bank named Saia one of its top picks on Sunday and reiterated its buy rating and $600 price target on the trucking company. The stock has already soared more than 100% this year, but analyst Amit Mehrotra thinks it could gain another 41% due to the company's “remarkably resilient” earnings power. “What is even more remarkable about SAIA is that we're projecting the company to grow EPS by 60% in 2024 and 2025,” the analyst wrote, noting that this is the second-best growth rate within its group of peers. “This growth potential, combined with earnings resiliency, have been key considerations of our steadfast bullish stance on SAIA and why it continues to be our top pick in 2024.” Specifically, market data shows that Saia's perceived costs are currently under the perceived value of its services — meaning that there's room for much higher prices, Mehrotra added. — Lisa Kailai Han 5:45 a.m. ET: KeyBanc names Bloom Energy a top pick KeyBanc Analyst Sangita Jain named Bloom Energy a top “clean tech” play, raising her price target on the stock to $20 from $19. The new target implies upside of 53%. “Rising demand for clean power from data centers, the trend toward industrial reshoring, and delayed interconnections of renewables all work in favor of BE as a provider of baseload, behind the meter, onsite clean power,” Jain wrote. “We believe that in an environment of elevated power prices, and time to power considerations, BE is well positioned to deliver on the targeted 30-35% top-line CAGR through 2031,” the analyst added. “BE's fuel cells have proven commercial viability, come with an IP moat, and the co. is expected to be op. margin positive in '23.” Bloom Energy shares have struggled this year, losing 30.1%. BE YTD mountain BE in 2023 — Fred Imbert 5:45 a.m. ET: UBS upgrades Teva Pharmaceutical on strong brand pipeline UBS sees potential in Teva Pharmaceutical's upcoming pipeline of products. The bank upgraded the stock to buy from neutral in a Monday note and lifted its price target to $13 from $11. This updated forecast implies a 36% upside from the stock's $9.55 close on Friday. “While the story in the past several years has been focused on Revenue/EBITDA stabilization, going forward we anticipate attention shifting to attractive brand assets, where investors get to participate in launch acceleration and pipeline de-risking catalysts,” wrote analyst Ashwani Verma. “Although sell-side expectations have come up on some brands/pipeline products, we believe that the stock is not pricing in brand transition.” Specifically, the analyst thinks that key brands such as Austedo, Uzedy and Ajovy will benefit as the company shifts its focus toward growth engine delivery. The outcomes of two key clinical trials, expected in the second half of 2024, are also due to boost the company's brand pipeline. — Lisa Kailai Han