6 big analyst picks: Asana stock blasts higher | Pro Recap

By Davit Kirakosyan

Investing.com -- Here is your daily Pro Recap of the biggest positive analyst moves you may have missed on InvestingPro. Start your free 7-day trial to get this news first.

Asana upgraded to buy, shares surge following Q4 beat & buyback announcement

Analysts weighed in positively after Asana (NYSE:ASAN) shares jumped more than 18% yesterday on better-than-expected Q4 EPS/revenues, as well as CEO Dustin Moskovitz's stated plans to enter a trading plan to buy up to 30 million company shares.

DA Davidson upgraded Asana to Buy from Neutral on the news and raised its price target to $21.00 from $18.00.

Piper Sandler maintained its Neutral rating on the company, but raised its price target on the stock to $24 from $13 and bumped up revenue estimates on "better-than-feared" results and outlook, adding that Moskovitz's planned purchase suggests "the founder remains committed and has an appetite to increase his ownership stake by up to another 12%."

Several other analysts also raised their price targets on Asana on the news. Shares were recently trading at $21.31 in the premarket.

Roblox upgraded at Jefferies

Jefferies upgraded Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $48.00 from $30.00 on a favorable narrative (top-line growth with margin inflection and an advertising option) supported by strong net bookings expansion and underlying user metrics.

The firm is comfortable Roblox will grow despite near-term competitor and market pressures with its regular rollouts of new user and creator features.

Shares rose nearly 3% premarket today.

Chewy started with a buy rating at Roth/MKM

Roth/MKM initiated coverage on Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) with a Buy rating and a price target of $52.00.

The firm's optimistic outlook is based on three key factors: Firstly, the company’s model benefits from highly predictable revenue streams that make it easier to manage expenses, with built-in automation benefits helping to steadily improve EBITDA margin expansion. Secondly, there is a continued opportunity within the expanding $60B+ pet food and consumables category, which is further strengthened by the addition of higher-margin complementary products. Lastly, the firm highlighted Chewy’s self-funded growth through ample cash generation and a debt-free balance sheet to date.

3 more upgrades

Citi upgraded Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $90.00 from $70.0, noting it believes the company deserves to trade above the peer group and expects multiple to re-rate higher on more consistent beat-and-raise story, Cologuard trajectory, and profitability outlook.

Piper Sandler upgraded Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $145.00 from $135.00 given the strong continued commentary on the large joint market and beatable revenue guidance for fiscal 2023.

“We anticipate this momentum will carry into ’24 as well, which could lead to earnings upside next year, too, pushing the stock even higher from here,” the firm said.

Barclays upgraded United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) to Overweight from Equalweight and raised its price target to $80.00 from $52.00.