The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.
 Top Upgrades:

Benchmark upgraded Playstudios (MYPS) to Speculative Buy from Hold with a $2 price target after the company's results "demonstrated operating resilience and strategic focus despite topline pressure" in Q1. More bullish on the stock, Hovde Group upgraded Lakeland Financial(LKFN) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $72 price target. The firm also upgraded HBT Financial (HBT), First Savings (FSFG), Bank First (BFC) to Outperform from Market Perform. Northcoast upgraded Scansource (SCSC) to Buy from Neutral with a $42 price target as the firm gets more bullish on the name. Susquehanna upgraded CN (CNI) to Positive from Neutral and raised the firm's price target of $120 from $113.

Top Downgrades:

Argus downgraded Comcast (CMCSA) to Hold from Buy with no price target. The company is facing a tough market for broadband subscribers - its key connectivity business - from increasingly aggressive fixed wireless and fiber broadband telecom competitors, the firm tells investors in a research note. Monness Crespi downgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Neutral from Buy and removed the firm's price target ahead of the company's Q1 report. The firm is concerned that Q1 is "likely to be light" and come with "tepid" quarter-to-date revenue results and Q2 guidance. Northcoast downgraded McDonald's(MCD) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The firm is concerned that McDonald's converting sales to earnings "will stall" as consumers seek value while costs remain a headwind. UBS downgraded Skechers (SKX) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $63, down from $64. Skechers has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by 3G Capital, under which will pay $63.00 per share in cash for all of Skechers' outstanding shares, the firm notes. TD Cowen downgraded Church & Dwight(CHD) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $100, down from $117. As demonstrated by its significant 2025 guidance reduction, Church & Dwight's business model and categories have not maintained the above-peer growth rate expected, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top Initiations:

BMO Capital initiated coverage of Shopify (SHOP) with an Outperform rating and $120 price target. The company has achieved better growth and operating leverage in recent quarters, since divesting logistics in 2023, the firm tells investors in a research note. BMO Capital initiated coverage of Vital Farms (VITL) with an Outperform rating and $44 price target, which implies 23% upside from the current share price. Vital is a "high-growth" branded food company, focused on production, marketing, and distribution of pasture-raised eggs and butter, the firm notes. Evercore ISI resumed coverage of Diamondback Energy(FANG) with an Outperform rating and $165 price target. The company elected to drop activity in reaction to shifts in the external environment as it has a "keen sense of wellhead economics but also its own intrinsic value and manages accordingly," the firm tells investors in a research note Needham initiated coverage of Broadridge (BR) with a Buy rating and $300 price target. The firm believes the company's product suite is "extensive, helping customers across the globe process trades and communicate with investors across asset classes." Benchmark initiated coverage of Canaan (CAN) with a Buy rating and $3 price target. Canaan's vertically integrated approach differentiates it within the bitcoin mining space, while positioning it to capitalize on both chip and rig sales and proprietary mining revenues, says the firm, which believes the company's ADRs are "very inexpensive."