Today's most important upgrades

BofA Securities and RBC Capital upgraded Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) after the company announced its CEO Lance Fritz would step down this year amid pressure from investor Soroban Capital Partners. As a result, the stock jumped more than 11% intra-day today.

BofA upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $241.00 (from $218.00). Meanwhile, RBC upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform with a price target of $210.00 (from $191.00).

Soroban, which owns about $1.6 billion stake in Union Pacific, published a letter on Sunday expressing "displeasure with years of persistent operating underperformance" and its belief that "current management is not capable of driving strong operating performance." Soroban urged the company to consider its former COO Jim Vena for the role.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WTW) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $290.00.

According to the firm, Willis Towers Watson has shown strong progress on turnaround initiatives to date, and they see a material improvement in fundamentals coinciding with abating tailwinds for more concentrated P&C and commission-oriented brokers, particularly in the back half of 2023 and into 2024.

Benchmark upgraded Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $68.00.

The company will report its Q4 earnings results tomorrow after the market close. The firm expects management to conservatively set 2023 guidance and begin the process of rebuilding credibility with investors following last quarter’s shocking Q4 guide down.

The firm stated that they do not expect a significant step down from the consensus estimates. They believe that there is potential for the company's bookings guidance to exceed the overly conservative consensus.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Shell Plc. (NYSE: SHEL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $85.00 from $74.00, noting it believes the company has the highest quality combination of assets in the sector, with a leading global LNG and marketing businesses and a strong chemical presence.

Raymond James upgraded Frontier Group Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: ULCC) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $15.00.

According to the firm, the upgrade reflects an attractive risk-reward and increased conviction about the stock as a result of its fare analysis and industry commentary that shows that seasonality explains the Q1/2023 revenue shortfall vs. the firm's pre-Q4/22 earnings release forecast.

Shares were up more than 2% intra-day today.

Wells Fargo upgraded State Street (NYSE: STT) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its price target to $98.00 from $88.00.

By Davit Kirakosyan

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