7 analyst picks: Advance Auto Parts & Vulcan Materials upgraded to Buy | Pro Recap

By Davit Kirakosyan

Investing.com — Here is your daily Pro Recap of the biggest analyst picks you may have missed today.

Barclays upgraded Advance Auto Parts, but still cautious about fundamentals

Barclays upgraded Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:) to Equalweight from Underweight with a price target of $129.00 (from $140.00) following the stock’s “significant underperformance” so far in 2023.

Barclays believes the more than 18% fall in the company’s share price this year has skewed the risk/reward, but noted it remains cautious about the fundamentals.

The firm believes the core issue at Advance Auto Parts remains its lower sales productivity, which also “limits the margin story.”

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Vulcan Materials upgraded to Buy, reaches a temporary pact with Cemex

Goldman Sachs upgraded Vulcan Materials (NYSE:) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $212.00 from $188.00. Shares are up more than 1% pre-market today.

Last week, Cemex (BMV:) (NYSE:) and Vulcan agreed on a temporary pact allowing Cemex to use Vulcan’s seized port facilities in Punta Venado, Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This agreement may help to resolve a recent legal battle that has caused tensions between the U.S. and Mexico.

Earlier in March, Cemex forcefully entered Vulcan’s port facilities with the assistance of armed Mexican police and military, even though there was no contract permitting Cemex’s use of the facilities. Although there was a previous agreement for Cemex to lease part of Vulcan’s property, it had expired on December 31, 2022, without renewal. Instead of seeking a mutually agreeable solution, Cemex officers threatened to involve the Mexican government and its armed forces to use the facilities.

Martin Marietta Materials upgraded at Goldman

Goldman Sachs upgraded Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $428.00 from $420.00.

The company will report its Q1/23 earnings results on May 2. Consensus estimates stand at $1 for EPS and $1.24 billion for revenues.

Several firms start coverage on Atlas Energy Solutions

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:) was initiated at several firms, including Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating and a price target of $22.00, Piper Sandler with an Overweight rating and a price target of $28.00, Barclays with an Overweight rating and a price target of $25.00, and RBC Capital with an Outperform rating and a price target of $25.00.

The company’s shares are down more than 5% since its last month’s IPO price of $18.

3 more upgrades

Raymond James upgraded Alaska Air Group (NYSE:) to Strong Buy from Outperform and raised its price target to $68.00 from $60.00.

The company is set to release its Q1/23 earnings results on April 20. Analysts expect the company to report an EPS of ($0.45) and revenue of $2.21B.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Primoris Services (NASDAQ:) to Neutral from Sell and raised its price target to $27.00 from $22.50.

Barclays upgraded US Silica (NYSE:) to Equalweight from Underweight with a price target of $17.00.