Published 31 Aug 2026, 12:40Subscribers had it 20 minutes earlier, at 12:20

US BROKER MOVES: PCG, EIX, SRE downgraded; BW initiated with a Buy at Needham

ByNewsquawk Staff

UPGRADES

Ares Capital (ARCC) upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Compass Point; PT USD 11.75
Chagee Holdings (CHA) upgraded from Neutral to Outperform at Macquarie; PT USD 15.70 (prev. USD 10.20)
Estée Lauder (EL) upgraded from Neutral to Outperform at CICC; PT USD 122.00
Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) upgraded from Neutral to Buy at UBS; PT USD 184.00 (prev. USD 179.00)
XP (XP) upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform at Itaú BBA; PT USD 22.00

DOWNGRADES

Edison International (EIX) downgraded from Outperform to Neutral at Mizuho; PT USD 70.00 (prev. USD 86.00)
HDFC Bank (HDB) downgraded from Buy to Hold at HSBC; PT USD 26.10 (prev. USD 30.80)
Centrus Energy (LEU) downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Presidents Capital Management; PT USD 200.00
MINISO Group (MNSO) downgraded from Buy to Hold at HSBC; PT USD 10.80
PG&E (PCG) downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform at BMO Capital; PT USD 21.00 (prev. USD 28.00)
PG&E (PCG) downgraded from Outperform to Neutral at Mizuho; PT USD 16.00 (prev. USD 21.00)
PG&E (PCG) downgraded from Overweight to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo; PT USD 24.00
Sempra (SRE) downgraded from Outperform to Neutral at Mizuho; PT USD 84.00 (prev. USD 104.00)
Tenax Therapeutics (TENX) downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Guggenheim

INITIATIONS

AirJoule Technologies (AIRJ) initiated Hold at Needham
Braveheart Bio (BRVE) initiated Buy at TD Cowen
Braveheart Bio (BRVE) initiated Buy at Stifel; PT USD 45.00
Braveheart Bio (BRVE) initiated Buy at Goldman Sachs; PT USD 48.00
Braveheart Bio (BRVE) initiated Buy at Jefferies; PT USD 48.00
Braveheart Bio (BRVE) initiated Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; PT USD 40.00
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (BW) initiated Buy at Needham; PT USD 20.00
Deep Fission (FISN) initiated Buy at Maxim Group; PT USD 17.00
Lumentum (LITE) initiated Outperform at Evercore ISI; PT USD 1,100.00
MINISO Group (MNSO) initiated Neutral at Citi; PT USD 11.30
Red Cat Holdings (RCAT) initiated Outperform at Evercore ISI
Scribe Therapeutics (SCTX) initiated Buy at H.C. Wainwright; PT USD 60.00
Smith & Nephew (SNN) initiated Neutral at BTIG
Ticketplus (TP) initiated Buy at Roth/MKM; PT USD 14.00

Subscribers had this at 12:20. Published here 12:40.

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Context

The signal in this roundup is the cluster rather than any single call: California utilities (PCG, EIX, SRE) have been downgraded across multiple houses simultaneously, with PCG cut at three separate shops and target prices lowered materially. Synchronised multi-broker downgrades of this kind in the California utility complex have historically followed episodes that raise the perceived wildfire liability or regulatory cost burden across the whole group, and they tend to mark the point where the sell side capitulates to a re-rating that has already occurred rather than driving a fresh one. The distinction worth drawing is between the target cuts that reflect a change in fundamental assumptions and those that simply mark to a lower market; the former carry more follow-through. The initiations are routine flow and of less interest, though the concentrated multi-bank initiation of a single biotech name is a pattern typical of a recent listing or data event where coverage rolls out in one wave. The follow-on tells are whether the downgrades cluster widens to other western utilities, whether any house breaks ranks with a contrarian upgrade, and how the affected names trade relative to the broader utilities group in the sessions after the calls.

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