Wall Street's coverage universe expanded Tuesday with five noteworthy initiations spanning software, biotech, and energy. The highlight? Cloudflare Inc. (NET) earning a bullish welcome from a major firm.
Barclays analyst Saket Kalia kicked off coverage on Cloudflare with an Overweight rating and set a price target of $235. That suggests some solid upside potential from Monday's closing price of $197.20, signaling confidence in the cloud infrastructure company's growth trajectory.
Financial Software Gets a Thumbs Up
In the financial technology space, Rosenblatt analyst Robert Simmons initiated coverage on BlackLine Inc. (BL) with a Buy rating and established a price target of $65. BlackLine shares closed at $56.09 on Monday, putting that target about 16% above current levels. The company provides cloud-based financial close solutions, and Simmons appears optimistic about its prospects.
Biotech Betting
TD Cowen analyst Tyler Van Buren launched coverage on C4 Therapeutics Inc. (CCCC) with a Buy rating. The biotech stock closed at $2.54 on Monday. C4 Therapeutics focuses on protein degradation technology, and Van Buren's bullish stance suggests he sees value in the company's therapeutic pipeline.
Energy Sector Gets Mixed Signals
The energy patch saw divergent views from analysts initiating coverage. Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin started coverage on California Resources Corp. (CRC) with an Overweight rating and a $58 price target. California Resources shares closed at $47.31 on Monday, giving that target roughly 23% upside potential.
Meanwhile, UBS analyst Josh Silverstein took a more cautious approach with Weatherford International plc (WFRD), initiating coverage with a Neutral rating and announcing a price target of $8. Weatherford International shares closed at $76.71 on Monday. It's worth noting there appears to be a significant disconnect between that price target and the closing price, which might warrant a closer look at the details of that call.
These fresh initiations give investors new perspectives on companies across different sectors, from high-flying cloud infrastructure names to more traditional energy plays. As always, price targets represent analyst expectations rather than guarantees, but they provide useful benchmarks for tracking how Wall Street views these businesses going forward.