(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Friday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A beauty stock and an insurance name were in focus among early analyst calls. Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on Estée Lauder to neutral, and its new price target calls for a slight decline going forward. On a more positive note, Jefferies raised its rating on insurance company Root, noting it expects more than 24% upside from current levels. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:46 a.m.: Goldman Sachs downgrades Estée Lauder, cites near-term headwinds Investors should ease positions on Estée Lauder until further notice, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank downgraded shares of the cosmetics company to neutral from buy, setting a 12-month price target of $145. This would imply that Estée Lauder stock could slide 2.4% from their Thursday closing price. “Assume at Neutral until uncertainty around travel retail recovery clears and cost savings initiatives begin to bear fruit,” the bank said. One major headwind for the company remains overseas sales pressures, especially in Asia. Estée Lauder’s path to recovery is extremely dependent on China since the Chinese market has traditionally been a key growth driver. “We expect rising income levels as well as premium beauty taking a greater share of income for Chinese consumers to drive durable growth ahead,” the bank wrote. “That said, we acknowledge that broader macro challenges in the region may pressure the consumer for longer, and as such Chinese consumers may take longer to catch-up to other developed Asian markets. Within China, the global duty-free market in Hainan is a “compelling long-term opportunity,” the bank said. But on the other hand, growth challenges in developed markets have proved “stickier” than expected for Estée Lauder. “While channel mix is relatively better placed now relative to pre-Covid, EL’s share trends are yet to show signs of meaningful recovery, and as such will likely require incremental brand re-investments going forward,” the bank stated. However, Goldman emphasized that in the long-term, Estée Lauder’s extreme cost cutting measures should drive its margin expansion higher. Shares of Estée Lauder have edged slighter higher this year. EL YTD mountain EL in 2024 — Lisa Kailai Han 5:46 a.m.: Jefferies upgrades Root Expect Root’s recent surge to continue, according to Jefferies. Analyst Yaron Kinar upgraded the insurance company to buy from neutral. He also lifted his price target on the stock to $40 from $30, implying upside of 24.6% from Thursday’s close. Shares were up more than 9% in the premarket. Over the past month, the stock has ripped 291% higher after the company reported much better-than-expected fourth quarter results. ROOT 1M mountain ROOT in past month “The company has generated industry-leading loss ratios for two consecutive quarters in Personal Auto, showing material YoY improvement and essentially achieving its 65% target. The much improved loss ratio suggests that incremental customer additions are profitable,” Kinar said. “Having achieved its loss ratio target, particularly while incumbents are still focused on improving loss ratios and retrenching, present ROOT with a material growth opportunity met with increased company appetite for growth and increased ambient shopping by customers who are still seeing material increases in their premiums.” — Fred Imbert
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