Calls Of Note: Shake Shack, Kate Spade And Other Notable Research Notes Worth Following On Tuesday

The following represents a hand-picked selection of notable research curated by an analyst known in some circles as "The Sith Overlord Of The Street."

Alton Stump of Longbow Research maintained a Neutral rating on shares of

with no assigned price target despite the company's "impressive" second quarter comparable sales growth which provided evidence that traffic trends are "picking up." However, Stump pointed out that most of Shake Shack's locations are confined to the New York City region and "it remains to be seen how well the concept will succeed (or not) in other regions in the U.S."

John Edwards of Credit Suisse upgraded the entire Master Limited Partnership sector following the group's recent sell-off. According to Edwards, risks in MLPs are now skewered towards the upside. The analyst noted that "the overwhelming majority" of distributors have been made and MLPs are tracking to 7.8 percent year over year growth – a figure that is higher than last year's and at the higher end of his prior five to eight percent growth forecast.

Jonathan Arnold of Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of

to Hold from Buy with a price target lowered to $62 from a previous $68 after the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) stated they will withdraw from the San Onofre nuclear plant settlement. According to Arnold, "potentially protracted uncertainty in the midst of an already tumultuous state regulatory/political backdrop leads us to revisit our view that EIX should trade at a premium to regulated electric peers."

Jeffrey Zekauskas of JPMorgan downgraded shares of

to Neutral from Overweight with a price target lowered to $88 from a previous $92 as there is risk to the company's third quarter earnings per share and consensus estimates for 2016 appear to be too high. Zekauskas noted he sees "incremental weakness" across all of the company's geographic markets and product categories.

Tycho Peterson of JPMorgan downgraded shares of

to Neutral from Overweight with a price target that was actually raised to $55 from a previous $45 following the company's second quarter print which was "modestly" above expectations. Peterson stated that the risk to reward profile on the stock is "fairly balanced" with shares trading at 32x NTM EV/sales and future "meaningful" upside will be contingent on positive later stage clinical data demonstrating the safety and efficacy for therapeutic candidates.

Ross MacMillan of RBC Capital Markets upgraded shares of

to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target raised to $105 from a previous $88 following an "encouraging" survey with 250 users of Adobe products. According to MacMillan's study, Creative Cloud adoption and value perception improved since the last survey in December 2014. The analyst also noted that the CS6 conversion opportunity is large and can help drive growth.

Kate McShane of Citi added shares of

to Citi's "Focus List" (unchanged $53 price target) and named the stock as a top pick for the bottom half of 2015 within the apparel and fashion group. According to McShane, the company's second quarter offered "further credibility" that it is still seeing strong demand despite a promotional pullback. The analyst also noted Kate Spade isn't seeing any "slowness" in the market and has "strong" comp momentum moving forward.

Alexia Howard of Bernstein commented that

(Outperform rated, $94 price target) is "likely" to deliver "superior" returns over the next few years as it becomes a "platform company that successfully conducts a roll-up of the packaged food industry." Howard added while an acquisition is unlikely to be announced for another 18 to 24 months, the company will likely see a step-up in margins in the interim as cost saving benefits start kicking in.

John Rowan of Janney downgraded shares of

to Neutral from Buy with a "fair value estimate" lowered to $38 from a previous $96 following the company's receipt of a Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise (NORA) letter from the CFPB in which legal action is being considered. Rowan noted the letter represents an "unwelcome escalation" and "changes the dialogue from an inquiry to an accusation of wrongdoing."

Christopher Mutascio of KBW downgraded shares of

to Underperform from Market Perform with a newly introduced $101 price target which is based primarily on valuations. According to Mutascio, the stock has limited upside potential given his view of potential negative consensus EPS estimate revisions as the Street may be "overly optimistic" about the company's lower expense guidance.

Ross Gilardi of Bank of America downgraded shares of

with a price target lowered to $27 from a previous $34 following the company's 2016 guidance which may be difficult to achieve. According to Gilardi, the concerning area of the company's guidance comes from its Industrial segment which management guided to a four percent organic sales increase next year. The analyst stated he sees "limited catalysts" for a re-acceleration in the current market.

Christopher James of FBR & Co. initiated coverage of

with an Outperform rating and $180 price target given its "remarkably deep, diverse, and advanced pipeline." James added that Alnylam is "the best" RNAi play in the industry as the company could have three marketed products and 10 clinical programs across three therapeutic areas.