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Among other things, 2020 saw ransomware and malware attacks spike amid accelerated digitization triggered by the pandemic. SolarWinds has been in the news over the past few days due to a cyberattack that exploited a vulnerability in the company’s Orion products.

The network management software specialist’s Orion platform was compromised by a malware. As a result, several US government agencies and companies using SolarWinds’ Orion products became victims of the cyberattack allegedly by Russian hackers (though the company stated that it has not independently verified the identity of the attacker).

So, where does SolarWinds stand now and what do analysts think about the impact of this malicious attack on the company’s prospects? We will discuss SolarWinds and use the TipRanks Stock Comparison tool to compare it with Datadog to choose the stock that offers a better investment opportunity.

SolarWinds (SWI)

SolarWinds is a leading IT infrastructure management software provider that boasts over 320,000 customers. The company’s Orion monitoring and management software, which the hackers attacked recently, is a key growth driver and accounted for about 45% of the overall revenue in the first nine months of 2020.

Last week, SolarWinds announced that it has released updates in response to the malware, now called Supernova, for all supported versions of Orion platform products and a fix for customers on unsupported versions of these products.

The company has not yet provided any details on the financial impact of the cyberattack. This brings a lot of uncertainty into the picture, according to Truist Financial analyst Terry Tillman, who downgraded SolarWinds to Hold from Buy last week and lowered the price target to $14 from $26. The analyst cited the cyberattack and the inability to properly measure the impact as the reasons for the downgrade.

Tillman stated, “We lack visibility into potential business and financial model impact." (See SWI stock analysis on TipRanks)

Likewise, Robert W. Baird analyst Robert Oliver downgraded SolarWinds to Hold from Buy and brought down his price target to $15 from $24. The 5-star analyst feels that the recent cyberattack may create "prolonged uncertainty," which could continue to pressure shares even after the recent pullback.

Oliver feels that the breach could impact SolarWinds' growth expectations due to potential damage to its brand. Prior to the current malware chaos, the company predicted revenue growth of 8%-9% on a non-GAAP basis for 2020.

Oliver also pointed out the "unfortunate timing" of the CEO transition, which he says brings an "unknown" to investors at a critical time.

Ahead of the cyberattack news, SolarWinds announced the appointment of Sudhakar Ramakrishna as the company’s new President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors, effective Jan. 4, 2021. Ramakrishna will succeed Kevin B. Thompson, who has been SolarWinds’ CEO since March 2010.

Currently, the Street is cautiously optimistic about SolarWinds, with 3 Buys, 3 Holds and 1 Sell adding up to a Moderate Buy analyst consensus. Owing to the recent sell-off, shares are down 19.2% year-to-date. The average price target of $20.86 indicates upside potential of 39.1% from current levels.

Datadog (DDOG)

Datadog, which went public last year, is a cloud-native monitoring and security platform. Last month, the company posted better-than-anticipated 3Q results and ended the quarter with 13,100 customers. That’s a 38% jump from the prior-year quarter. Furthermore, the number of customers with annual run rate revenue, or ARR, of at least $100,000 grew 52% to 1,107.

The company’s revenue increased 61% year-over-year to $154.7 million and helped it generate adjusted EPS of $0.05 compared to break-even earnings in the prior-year quarter. Datadog is gaining from pandemic-induced rapid digital transformation and cloud migration. (See DDOG stock analysis on TipRanks)

To expand its reach, Datadog recently announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft, under which Datadog tools will be available to Microsoft Azure customers as “a first class service.” Last month, it announced the extension of its partnership with Google Cloud. Under the extended deal, Datadog will have an additional presence in Google Cloud regions and there will be deeper sales alignment between the two entities. The company also has an alliance with leading cloud vendor AWS or Amazon Web Services.     

Rosenblatt Securities analyst Blair Abernethy recently initiated a Hold rating on Datadog with a $97 price target. Abernathy draws attention to the fact that the company is pursuing an attractive and growing total addressable market of over $35 billion.

He pointed out that enterprise IT is moving more workloads to the cloud and at the same time, merging DevSecOps teams are driving more frequent enterprise software releases. Both factors are expected to drive demand for monitoring software capabilities. “Datadog targets new cloud migrations and these merging IT teams across any size business with its low-cost product entry point,” stated Abernethy.

He also noted that Datadog has been expanding into the government vertical, further increasing its addressable market. Plus, the analyst believes that the company’s rapid innovation will help drive upsell opportunity.

However, despite these favorable trends, Abernethy remains on the sidelines as he feels that much of his positive outlook is already priced into the stock and the valuation (in terms of Enterprise Value/Sales) is at the high end of comparable high growth enterprise software vendors. The analyst awaits a “more attractive entry point.”

The rest of the Street has a Moderate Buy analyst consensus for Datadog, based on 5 Buys versus 10 Holds. With shares rising 162.1% year-to-date, the average price target of $106.45 implies an upside potential of 7.6% in the months ahead.  

Bottom line

Datadog’s growth prospects look promising in the current scenario but certain analysts are concerned about its valuation. Owing to the recent pullback, the Street’s average price target indicates a higher upside potential in SolarWinds stock than DataDog. That said, investors need to be cautious with regard to the uncertainty surrounding SolarWinds and keep an eye on any further updates that could impact the stock.

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment

MPLX LP on Tuesday announced that it will redeem the entire $750 million outstanding principal amount of 5.25% senior notes which has a maturity date of Jan. 15 2025. The redemption amount will also include the senior notes worth $42 million issued by Andeavor Logistics and Tesoro Logistics Finance.

MPLX (MPLX) will redeem the aforementioned senior notes on Jan. 15 2021, at a price equal to 102.625% of the principal amount. The company further stated that “The regular semiannual interest payment due on the 2025 senior notes on Jan. 15, 2021, will be paid in the usual manner to holders of record at the close of business on Jan. 1, 2021.”

Earlier in November, MPLX reported better-than-expected 3Q results. Its 3Q top and bottom lines exceeded analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, it generated net cash flow of $1.2 billion from operational activities. (See MPLX stock analysis on TipRanks)

Following the company’s earnings release, Raymond James analyst Justin Jenkins reiterated a Hold rating on the stock.

In a note to investors, Jenkins said, “The impacts from COVID-19 (e.g., lower refinery runs impacting L&S and G&P volume/price issues have clearly been headwinds for MPLX. That said, as evidenced by solid 3Q20 results, the partnership has gotten through the worst across most of its assets - though the market likely needs to see more financial strength before the stock re-rates closer to prior levels.”

Overall, consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy based on 4 Buys and 3 Holds. The average price target stands at $24.40 and implies upside potential of about 13.4% to current levels. So far this year, shares of MPLX have depreciated by 15.5%.

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Shares of Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plunged 25% in Tuesday's after-market trading after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding the company's New Drug Application (NDA) for Arbaclofen.

Osmotica's (OSMT) NDA was expected to show the clinical efficacy and safety of arbaclofen tablets used in the treatment for patients with spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. Spasticity refers to the condition of stiffening muscles thereby affecting movement, speech and gait.

Meanwhile, the FDA's letter specified that the company did not provide an adequate explanation for the statistical analysis of the change from the starting point to Day 84 in TNmAS-MAL scores comparing arbaclofen 40 mg to placebo.

The TNmAS is a 6-point rating scale for measuring abnormality in tone or the resistance to passive movements and considered the primary clinical measure of muscle spasticity in subjects with neurological conditions.

The FDA made a number of recommendations in its CRL, including the conduct of a new study in order to provide substantial evidence of efficacy of arbaclofen. The company said that it plans to review the CRL with its advisors and request a meeting with the FDA to discuss their recommendations.

OSMT stock has lost 24.3% on year-to-date basis. (See OSMT stock analysis on TipRanks)

Last month, RBC Capital analyst Randall Stanicky reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $12.

The price target of $12 implies 127% upside potential at current levels.

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Paramount Group on Dec. 29 disclosed the completion of its previously announced sale of 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue for $103 million. Shares fell 1.2% at the close on Tuesday.

Earlier on Mar. 6, Paramount Group (PGRE) had announced an agreement to sell the 1899 Pennsylvania Avenue, a 191,000 square foot office building located in Washington, D.C., for $115 million. The final price tag reflected a discount of 10% or $12 million from the originally agreed price, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The transaction is expected to close in Q420, pending customary closing conditions.

With this sale, Paramount finalized its strategic exit from the Washington, D.C. market, the company said.

Morgan Stanley analyst Vikram Malhorta on Dec. 14 reiterated a Buy rating on PGRE stock with a price target of $10.50 (17.3% upside potential).

Malhorta expects Paramount to post a net loss per share of $0.03 in Q420. The company reported a net loss per share of $0.03 in Q320. (See PGRE stock analysis on TipRanks)

From the rest of the Street, the stock scores an analyst consensus of a Hold based on 1 Buy, 1 Hold, and 2 Sells. The average analyst price target of $8.94 implies that the stock is fully priced to current levels. Shares have lost 36% year-to-date.

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Tesla has inked a five-year deal to buy lithium hydroxide for its electric vehicle (EV) batteries from China's Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group Co. Reuters reported citing Yahua's stock exchange filing.

Per the filing, the total contract value would be about $630-$880 million over 2021-25. Reuters also reported that Tesla  (TSLA) already gets lithium from the world's leading lithium producer Ganfeng Lithium, based in China.

The deal comes as Tesla is set to start selling its electric vehicles (EV) in the Indian market. In an interview with The Indian Express newspaper, India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari confirmed that Tesla will begin its operations with sales and could later look for assembly and manufacturing facilities, depending upon the sales response.  (See TSLA stock analysis on TipRanks)

On Dec. 29, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained a price target of $715 (7.4% upside potential) and a Hold rating on the stock. Ives believes that Tesla will be able to achieve its target of 500k deliveries of EVs this year, "given the underlying strength we are picking up in China as well as a late push in Europe and the US." 

Ives added, "While there are some logistics speed bumps throughout Europe that could derail a number of deliveries in the next few days, the theme of the Tesla story and overall global EV demand continues to be around white hot demand coming out of China."

Meanwhile, the consensus among analysts is a Hold based on 11 Holds, 7 Buys and 7 Sells. With shares soaring over 696% year-to-date, the average price target of $458.70 implies downside potential of about 31.1% to current levels.

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Target Corp. has agreed to sell its online beauty and skin care business unit Dermstore to British e-commerce company THG Holdings for $350 million in cash. THG Holdings expects to receive antitrust clearance for the deal from US regulators in January 2021.

Target (TGT) had acquired Dermstore in 2013 to expand its beauty business. Dermstore offers beauty products and cosmetics subscription services through an online platform. The online personal care retailer sells nearly 350 different brands in its product lineup.

THG Holdings (THG) commented, “THG will be able to increase the scale of its beauty box business by accessing the Dermstore.com customer base, which will in turn unlock incremental marketing revenue. The Dermstore.com acquisition also provides the opportunity to accelerate the growth of THG's own beauty brands via a new and large US customer base.”

On Nov. 18, Guggenheim analyst Robert Drbul reiterated a Hold rating on the TGT stock as he believes that it is fairly valued at current levels. Drbul is looking for a “better entry point for the shares.”

From the rest of the Street, the stock scores an analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 13 Buys and 5 Holds. (See TGT stock analysis on TipRanks).

With shares up 36.5% year-to-date, the average analyst price target of $193.12 implies additional upside potential of 10.3% to current levels.

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VMware has sued its former COO Rajiv Ramaswami for breaching contractual obligations while being interviewed to be the CEO of rival Nutanix. Ramaswami left VMware and joined Nutanix on Dec. 9 as the company’s CEO.

VMware (VMW) said in a statement that “Rajiv Ramaswami failed to honor his fiduciary and contractual obligations to VMware. For at least two months before resigning from the company, at the same time he was working with senior leadership to shape VMware’s key strategic vision and direction, Mr. Ramaswami also was secretly meeting with at least the CEO, CFO, and apparently the entire Board of Directors of Nutanix, Inc. to become Nutanix’s Chief Executive Officer. He joined Nutanix as its CEO only two days after leaving VMware.”

The Palo Alto-based software maker further stated that “Mr. Ramaswami demonstrated poor judgement and had a clear and extended period of conflict of interest. But he did not notify VMware, and thus deprived the company of the ability to do so by concealing his Nutanix-related activities.” (See VMW stock analysis on TipRanks).

VMware said that in the past it had contacted Ramaswami and Nutanix to resolve the matter but both “refused to engage with VMware in a satisfactory manner.”

Last month, the cloud computing and virtualization software and services provider had reported better-than-expected 3Q results. However, despite the stronger-than-anticipated quarterly performance, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow lowered the firm’s price target to $180 (29.1% upside potential) from $187 and reiterated a Buy rating.

Lenschow expects VMware stock to trade range-bound in the near-term due to the lack of visibility over the recovery for the transactional, on-premise business.

Consensus among analysts is a Moderate Buy based on 11 Buys and 4 Holds. The average price target of $172 suggests upside potential of about 23.4% to current levels. VMW stock has lost 8.2% year-to-date.

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Immutep has secured the US patent for its cancer drug eftilagimod alpha (efti) to be used in combination with a PD-1 pathway inhibitor. Shares gained 9.5% at after-hours trading on Tuesday.

The patent will expire on Jan. 8, 2036. The US patent comes after Immutep’s (IMMP) cancer drug was granted European patent authorization in Nov. 2018.

“This United States patent grant represents another important milestone for the Company, and along with the clinical data we have seen from our trials, supports our long held view that combining efti with an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor should result in a very meaningful therapeutic benefit to cancer patients.” said Immutep’s Chief Scientific Officer Frédéric Triebel.

On Dec. 10, Maxim analyst Jason McCarthy doubled the price target on the stock from $4 to $8 and reiterated a Buy rating. The new price target implies 182% upside potential.

McCarthy is enthusiastic about efti’s meaningful and significant impact in metastatic breast cancer (mBC), IMMP’s Chinese partner EOC Pharma’s new Phase II efti trial in mBC in 1Q21, and the continued demonstration of efti's potential and progression in lung and H&N [head & neck] cancers.

The analyst believes that Immutep is well-capitalized with ~$38 million in cash on its balance sheet.

Overall, the rest of the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 2 unanimous Buys. (See IMMP stock analysis on TipRanks)

With shares, up 59% year-to-date, the average price target stands at $6.5 and implies 129% upside potential at current levels.

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Thomson Reuters on Dec. 29 announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) approved the repurchase of up to 5 million common shares under its normal course issuer bid (NCIB) between Jan. 4, 2021, and Jan. 3, 2022.

The 5 million shares represent 1% of its issued and outstanding common shares for the business information services provider.

Thomson Reuters (TRI) has set a target to maintain 500 million common shares outstanding by using share repurchases to offset dilution by its dividend reinvestment and equity incentive plans. There were 497,117,528 common shares outstanding on Dec. 24.

The company had repurchased 6.9 million common shares out of the 25 million common shares authorized by the previous NCIB between Aug. 19, 2019 and Aug. 18, 2020. The shares had been repurchased for a total of $500 million, representing an average price of $72.61 per share. The company’s shares closed at $81.60 on Dec. 29.

On Dec. 2, Credit Suisse analyst Kevin McVeigh raised the price target on the stock from $100 to $105 and reiterated a Buy rating. The new price target implies 28.7% upside potential.

Overall, the rest of the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 4 Buys and 4 Holds. (See TRI stock analysis on TipRanks)

With shares up 14% year-to-date, the average price target stands at $92.12 and implies close to 13% upside potential at current levels.

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