Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday:
UBS downgrades Microsoft to neutral from buy
UBS said in its downgrade of the stock that it’s concerned about Microsoft Office risks.
“We are downgrading our rating on Microsoft shares to a Neutral from a Buy on the back of a weaker round of field checks on the cloud providers including Azure, a view that Office seat growth is likely to moderate in 2023 and that Microsoft’s multiple already feels fair, not cheap.”
Wells Fargo downgrades Target to equal weight from overweight
Wells said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees too much 2023 uncertainty.
“TGT’s outlook has deteriorated meaningfully and we no longer see it as an attractive investment into an uncertain 2023.”
Wolfe downgrades Goldman Sachs to peer perform from outperform and Morgan Stanley to underperform from outperform
Wolfe says it’s turning more cautious on the big banks.
“We are more cautious on the large cap banks and see risk to cons. on NII (net interest income), capital markets, and credit; also cautious on Basel 4 risk. Downgrading both GS(to PP from OP) and MS(to UP from OP). Upgrading BK to OP from PP (Upside on NII, Buyback).”
Raymond James upgrades Maxeon Solar to outperform from market perform
Raymond James said in its upgrade of the solar company that investors should buy the dip.
“upgrading Maxeon Solar(MAXN) from Market Perform to Outperform, following the stock’s steep drop from the initial euphoria created by the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Macquarie reiterates Disney as outperform
Macquarie says it thinks shares will recover if the company can execute.
“We believe the stock can recover if Disney sticks to plan on DTC profitability.”
Credit Suisse upgrades Corning to outperform from neutral
Credit Suisse said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees supply chains improving.
“Based on conversations with other companies in our coverage we believe supply shortages are improving and lead times have shortened. Combined with production challenges, 2022 smartphone and auto production was limited, pressuring Corning’s topline and creating an upward bias for 2023 growth.
Morgan Stanley reiterates Rivian as overweight
Morgan Stanley says it’s standing by shares of the electric vehicle after it reported production and delivery numbers.
“Rivian’s 4Q production and delivery numbers came in below both the Street and MSe, and left the company just short of its own FY22 goals.”
RBC reiterates Tesla as outperform
RBC lowered its price target on shares ofTeslato $186 per share from $225 and says the company’s “deliveries miss, could spark lower mid-term expectations.”
“4Q22 deliveries of 405.3k wasn’t too far off from our 408.5k forecast but was ~3% shy of sell-side consensus expectations.”
Bank of America downgrades Pfizer to neutral from buy
Bank of America said in its downgrade of Pfizer that it’s now a “show me” story.
“From COVID Darling to a ‘Show Me’ Launch Story; Downgrade to Neutral.”
Bank of America upgrades Merck to buy from neutral
Bank of America said in its upgrade of Merck that it sees “top tier” revenue growth.
“We are upgrading MRK to Buy from Neutral based on continuation of strong growth trends seen last year.”
New Street initiates Amazon as buy
New Street named the stock as a top pick and says it sees more share gains in 2023.
“We see AMZN beginning to gain eCommerce share again exiting 2023 as it takes advantage of a massive expansion of logistics and fulfilment investment from 2019-2022.”
UBS downgrades JB Hunt to neutral from buy
UBS said in its downgrade of the shipping company that it sees volume and pricing risk.
“Lower contract pricing & accessorials drive downside EPS & risk for JBHT and HUBG.”
Stifel names Meta a top 2023 pick
Stifel says it seesMetarebounding in 2023.
“Our top picks as we start 2023 remain CRTO (retail media) and TTD (CTV, continued share gains), and we expect META to rebound this year as ATT (app tracking transparency) headwinds ease, and we believe the TikTok threat should moderate somewhat.”
Needham upgrades Etsy to buy from neutral
Needham said in its upgrade of the stock that its exiting the pandemic as a stronger company.
“Multiple contraction drove most of ETSY’s share underperformance in ’22 (EV/Sales and EV/EBITDA multiples contracted by 30%+ while est. revisions for Sales and Adj. EBITDA compressed by only 10%) as its model is proving to be sticky in keeping pandemic gains.”
Jefferies downgrades Boston Beer to underperform from hold
Jefferies said in its downgrade of the stock that its concerned about a hard seltzer recovery.
“SAM to Underperform; Seltzer Struggles to Weigh on Recovery: Hard seltzer category has yet to ‘bottom’ suggesting risk to Street ests. and deleverage to prolong co.’s GM % recovery.”
Wells Fargo downgrades Norfolk Southern to equal weight from overweight
Wells says it sees too many headwinds for shares of Norfolk.
“Our downgrade is based on the view that (1) Volumes unlikely to outperform peers and could underperform given exposure to intermodal and coal; (2) Focus on consistent resourcing through cycles to improve competitive positioning in the upcycle could weigh on operating leverage near term.”
UBS downgrades Honeywell to sell from buy
UBS said in its downgrade of the stock that the multiple is “inflated.”
“Downgrade HON shares to Sell (from Buy) on full valuation, anticipated order slowdown & subsequent backlog burn.
UBS reiterates Amazon as buy
UBS lowered its price target on the e-commerce giant to $125 per share from $165 but says it’s standing by the stock.
“We reduce our ests and PT on AMZN post a round of cloud checks spearheaded by the UBS Software team and cleaning up our ests post 3Q.”
Goldman Sachs upgrades Charles Schwab to buy from neutral
Goldman said in its upgrade of the stock it sees underappreciated earnings.
“We upgrade SCHW and BK to Buy from Neutral on under-appreciated earnings and capital return opportunities through 2024.”
Citi reiterates Caterpillar as buy
Citi says investors should buy the dip in shares of Caterpillar.
“The stock’s recent outperformance has reduced the upside potential, but we would be buyers on pull-backs.”
Needham names Chewy a top pick for 2023
Needham says the pet company is underappreciated.
“CHWY (top line driven by both price and units, Street underappreciates margin inflection, ~1/3 of the float short).CHWY is our top pick for ’23.”
Jefferies reiterates Apple as outperform
Jefferies says Apple is “resilient.”
“We continue to like Apple’s strong position in premium smartphones as demand has remained resilient versus the broader handset market against macro uncertainty.”
Wells Fargo names Bank of America as a top 2023 pick
Wells says the stock is “best-in-class” for 2023.
“BAC should show near best-in-class growth in NII (net interest income), profit margin, and core EPS growth.”
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