Here are Friday’s biggest calls on Wall Street:
Stephens upgrades Wayfair to overweight from equal weight
Stephens said in EBITDA profitability is back for the furniture and goods seller.
“Given the inflection toward positive EBITDA as a result of improving sales trends/execution of the Company’s $1.4 bil. cost savings plan, we are upgrading W to OW from EW with a $105 PT (was $34).”
Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy
Bank of America raised its price target on the stock to $174 per share from $154 and said it sees margin benefits after the company’s earnings report on Thursday.
″“We expect several more quarters of margin benefits from increasing retail efficiency (2Q headcount still down y/y), and with AWS seemingly poised to accelerate (end of Cloud spending optimization cycle amidst easing comps), Amazon remains our top stock in sector.”
Bank of America reiterates Coinbase as underperform
Bank of America said it’s staying cautious on shares of Coinbase after its earnings report on Thursday.
“COIN shares are down slightly despite reporting a 2Q beat on net revenues (driven by price/mix, not vols) and adjusted EBITDA.”
Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight
Morgan Stanley said it’s standing by its overweight rating on Apple after its earnings report Thursday.
“We didn’t properly account for iPad and Mac weakness in the September quarter, otherwise we are encouraged by tonight’s September quarter commentary.”
Morgan Stanley reiterates Advanced Micro Devices as overweight
Morgan Stanley said investors should buy the dip in shares of AMD.
“AMD sold off sharply after a quarter that we thought would go a long way to resolving concerns.”
Rosenblatt downgrades Apple to neutral from buy
Rosenblatt said Apple is sitting in a “slowdown phase.”
“After a mixed F3Q23 that highlights the slowdown phase in which Apple now sits, we downgrade the stock to NEUTRAL from BUY, and keep our price target at $198.”
Rosenblatt upgrades Amazon to buy from neutral
Rosenblatt said in its upgrade of Amazon that consensus view concerns have abated.
“As the business resets, with efficiency a new focus for retail, and AI an emerging driver in cloud, the risk of impending economic headwinds looks less worrying, opening the door to higher multiple consumer growth stories.”
Citi upgrades Intercontinental Exchange to buy from neutral
Citi said it sees “improving signals across the platform” for the exchange company.
“Post a 2Q23 earnings beat, ICE finished down 2.55% as a lowered mortgage technology recurring revenue guide weighed on the stock.
Raymond James upgrades Shake Shack to outperform from market perform
Raymond James said it sees margin upside for the fast casual restaurant chain.
“We are upgrading shares of SHAK to Outperform from Market Perform following the company’s 2Q results, reflecting our first buy rating on the stock since initiating coverage in early 2020.”
Goldman Sachs reiterates Virgin Galactic as neutral
Goldman said it’s sticking with its neutral rating on shares of Virgin Galactic.
“The potential for substantial long-term demand is there, but will take time while available supply, pricing and margins are a question.”
Oppenheimer reiterates Restaurant Brands as a top pick
Oppenheimer said it’s standing by Restaurant Brands as a top pick. The company is the owner of brands like Tim Horton’s and Burger King.
“Following another refreshed analysis, we continue to be attracted to: 1) SSS drivers at TH/BK (Tim Horton’s, Burger King) for multiple quarters vs. expectations, 2) catalysts for accelerating global unit growth, 3) earnings upside potential vs. consensus through ’24E.”
TD Cowen downgrades Moderna to market perform from outperform
TD said it sees a lack of near-term catalysts for the vaccine maker.
“We have conviction in the applicability of the mRNA platform; however NT catalysts remain light & we believe it’s prudent to wait for more clarity on the COVID tail from upcoming fall/winter season.
Oppenheimer reiterates Five Below as outperform
Oppenheimer said the success of “Barbie” is a positive catalyst for shares of Five Below.
“We are increasingly optimistic that heightened success of the recently released Barbie film could serve as a modest incremental positive sales driver for Outperform-rated Five Below.”
Citi opens a positive catalyst watch on Apple
Citi said it sees upside ahead of the company’s new iPhone unveil in September.
“We are opening a 90D positive Catalyst Watch ahead of Apple’s expected iPhone 15 series release in Sep 2023.”
Truist upgrades Generac to buy from hold
Truist said it sees an attractive entry point for Generac.
“We’re upgrading shares of GNRC to Buy following a ~30% post-earnings sell-off that we see creating an attractive entry for investors to gain exposure to a well established name in home/ commercial backup power w/upside potential from a recovering Clean Energy segment.”
Stifel upgrades Lamb Weston to buy from hold
Stifel said in its upgrade of the stock that it has “compelling upside.”
“We are upgrading shares of Lamb Weston to Buy, we believe the current valuation does not reflect the advantaged growth profile of the company.”
Citi reiterates Disney as buy
Citi said it’s sticking with its buy rating on stock heading into earnings next week.
“DIS reports F3Q23 results Wednesday (8/9) after the close. We believe the primary focus will be on profitability and the execution of the company’s costsaving initiatives announced in F1Q23.”
JPMorgan downgrades Petrobras to neutral from overweight
JPMorgan said the “good news” has played out for the Brazilian oil giant.
“We downgrade Petrobras to Neutral driven by: The good news we expected have played out, and is likely priced-in. We heard from new management on the three key pillars of value for Petrobras – capital discipline, pricing policy and dividend policy.”
Evercore ISI downgrades PayPal to in line from outperform
Evercore said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees “increasing competition and transaction margin pressure
“Without a clear path to year-over-year transaction margin expansion, we see limited scope for earnings outperformance even as branded PayPal wallet volume growth accelerated for the months of June (+6.5%) and July (+8%) from mid-single-digits in 2Q/CY23.”
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