Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday:
TD Cowen downgrades Paychex to market perform from outperform
TD said it sees too many macro challenges for the payroll company.
“PAYX shares have held in YTD & outperformed ADP by 10%+, but we expect the stock to be challenged in the current backdrop given rising concerns on labor moderation and the impending reversal in interest rates.”
Mizuho reiterates Coinbase as underperform
Mizuho said it’s sticking with its underperform rating on Coinbase shares.
“With no long-term visibility, COIN trades on intra-quarter data points. The 4Q revenue beat should be well-known, but a negative surprise on take rates is unlikely priced in.”
JMP reiterates Coinbase as market outperform
JMP raised its price target on the stock to $200 from $107 and says it has Amazon-like potential.
“On the stock, even after nearly a 4x in 2023, we believe Coinbase has the potential to become one of the few network winners in an industry we expect to grow exponentially from here.”
Morgan Stanley resumes Ameriprise Financial as equal weight
Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the stock with an equal weight rating mainly on valuation.
“We’re bullish on growth in wealth mgmt and see AMP’s transformation story as an attractive play in a $30tr US advice industry underpinning our 12% EPS CAGR.”
Goldman Sachs reiterates Nike as buy
Goldman said it’s standing by its buy rating on the stock after Nike’s earnings report on Thursday.
“On the other hand, we believe today’s update provided ample fodder for bears, with slowing growth momentum as a result of a tougher macro pointing to a more promotional competitive marketplace, and the company now speaking more comprehensively to key franchise life cycle management which will weigh on sales momentum going forward.”
Edward Jones upgrades Analog Devices to buy from hold
Edward Jones said the company is “well positioned to benefit from growing automation revenue.”
“We are upgrading shares of Analog Devices to a Buy from a Hold. We expect the company to benefit from a greater proliferation of automated and connected devices arcross a wide array of end markets, leading to more chips in each device.”
Edward Jones initiates MSCI as buy
Edward Jones said the financial data and software company has ” best-in-class revenue growth.”
“In our view, MSCI’s has built a strong, sustainable competitive position within indexing that will continue to drive best-in-class revenue growth, profit margins and cash flows among financial-sector peers.”
Bank of America reiterates Disney as buy
Bank of America said it’s bullish on Disney heading into 2024.
“DIS has a collection of best-in-class premiere assets (in content/IP as well as Theme Parks). Near term catalysts include: 1) additional updates on strategic priorities for DIS, 2) continued robust theme park demand.”
TD Cowen downgrades Nike to market perform from outperform
TD said it sees too many “macro and competitive headwinds” after the company’s earnings report on Thursday.
“Nike needs improved marketing outside of basketball, streetwear and lifestyle trends. Innovation at the higher end of its assortment is not resonating at scale while the Nike faces disruption from smaller competitors in footwear and apparel.”
UBS reiterates Nvidia as buy
UBS said the stock is one of the firm’s top picks in 2024.
“NVDA has become a battleground and likely remains so into 2024.”
Jefferies names Amgen a top pick
Jefferies said the biopharma company is well positioned for obesity in 2024.
“Our top large biotech pick is AMGN on the obesity setup in 2024.”
Evercore ISI reiterates Amazon as outperform
Evercore said it’s standing by its outperform rating on the stock.
“Overall, we continue to see strong support for North America Retail margin expansion, as Amazon continues to clip away at fulfillment and shipping costs – driven by ongoing capacity utilization recovery and scaling up regionalized fulfillment & shipping operations.”
HSBC initiates CVS as buy
HSBC said CVS shares are underappreciated.
“An attractive and undervalued moat; exposure to a sector with secular growth trends; stock trades at a steep discount to historical valuation.”
Evercore ISI names Blackrock a top pick
Evercore said Blackrock is one of the firm’s best ideas heading into 2024.
“It’s worth mentioning the inflow group started to outperform when markets took off in Nov, so maybe normalization has begun (quality names tend to do well first in a cycle). Our top picks are AB & BLK.”
Needham names Teledyne Technologies as a top pick
Needham said the industrial technology company is a top idea for 2024.
“In selecting TDY, we acknowledge the lackluster performance of the shares in 2023, despite TDY having beaten quarterly consensus EPS expectations throughout 2023 and building on a track record of topping EPS expectations that goes back over five years.”
JPMorgan initiates Altair Engineering as overweight
JPMorgan said the software and cloud company has “best-in-class” free-cash flow.
“We are initiating coverage on Altair Engineering (ALTR) with an OW rating.”
Needham names Amazon and Alphabet as top picks
Needham said Alphabet and Amazon are its top picks for 2024.
“GOOGL is our favorite name in Big Tech for 2024 because we expect auto, M&E (film & TV), and travel ad spending to rebound, plus political ad spending to add new dollars y/y. ... .Enormous scale allows AMZN to have the lowest costs as an infrastructure partner, which gives it clear competitive advantages and enormous barriers to entry.”
RBC reiterates Tesla as outperform
RBC said it’s standing by Tesla heading into the company’s delivery numbers in January.
“We could see a very significant push in the final 2 weeks due to IRA pull-forward, creating uncertainty in our estimates. We expect Tesla to report deliveries during the first week of January.”
Oppenheimer names Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as top ideas
Oppenheimer said in a note on Friday that it’s bullish on the major banks heading into 2024.
“Although the group has had a sharp rally since the October 27 low, it trades at only a 53% relative P/E which we continue to see as attractive and continue to recommend BAC, C, GS, JEF, MS and USB.”
Piper Sandler reiterates Target as overweight
Piper said it’s standing by its overweight rating on the stock after a meeting with company management.
“We came away from our recent store walk with TGT CEO Brian Cornell and senior regional leadership that a focus on foundational best practices (in-stocks, store resets) will help drive near-term performance and position TGT for L-T growth.”
Argus reiterates Netflix as buy
Argus raised its price target on the stock to $575 per share from $490 and says it’s bullish heading into 2024.
“While Netflix is experiencing a difficult period amid intense competition and economic uncertainty, it remains the ‘anchor tenant’ for consumers in video streaming, with an attractive slate of projects on track for upcoming release.”
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