Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday:
Redburn Atlantic Equities reiterates Amazon as buy
Redburn said Amazon Web Services’ pricing power will drive share acceleration for Amazon.
“The combination of fading optimisation headwinds, increased deployment of new workloads and the February price hike bodes well for a meaningful growth reacceleration of AWS above market expectations.
Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy
Bank of America said AI is a “top stock driver” for Alphabet
“Overall, we do not see a major traffic impact for Google and continue to expect progress with AI to be top stock driver.”
Leerink downgrades Amgen to market perform from outperform
Leerink downgraded the biotech company due to rising obesity competition and the firm says more info is needed for Amgen’s experimental weight-loss drug.
“We await data with longer-term administration to better understand drug efficacy and tolerability.”
KeyBanc initiates Crocs and Deckers as overweight
Key said it’s bullish on footwear companies like Crocs and Deckers.
“Another Year of Macro Uncertainty Is Upon Us, but Footwear Should Remain Strong and Steady.”
Gordon Haskett upgrades Target to buy from neutral
Gordon Haskett said in its upgrade of the stock that “comp prospects will begin to brighten.”
“Finally, in order to capitalize on our expectation for an uptick in discretionary sales we are upgrading Target to Buy.”
Redburn Atlantic Equities upgrades Toast to buy from neutral
Redburn said the restaurant technology company is underappreciated.
“Toast’s ability to maintain a stable gross payment take rate while onboarding larger merchants is clear evidence of pricing power on SMB [small midsize business] merchants.”
Jefferies initiates Sprout Social as buy
Jefferies said the social media software provider is a market leader.
“We initiate on social media management software company SPT with a Buy.”
Citi downgrades Steven Madden to neutral from buy
Citi said in its downgrade of Steven Madden that it sees margin headwinds for the shoe company.
“Margin Headwinds Limit EPS Upside in F24E; D/G to Neutral.”
JPMorgan downgrades New York Community Bancorp to neutral from overweight
JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the regional bank that executive departures and a disappointing earnings report earlier this week have the stock “outside of our comfort zone.”
“It has been a very challenging week for NYCB shares since NYCB reported 4Q23 earnings which included (1) the company reporting a wide EPS miss on 4Q23 results (on significant provision build) and (2) a disappointing 2024 outlook tied to the bank ramping up liquidity, reserves, and capital as part of becoming a Category 4 bank ($100B+ in assets).”
Jefferies upgrades Quest Diagnostics to buy from hold
Jefferies said in its upgrade of Quest that the medical diagnostic’s stock is “compelling.”
“U/G to Buy: Guidance Is Attainable, M&A To Drive Upside, Valuation’s Compelling.”
Morgan Stanley names Huntington Bancshares a top pick
Morgan Stanley said it likes the regional bank’s low exposure to commercial real estate.
“Making HBAN, with its low CRE exposure and high reserve ratio our Top Pick.”
Morgan Stanley reiterates Nvidia as overweight
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Nvidia to $750 per share from $603.
“We continue to see a very strong near term picture, and think that various second derivative anxieties are missing the bigger picture; we raise #s yet again.”
Morgan Stanley downgrades Aptiv to underweight from equal weight
Morgan Stanley said it sees slowing growth for the automotic tech company.
“A slowdown in demand for EVs and legacy OEMs’ willingness to make them challenges APTV’s growth-over-market (GOM) assumption which underpins earnings and valuation.”
Jefferies upgrades Semrush to buy from hold
Jefferies said the search engine optimization company has “pricing power.”
“We assume coverage of Semrush — an SEO, competitor intelligence, and digital marketing platform— upgrading the stock to Buy from Hold.”
JPMorgan upgrades Crown Holdings to overweight from neutral
JPMorgan said shares of the packaging company have an attractive risk/reward.
“We think that Crown Holdings has reached an equity value that leads to a favorable risk/reward balance.”
Piper Sandler initiates Civitas Resources as buy
Piper said shares of the energy producer are underappreciated.
“We initiate coverage of Civitas Resources (CIVI) with an Overweight rating and $92 PT.”
DA Davidson upgrade Symbotic to buy from neutral
DA said shares of the robotic automation company are attractive.
“We find SYM’s long term fundamentals attractive and its technology unrivaled and highly differentiated.”
Goldman Sachs downgrades VF Corp to neutral from buy
Goldman downgraded the owner of brands of like Vans and North Face and says it doesn’t see any near term positive catalysts for VF Corp.
“Longer-dated path to turnaround as profit pressures persist; downgrade to Neutral.”
Bank of America downgrades New York Community Bancorp to neutral from buy
Bank of America said New York Community Bancorp’s outlook is too “muddled” after the recent selloff.
“We believe the persistent sell-off in the stock over the last two days on perceived risks tied to the commercial real estate (CRE) book and the heightened degree of regulatory scrutiny is likely to weigh on the EPS outlook and on investor sentiment to add exposure to the stock.”
DA Davidson reiterates Apple as neutral
DA raised its price target on the stock to $200 per share from $166 and says it’s bullish on Apple’s Vision Pro. The firm said it was maintaining its neutral rating overall.
“We are more positive on AAPL after experiencing a Vision Pro demo first hand.”
Oppenheimer upgrades Enphase to outperform from perform
Oppenheimer upgraded the energy company after its earnings report on Tuesday and says estimates have bottomed.
“With ENPH guiding well below consensus and shares trading substantially higher, we believe the debate on shares will now focus on lingering channel inventory overhang, underlying demand levels, and the competitive landscape.”
Jefferies initiates ZoomInfo as buy
Jefferies initiates the software data company with a buy and says it sees new customer growth.
“We initiate on sales and marketing intelligence company ZI with a Buy.′
