Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Netflix, Apple, Starbucks, Marvel, Coinbase, IBM, Amazon & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Stifel upgrades Silk Road Medical to buy from hold Stifel said in its upgrade of the medical device company that it likes management's vision. "Last week, at a major competitor healthcare conference, newly appointed CEO McKhann spoke publicly for the first time. McKhann articulated, even at this early stage, a compelling vision for getting the SILK story back on track, and thoughtfully addressed investor concerns." Goldman reinstates Broadcom as buy Goldman reinstated coverage of the stock and says it's well positioned for AI. "In short, we expect 1) strong double-digit revenue growth in the company's AI-related businesses (i.e. high-speed Networking and custom compute), 2) a cyclical recovery in Broadcom's classic Semiconductor business (which is over-indexed to Enterprise spending)." Goldman Sachs upgrades Fiverr to buy from neutral Goldman said the Israeli online marketplace is well positioned for AI. "Since FVRR launched dedicated AI services in January 2023, they have seen the number of AI-related gigs has increased over tenfold, and buyer searches for AI increased over 1,000% as of 1Q23 compared to six months prior." Raymond James names Nvidia a top pick Raymond James said the company is well positioned for AI in 2024. " NVDA' s dominant position in Gen AI infrastructure is unlikely to be challenged in the near term." Stifel upgrades DraftKings to buy from hold Stifel said the stock is "compelling." "Upgrading DKNG to Buy; Finally Time to Take the Over, as Short-Term Headwinds Distract from a Compelling '24 Setup." Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on Amazon shares. "Margin growth appears to be a core thesis for the stock, with investors asking on North America retail margin drivers, estimates & drivers for Int'l margins, and potential risks to continued margin expansion in 2024. Bank of America downgrades Celsius to neutral from buy Bank of America says it sees "uncertainty to sales momentum" for the energy drink company. "We are downgrading shares of Celsius Holdings (CELH) from Buy to Neutral, maintaining our $65 PO." Loop reiterates Netflix as buy Loop said Netflix's "dominance is becoming even clearer." "We reiterate our Buy on NFLX and raise our price target to $535 from $500. The rationalization of the streaming industry is starting and NFLX's dominance is becoming even clearer." Deutsche Bank names Starbucks a top pick Deutsche says it sees an improved same-store sales environment for Starbucks in 2024. "We believe the weakness in US SSS [same-store sales] in recent months is in part due to idiosyncratic factors and think efforts to bring back lapsed customers with increased (and relatively rich) promotional activity and new news to shift the narrative will gradually support an improvement in SSS and sentiment." UBS upgrades Texas Instruments to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees "cleaner comps." "We upgrade TXN as we believe it should be among the first to see orders inflect higher given less reliance on distribution (i.e. for TXN there is very little lag time between orders and revenue turning higher) and TXN also has cleaner comps and fundamentals as it was one of the few companies not to employ supply agreements during the peak." Barclays downgrades Nokia to underweight from equal weight Barclays said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees better value elsewhere. "We see investors' capital better deployed elsewhere in the sector and downgrade both Ericsson and Nokia to Underweight." Oppenheimer initiates Builders FirstSource as outperform Oppenheimer said the building products company is "best-in-class." "We are initiating coverage of Builders FirstSource (BLDR) with an Outperform rating and $220 price target." Morgan Stanley names ASML a top pick Morgan Stanley said the chipmaker is well positioned in a semis recovery. "We are moving ASML to top pick in our universe of European technology hardware names. This is based on our growing belief in a recovery in the semis equipment spend cycle best measured by an improving order book for ASML." Citi downgrades Blackstone and Carlyle to neutral from buy Citi downgraded several alternative asset managers on Friday and says it sees a more balanced risk/reward. "But after rolling price targets to 2025, we are downgrading BX and CG to Neutral from Buy as we see more balanced risk/rewards at current levels after strong finishes for both stocks in 2023 and we look to have a more balanced ratings distribution across our alts. coverage." BMO reiterates Block as a top pick BMO says it's bullish on the stock in 2024. "Nothing has fundamentally changed for SQ YTD, and we are bullish on the set-up for shares heading into 4Q and SQ's valuation offers potential downside support with shares trading at non-GAAP P/E ~15x with > 30% prospective EPS growth in 2026E. SQ remains a top pick for 2024." Citi names Marvel a top pick Citi said it likes the setup for shares of Marvel. "We move Buy rated MRVL to #1 as we like the stock setup in 2024 on continued AI optics growth..." Citi reiterates Coinbase as neutral Citi said it sees too many risks for Coinbase's business model right now. "We remain Neutral/High-Risk purely on regulatory risk, given any potential ruling can have significant impact on the company's future business model." Oppenheimer upgrades AT & T to outperform from perform Oppenheimer said headwinds have become tailwinds for AT & T. "T has underperformed the market and peers the past few years as the company underwent a difficult transition to position itself as a pure connectivity provider. We believe these headwinds have moved to the rearview, and the stock is set to benefit from a number of tailwinds." Bank of America names United Rentals a top pick Bank of America named the equipment company a top pick and says it sees a rerating in 2024. "Top picks are URI (Buy) - re-rating story, flex capex." Bank of America upgrades Teekay Tankers to buy from neutral Bank of America upgraded the tanker stock due to "rising rate upside." "We raise our rating on crude tanker Teekay Tankers (TNK) to Buy (from Neutral) and raise our PO to $72 from $56, based on 3.2x EBITDA, given rising rate upside as global shipping fluidity deteriorates." Evercore ISI upgrades IBM to outperform from in line Evercore said in its upgrade of the stock that it's well positioned for AI. "We are upgrading IBM to OP with a $200 Target Price as we think IBM is well positioned to benefit from a host of tailwinds in CY24 and beyond driven by a combination of Enterprise IT spend improving to drive productivity and AI centric tailwinds that could drive upside to consulting and software segments overtime." Evercore ISI adds a tactical outperform on Apple Evercore said it's standing by Apple heading into earnings on Feb. 1. "We think Apple should be able to report modest upside to Dec-qtr and guide March qtr in the zip-code of street expectations – gross-margins could be a wild card in march-qtr, street is modelling GMs flat in March q/q." Janney initiates Shoals as buy Janney said it sees an attractive entry point for the solar company. "We are initiating coverage of Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. (SHLS) with a BUY rating and $20 Fair Value." HSBC downgrades Discover to hold from buy HSBC downgraded Discover following a softer earnings outlook. "Downgrade to Hold rating as earnings outlook softens." Deutsche Bank initiates Motorola Solutions as buy Deutsche initiated coverage of the stock with a buy and says it has "safety in focus, with a unique balance of growth/profitability." "We initiate coverage of Motorola Solutions (MSI) with a Buy rating and $350, 12- month price target." Jefferies downgrades Hertz to hold from buy Jefferies said in its downgrade of the rental company that it sees too much uncertainty. "Moving to the Sidelines: EV Issues HERTZ Near- Term Profitability."