Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Nike, Home Depot, GM, Wells Fargo, Coinbase and more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Piper Sandler downgrades Apple to neutral from overweight Piper Sandler said in its downgrade of the stock that it's concerned about handset inventories. "We are downgrading AAPL to Neutral given our updated outlook for the broader handset environment in 1H24." Morgan Stanley upgrades Allstate to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of Allstate that it's underappreciated. "Underappreciated Story in a Favorable Market Environment; Upgrade to Overweight." Roth MKM downgrades Mattel to hold from buy Roth MKM said in its downgrade of the toy company that there's too much excess inventory. "In our view, Mattel finished 2023 with excess inventory on retail shelves which will once again weigh on 1H results." Barclays downgrades Bath & Body Works to equal weight from overweight Barclays said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees top-line concerns. "downgrade BBWI to EW given concerns about driving top line." Bernstein downgrades Analog Devices to market perform from outperform Bernstein downgraded Analog mainly on valuation. "The company likely has a more resilient profile than peers in a potential downside scenario, with a profile that appears closer to bottom, however valuations have markedly expanded and the shares/earnings may need to grow into the multiple." Bernstein names Nike a best idea Bernstein said Nike is one of the firm's top picks for the next six months. "Meanwhile, the multi-year margin story is still intact, and we model ~20% EPS growth over the next 3 years." Bank of America upgrades Tal Education to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees improving profitability for the China-based education company. "We upgrade TAL from Neutral to Buy. We raise our FY24-26E non-GAAP EPS by 59-381%, largely due to higher assumptions of K-9 non-academic tutoring growth." KeyBanc downgrades Sunrun to sector weight from overweight KeyBanc downgraded the solar company on valuation. "We are downgrading RUN to SW due to a recent valuation rebound." Jefferies upgrades Murphy USA to buy from hold Jefferies said in its upgrade of the gas station company that it's "well positioned for multiple expansion." "After conducting extensive analyses on the c-store industry, we are upgrading MUSA to Buy from Hold and PT to $425 vs. prev: $375." Evercore ISI upgrades Five Below to outperform from in line Evercore ISI said in its upgrade of the stock that it's "defying gravity and delivering growth." "We are upgrading FIVE with rising spend intention from our survey work, sticky remodel boost…" Mizuho upgrades Emerson Electric to buy from hold Mizuho said in its upgrade of the stock that it's a "barbell play." "We upgrade EMR as a barbell play (long/short cycle exposure)." Piper Sandler reiterates Nvidia as overweight Piper Sandler says the stock is still its top large-cap pick. "We continue to favor NVDA in this end market given its competitive position as the premier full-stack compute supplier." TD Cowen downgrades Pfizer to market perform from outperform TD Cowen said in its downgrade of the stock that it has a "lack of conviction" in the outlook. "After a very challenging 2023, much pessimism appears to be reflected in PFE stock." TD Cowen upgrades Merck to outperform from market perform TD Cowen says the stock's valuation is compelling. " MRK offers greater near-term EPS visibility and solid news flow, yet the stock was only an average performer in 2023, and it sells at a below-average PE multiple." Wells Fargo names Home Depot a top pick Wells Fargo says the stock is a top idea in 2024. " HD: Our Top Pick for '24, with growth/recovery levers, margin recapture, and idiosyncratic Pro opportunity." Wells Fargo downgrades Five Below and BJ's to equal weight from overweight Wells Fargo downgraded Five Below and BJ's on Thursday and says it sees earnings risks. "The industry faces an uncertain earnings backdrop in 2024 in our view, and we start the year somewhat below consensus for many of our companies." Deutsche Bank names General Electric and Boeing top picks Deutsche Bank said General Electric and Boeing were its best ideas in 2024. "Our top ideas: BA , GE , and CR are our top three ideas across the broad A & D sector." Oppenheimer downgrades PayPal to market perform from outperform Oppenheimer said in its downgrade of PayPal that it sees profits pressured. "Persistent Profitability Pressure Has Us Downgrading Shares To Perform." JPMorgan upgrades American Express to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said in its upgrade of the stock that it's a "safe haven." " AXP – Upgrade to Overweight (from Neutral) as safe haven from deteriorating household balance sheets." Goldman Sachs upgrades Comerica to buy from neutral Goldman Sachs said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees loan growth returning. "In addition, we are upgrading Comerica to Buy as we see several catalysts for shares over 2024, including: while NII has been under pressure, it should start to inflect as deposit pressure eases and it benefits from eventual fed rate cuts loan growth should return as its optimization finishes and middle market clients start to borrow incrementally." Goldman Sachs names Wells Fargo a top pick Goldman Sachs said it sees market share gains for the banking giant. "We are constructive on WFC on better NII [net interest income], given conservative management assumptions and best-in-class deposit repricing." Wolfe upgrades General Motors to outperform from peer perform Wolfe said in its upgrade of the auto company that it's "warming up to the stock" "We believe that investors underestimate the earnings and cash flow power that GM will generate over the near- to medium-term, and the competitive cost advantages that they are bringing to bear over the medium- to longer-term." Wolfe downgrades Rivian to peer perform from outperform Wolfe said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees product uncertainty. "We continue to believe in RIVN's long-term strategy. And we've been encouraged by their (recently) strong production and cost execution. But for the Street to look further out to the launch of their R2 platform (in 2026), we believe that Investors will need more insight into demand for the company's R1 platform." Mizuho reiterates Coinbase as underperform Mizuho said it's sticking with its underperform rating on the stock. "The potential upside to COIN revenue from Bitcoin ETF may be far less than what the stock indicates." Stifel downgrades Papa John's to sell from hold Stifel said the stock is "overbaked" right now. "We are downgrading shares o f PZZA to Sell from Hold and maintaining our $65 target price." Wells Fargo names Toll Brothers a top pick Wells Fargo says the stock is a top pick in 2024. " TOL is our Top Pick into '24, w/ lower rates presenting opp'ty for offense. But rest of the group can work too, w/ Street ASPs embedding no y/y growth & GMs +100bps y/y." Bank of America upgrades Truist to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its upgrade of the bank that the macro is becoming more "manageable." "We upgrade our rating on Truist Financial (TFC) to Buy from Neutral, raising our PO to $43 implying 17% upside (stock also offers a 5.7% dividend yield)." Wolfe upgrades Verizon to outperform from peer perform Wolfe said in its upgrade of the stock that the multiple looks "more up than down." "At the company level, VZ offers an established deleveraging trend, signs of improving execution, and 67% of revenue in growing businesses." Barclays upgrades Dollar General to overweight from equal weight Barclays says it sees a margin inflection for the stock. " DG (upgrade to OW from EW): We believe that efforts to clean up inventory along with store level investments will support improving sales and potential recovery in margins starting in Q2/3." Barclays upgrades Home Depot to overweight from equal weight Barclays says it likes the stock's exposure to rate cuts. "Other cyclicals may offer more upside, but HD gives us exposure to potential rate cuts, is not over-earning, and really just needs to hit numbers. Our proprietary leading indicators support improving comps through FY24 and into FY25." Piper Sandler upgrades Micron to overweight from neutral Piper Sandler says it sees pricing momentum for shares of Micron. "We believe that on peak earnings, book value could reach highs of $50-$60 per share with the stock trading at a multiple of 2.5-3.0x." Monness Crespi Hardt downgrades Snowflake to sell from neutral Monness said in its downgrade of the stock that it's overvalued. "Benefitting from an overly exuberant tech market in the final quarter of 2023 and riding the coattails of an unprecedented AI hype cycle, Snowflake has rebounded sharply over the past couple of months. In our view, this has left the stock overvalued and vulnerable to selling pressure.