Here are Wednesday’s biggest analyst calls of the day: Nordstrom, Beyond Meat, Medtronic & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: JPMorgan downgrades Nordstrom to underweight from neutral JPMorgan said in a note to clients that it expects Nordstrom 's earnings to miss expectations in the years ahead. "With the current backdrop potentially 'as good as it gets' for both JWN's $100K+ core HH income customer (w/ mid-teens personal savings rate, debt service ratio at 40-yr lows, and US household wealth creation of +$12T in 2020) and on the pricing/promotional front (lean channel inventory / industry AUR expansion) – JWN's absolute and relative performance remains underwhelming." Argus downgrades Beyond Meat to hold from buy Argus said in a note to clients that Beyond Meat appears to be poised for disappointing results in the near term. "Third-quarter revenue guidance of $120-$140 million is below consensus, driven by labor shortages, a July 4 shift, and decelerating foodservice revenue growth (i.e., Dunkin' Donuts decision to no longer offer the Beyond Sausage sandwich). Moreover, we expect concerns about the Delta variant to have a negative impact on Foodservice sales." Cowen downgrades Boston Beer to underperform from market perform The slowdown for the hard seltzer category creates more downside for Boston Beer , according to Cowen. "Seltzer's summer slump continued through mid-August, with the category posting a 0.4% revenue decline. And, while SAM is gaining more share than we'd expected, the category is slowing more dramatically than we'd modeled. We don't see an on-premise recovery as a sufficient offset." Read more about this call here . Bank of America initiates Rent-A-Center at buy A recent acquisition creates upside for Rent-A-Center , Bank of America said in a note to clients. "The company's recent acquisition of Acima will pivot RCII to accelerated growth as the strong #2 competitor in the high-growth virtual lease-to-own (LTO) industry. Of the 40 largest retailers selling big ticket products like furniture and appliances, just 10 currently offer a lease-to-own financing option. We think many more could roll out programs in the coming years given the success of early adopters of virtual LTO technology." Piper Sandler downgrades Campbell Soup to neutral from overweight High steel prices could take a bite out of Campbell Soup' s earnings, according to Piper Sandler. "Broad exposure to rising commodity prices, especially steel, is becoming a significant risk to Campbell's F22 outlook and weighing on our forecast. Campbell typically has annual calendar contracts for steel, and we have little visibility where C22 will land." Read more about this call here . Bank of America reiterated Goldman Sachs at a buy Goldman Sachs being active on the acquisition front should be good news for investors, Bank of America said in a note to clients. "Mgmt. is actively pursuing strategies to grow the contribution from what investors would regard as 'stickier earnings' with the recently announced acquisition of Netherlands based NN Investment Partners consistent with achieving this goal." Citi added Medtronic to its focus list Medtronic 's pipeline should create further upside for the stock, Citi said in a note to clients. "There are product pipelines, and then there is Medtronic's pipeline. While the near term impact of the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on procedures, it did not stop Medtronic from delivering a beat and raise quarter. ... Yet it wasn't the quarter that most impressed us, but the continued drum beat of the pipeline." Barclays initiated coverage of Victoria's Secret at overweight Barclays said in a note to clients that it is bullish on the turnaround story at the women's apparel company. "While we believe the low-hanging fruit part of the turn at VSCO is complete, with the company benefiting from clean inventory and closure of unprofitable stores, there remains ample room for upside from revitalizing the brand with consumers and shifting to a more inclusive look with a simplified operating model." Evercore ISI maintained Apple at outperform Apple 's advertising business could be a major growth area in the years ahead, Evercore ISI said in a note to clients. "AAPL's advertising business remains an underappreciated lever for upside as we go forward and provides them with a unique way to ensure consumer privacy is upheld, but also further enhance the monetization mechanisms. We are currently forecasting Apple's advertising business to grow from ~$2B to ~$20B in FY25." Barclays reiterates Urban Outfitters at buy Barclays hiked its price target for Urban Outfitters to $53 per share from $49 after a strong second quarter report. "URBN's core customer demand backdrop continues to look robust and management commentary is optimistic about demand, with a healthy core customer, spending catalysts, and a robust fashion cycle." -CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Beyond Meat celebrates the launch of its newest retail product Beyond Breakfast Sausage in New York City on March 10, 2020. Cindy Ord | Getty Images