Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Netflix, Apple, Micron, Hershey, Dollar Tree, Qualcomm & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: UBS reiterates Amazon as buy UBS is bullish heading into Amazon earnings later this week with investors focused on the Amazon Web Services unit. "Once again we expect investors to be keenly focused on AWS' YOY growth as well as signs of increasing operating margins." Citi upgrades American Airlines to buy from neutral Citi said in its upgrade of the carrier that it sees a "smoother flight path." "Against this supportive backdrop, American's ongoing deleveraging focus and continued low capex, along with protracted industry capacity constraints, should continue to support" the stock. Deutsche Bank initiates TFI International and ArcBest as buy Deutsche is bullish and initiated coverage of several trucking companies on Monday. "We are expanding our coverage of the less than truckload (LTL) industry with initiation of coverage of TFI International (TFII, $12 billion market capitalization) and ArcBest (ARCB, $3 billion market capitalization) - both with Buy ratings." JPMorgan upgrades Dollar Tree to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said in its upgrade of the stock that it's a "self-help" story. "Dollar Tree ( DLTR) – Upgrade to Overweight w/ $157 Price Target." Wells Fargo downgrades Warner Brothers Discovery to equal weight from overweight Wells said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees "less favorable M & A." "We're changing our WBD thesis from deleveraging w/ multiple expansion to lower EBITDA with a static multiple. We also back-off a '24 take-out thesis." Jefferies reiterates Microsoft as buy Jefferies says it's bullish heading into Microsoft earnings Tuesday. "All in, we believe due to these aforementioned factors it's possible that MSFT guides to mid-teens reported rev growth for the year with incremental AI contribution and a potential recent tailwind of FX." Jefferies reiterates Meta as buy Jefferies raised its price target on Meta to $455 per share from $425, saying it's bullish heading into earnings later this week. "Our recent digital ad checks have been the most positive we've seen in several years, giving us conviction in Q4 rev at the high end of guidance and Q1 rev guidance above the street at the high end." Evercore ISI reiterates Alphabet as outperform Evercore said it's bullish heading into Alphabet earnings later this week. "We view the Street's Q4 Gross Revenue estimate and Advertising Revenue estimate as reasonable, with modest upside potential given our industry channel checks suggesting continued robust Ad spend through Q4, especially at YouTube." Bernstein upgrades Hershey to outperform from market perform Bernstein said in its upgrade of the chocolate maker that market share trends are improving. " HSY: Something to nibble on - Upgrading to Outperform based on improving volume and share trends." Goldman Sachs reiterates Nvidia & Micron as buys Goldman said it's standing by shares of Nvidia and Micron. "With sector valuations relative to the broader market at or near the highs on a 10-year lookback, we continue to recommend stocks where we see potential for positive EPS revisions such as NVDA (Buy, Conviction List) and MU (Buy)." JPMorgan reiterates Netflix at overweight JPMorgan says it's standing by shares of the streaming giant. "Our NFLX bull thesis remains: 1) accelerating revenue growth in 2024 led by healthy organic growth, Paid Sharing, & price increases; 2) steady operating margin expansion balanced w/ growth investments across content, advertising, & gaming." Barclays reiterates Apple as underweight Barclays is sticking with its sell rating heading into earnings later this week. "We see in-line Dec-Q. We expect Mar-Q guide will miss Street estimates due to softening hardware demand, which would continue a multi-quarter trend for AAPL." Raymond James upgrades Colgate-Palmolive to outperform from market perform Raymond James said in its upgrade of the soap and toothpaste maker that it sees "upside opportunity." "We are upgrading shares of Colgate-Palmolive to Outperform from Market Perform and setting our price target at $91 following 4Q23 earnings and the introduction of the company's 2024 outlook." Citi names Sherwin-Williams a top pick Citi says Sherwin-Williams is a new top pick at the firm. "Share Gains Support Upside in 2024; Reiterate Buy and New Top Pick." Canaccord initiates NuScale Power as buy Canaccord is bullish on shares of the modular reactor company. "Initiating on NuScale with a BUY rating and $4.25 price target." UBS upgrades Rapid7 to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the cyber software company that Rapid7 is underappreciated. "Margin story is still discounted… and shift to higher growth offerings is underappreciated." Bank of America upgrades ZoomInfo to buy from neutral Bank of America said the software company is a "self-help" story. "We are upgrading ZoomInfo to Buy from Neutral, and raising our PO to $25 from $20, as we believe it is a classic self-help story that is set to outperform." Barclays upgrades Alvotech to overweight from equal weight Barclays said in its upgrade of Alvotech that it's getting bullish on the biotech company. "We believe the Generics sector is now poised to reverse industry dynamics and underperformance, as pricing pressure has likely bottomed." JPMorgan upgrades Beam Therapeutics to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the biotech company has "best-in-class" potential. "In our view, Beam's proprietary genetic base-editing platform provides either first or best-in-class potential across a diverse array of programs in heme and liver-mediated disease indications with advantages in editing efficiency, specificity, and editing in larger organ systems." Morgan Stanley upgrades Flywire to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of Flywire that it sees several growth drivers for the global payment tech platform. "We think concerns about the sustainability of revenue growth creates one of the most compelling risk-reward opportunities across our SMID-cap fintech coverage." Bank of America upgrades Builders FirstSource to buy from neutral Bank of America said the building materials company is well positioned. "BLDR is the best positioned in our coverage for stronger single-family starts, potential increase in lumber prices and homebuilders' shift to more value-add services." Morgan Stanley downgrades Norfolk Southern to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said the Atlanta-based railroad is at a "crossroads." " NSC's 4Q miss and 2024 commentary reflected similar volume and cost concerns as other Rail prints this season but the gap to peers, modest LT targets and lack of a concrete new plan to get there, leaves current consensus EPS expectations and stock multiple less justifiable than peers, in our view." William Blair upgrades AbbVie to outperform from market perform William Blair said in its upgrade of AbbVie that it sees burgeoning growth. "Strong Growth Outlook Bolstered by Recent M & A and Subsiding Headwinds; Upgrading to Outperform." Bank of America reiterates Advanced Micro Devices as buy Bank of America raised its price target on the stock to $195 per share from $165. "We rate AMD Buy. It serves a[n] $80bn+ addressable market opportunity in PC, server, high-end gaming, deep-learning and related markets where AMD has less than 30% value share currently." Morgan Stanley downgrades Brown-Forman to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of the liquor company that it sees slowing spirits growth. "We are downgrading BF/B from Overweight to Equal-weight amid weaker than expected U.S. and global spirits industry growth, which could linger, and heightened risk of increased promotional activity." Bernstein reiterates Qualcomm as outperform Bernstein said it's bullish heading into Qualcomm earnings later this week. "In the meantime the company's product portfolio is the best it has ever been."