Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Disney, Tesla, Apple, Walmart, Roblox, American Express & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Jefferies reiterates Walmart as buy Jefferies sees a $20 billion AI and automation opportunity for Walmart. "We believe innovations in automated distribution, advertising, shrink reduction, and freight optimization could generate $20B+ of incremental EBIT by FY'29." Morgan Stanley downgrades Hertz to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of the car rental stock that it sees many risks. "Following 4Q results, follow-up calls with management, channel checks, and further (negative) EV data points, we believe the risks to HTZ's business outlook is more in balance with the potential reward." Goldman Sachs upgrades Roblox to neutral from sell Goldman upgraded the stock following its earnings report and sees "margin momentum." "In its Q4'23 earnings report, Roblox (RBLX) mgmt. struck a set of themes and operating performance that was consistent with its recent November 2023 Investor Day." Needham upgrades Disney to buy from hold Needham upgraded the theme park operator after its earnings report, seeing "strong" earnings per share growth. "Upgrading DIS to BUY (Finally). The Magic's Back." Morgan Stanley upgrades Discover and Ally to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of Discover and Ally that it's getting bullish on the stocks due to "prospects of a softer credit landing,." "Preferred ways to play? DFS & ALLY, upgraded to OW." Barclays initiates PNM Resources as overweight Barclays said in its initiation of the New Mexico and Texas energy company that it has capex upside. "Initiating coverage of PNM at OW with a $40 PT; Premier way to benefit from SW / Texas growth via small caps." Barclays upgrades Edgewell Personal Care to equal weight from underweight Barclays said in its upgrade of the shaving company that it sees "operational improvements" for Edgewell. "Limited downside to EPS and continued operational improvements are the key reasons for our upgrade to EW, although we will continue to watch for an improvement in North America volumes and commitment to reinvestment spending." Morgan Stanley downgrades American Express to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley downgraded the credit card stock mainly citing valuation. "Downgrading AXP to Equal-weight as good news now mostly in the price, discount revenue acceleration now a 'show me' story." Wells Fargo reiterates Disney as overweight Wells says it's standing by its overweight rating on the stock following earnings on Wednesday. " DIS is officially back on offense with the P & L [profit and loss] humming and confident guidance, incl. 20% FY24 Adj. EPS growth and a $3bn buyback. DTC [Direct to Consumer] + Sports + Experiences = long-term growth." Macquarie downgrades Alibaba to neutral from buy Macquarie said in its downgrade of the China online marketplace that it's "back to investment mode." "We downgrade BABA to Neutral as we see the company balancing defense and expansion, which potentially caps earnings upside for now." Oppenheimer initiates Cedar Fair as outperform Oppenheimer initiated the amusement park company with an outperform rating and said shares are compelling partly due to a pending merger with Six Flags. "Poised to merge with Six Flags and dissolve its MLP structure, we believe FUN is an interesting investment opportunity. DA Davidson downgrades New York Community Bancorp to neutral from buy DA said the regional bank is "no longer trading on fundamentals." " NYCB is willing to sell nonstrategic assets if it deemed it necessary to build capital, but that wouldn't solve the potential risk of deposit outflows." Guggenheim initiates Nextracker at buy Guggenheim said in its initiation of Nextracker that the solar supplier has a "significant presence." "The stock has seen strong performance already, but that performance has been matched by improvements in the underlying business, and we think that valuation continues to be attractive." UBS downgrades Air Products to neutral from buy UBS said in its downgrade of the gas supplier that it sees too many "unknowns." "We downgrade Air Products (APD) to Neutral as we need to get more visibility on the medium term earnings power and the timing/returns on longer term projects." TD Cowen upgrades Spirit AeroSystems to outperform from market perform TD said in its upgrade of Spirit AeroSystems that "cash prospects" look improved for the aerospace company. "Upgrade to outperform for enhanced cash flow prospects." Deutsche Bank downgrades AstraZeneca to sell from hold Deutsche downgraded AstraZeneca after the biopharma's "underwhelming" and "soft" earnings report. "Q4 first take: back to flat and down to Sell." Wells Fargo upgrades Criteo to overweight from equal weight Wells said in its upgrade of Criteo that it sees further market share gains for the digital ad company. "Share gain opp[ortunity] (alongside other winners TTD, RAMP) amid increasingly complex op[erating] environment." Barclays reiterates Apple as underweight Barclays said it's standing by its sell rating on shares of Apple as checks show App Store growth slowing. "January App Store growth slowed to 5% Y/Y, a roughly 500bp deceleration vs. last four months." Wedbush downgrades GoPro to neutral from outperform Wedbush said in its downgrade of the tech camera company that it sees "limited" profit margin opportunities. "We are downgrading shares of GPRO to NEUTRAL from OUTPERFORM, as prior sales growth targets appear unlikely in 2024 and possibly beyond, while margin expansion opportunities are limited." Wolfe reiterates Nvdia as outperform Wolfe says it's cautious heading into Nvidia earnings later this month. "So while NVDA remains our top pick, we've moderated our expectations into this particular quarter." Baird reiterates Tesla as a bearish fresh pick Baird said it's standing by its long term outperform rating on the EV maker but that consensus estimates remain too high. "We believe Q1 consensus is too high for deliveries, however, we continue to view TSLA as a core holding long term."