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(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A railroad stock and a fast food giant were in focus Wednesday among early analyst calls. Barclays raised its rating on Norfolk Southern to a buy-equivalent rating, and his new price target calls for about 20% upside. On a more sour note, JPMorgan downgraded Wendy’s to neutral, noting the stock will likely stay rangebound at current levels. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:29 a.m.: Piper Sandler downgrades Palo Alto Networks, expects lower short-term growth and multiple Piper Sandler isn’t optimistic on Palo Alto Networks in the short-term. The firm downgraded the cybersecurity stock to neutral from overweight and lowered its price target to $300 per share from $350. Piper Sandler’s forecast implies about 18% downside from Tuesday’s $366.09 close. “PANW is the largest platform player in the segment and, in hopes to accelerate that positioning, will take an aggressive approach in offering free product with the promise of longer-term, platform contracts. This should negatively impact the business for 12-18 months – eliminating $600M from billings estimates in the back half of this year,” analyst Rob D. Owens said. “While much of this will clearly be on the come, it will have a negative impact on both growth rates and multiple in the short to medium term,” he added. The call comes after Palo Alto issued weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue guidance for its fiscal third quarter, which overshadowed strong second-quarter figures. Shares were down 23% in the premarket on the back of the report. Loop Capital also downgraded the stock to hold from buy. — Brian Evans 6:03 a.m.: HSBC downgrades Home Depot over lower sales momentum Despite Home Depot reporting largely in line fourth-quarter results, HSBC thinks lower sales momentum will hamper short-term profits. The firm downgraded the retailer to reduce from hold and maintained a $323 per share price target. HSBC’s forecast calls for nearly 11% downside moving forward. “Given a lack of near-term catalysts, we downgrade to Reduce. Key upside risk is better-than-expected consumer spending on housing projects,” analyst Daniela Bretthauer said. Home Depot stock has climbed nearly 5% in 2024. Shares fell slightly in the premarket. — Brian Evans 5:44 a.m.: JPMorgan downgrades Wendy’s JPMorgan thinks shares of Wendy’s are likely to stay range bound following fourth-quarter results. The firm downgraded the fast food stock to neutral from overweight and lowered its price target to $19 per share from $22. JPMorgan’s forecast implies about 6% upside. Shares have slipped more than 7% this year. “Moving to Neutral as we see the stock likely to remain range-bound in an industry where price promotion + capital intensity across the category is likely to increase,” analyst John Ivankoe said. He also noted company’s in the fast food sector are more sensitive to a consumer want for “price certainty” which is pushing companies to shift back to lower price options more akin to the pre-pandemic era. Wendy’s shares dipped 1.3% in the premarket. — Brian Evans 5:44 a.m.: Barclays upgrades Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern could see a shake-up to its leadership, and Barclays thinks these changes could lead to strong gains for the stock. Analyst Brandon Oglenski raised his rating on the railroad operator to overweight from equal weight. He also hiked his price price target to $305 from $255. The new forecast calls for 20% upside from Tuesday’s close. Activist investor Ancora recently took a stake in Norfolk Southern and is nominating board candidates. It’s also looking to oust current CEO Alan Shaw. “Norfolk Southern has trailed industry profitability levels since 2015, and under the tenure of current CEO Alan Shaw, the margin gap has widened to nearly 600 bps (based on 2023 results),” Oglenski wrote. “We suspect investors have been frustrated with financial outcomes at Norfolk Southern for a while, as numerous changes and overhauls to the operating strategy have not led to any meaningful reduction in the profitability gap in the past few years.” Shares are doing well this year, rising 7.4%. However, the stock lost 4% in 2023, while the broader market rose sharply. Norfolk traded more than 1% higher in the premarket. NSC YTD mountain NSC year to date — Fred Imbert
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