(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Friday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Chipmakers were front and center among analysts Friday. Morgan Stanley raised its rating on Analog Devices to overweight from equal weight, noting the company can outperform in a tougher market next year. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler raised its data centers revenue guidance on Nvidia ahead of the company’s earnings report next week. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. 5:48 a.m. ET: Morgan Stanley upgrades Analog Devices, says it can outperform a weaker 2024 market Morgan Stanley thinks Analog Devices is a safe play amid an impending market slowdown. Analyst Joseph Moore upgraded the semiconductor manufacturer to overweight from equal weight and upped his price target on the stock by $49 to $225. The new target implies shares can gain up to 25.1% over the next 12 months. “As we enter the later stages of a downcycle, we cut numbers on ADI—but upgrade the stock as the severity of the current downturn should point to a bottom in 2Q24—down 20-25% from peak,” Moore wrote in a Thursday note. Two reasons behind the overweight rating include: The chip company has outperformed peers in the past three down cycles due to resilient gross margin levels Analog’s forward earnings are “de-risked” after guide-downs from the company The analyst noted material deterioration in communications infrastructure and said he expects the company’s quarterly revenues to fall 23% in the first quarter of next year, however, adding that the firm also anticipates a market bottom in May. Shares added 2.6% in premarket trading Friday. — Pia Singh 5:48 a.m. ET: Piper Sandler raises Nvidia data centers revenue estimates Piper Sandler is optimistic Nvidia can deliver strong quarterly results next week thanks to strong revenue from a key segment. The firm raised its sales estimates for the chipmaker’s data centers business for the third October and January quarters to $13 billion and $14.434 billion, respectively. “We believe demand from U.S. cloud and other data center clients remains strong and intact given these firms are still in the process of transforming their data centers with accelerated compute capabilities,” analyst Harsh Kumar wrote. “We note these include all of the key players in the cloud industry as well as GPUaaS startups which are also providing tailwinds to demand.” Nvidia is set to report earnings Tuesday. Kumar has an overweight rating on the stock and a price target of $620, implying upside of 25%. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA in 2023 — Fred Imbert
