Here are Tuesday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: UBS upgrade Rivian to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the EV maker that it sees an attractive risk/reward.” “We upgrade RIVN to Buy seeing an improved set-up, though our 12-month PT goes to $24 from $26.” Read more about this call here. Bank of America reiterates Apple as neutral Bank of America said Apple Services is the “next leg of growth.” “We rate Apple Neutral as we see risk-reward as balanced.” Wells Fargo reiterates Amazon as overweight Wells said it sees “earnings power” ahead of the e-commerce giant’s quarterly report later this month. ” Amazon is at a positive inflection in North America (NA) retail OI [operating income] margins and AWS revenue growth unlocking the earnings power of the company.” Wells Fargo reiterates Alphabet as equal weight Wells said it’s standing by its equal rating on the stock heading into earnings later this month. “Despite higher ’24 estimates, see ’24 as a pivotal year for Google shares. 1H24 DOJ search trial decision expected, AI conversational search concerns in hibernation now but will likely reawaken, and the investment race for AI supremacy is likely to persist.” Jefferies reiterates Tesla as hold Jefferies lowered its price target to $250 per share from $265 and said it’s concerned about deteriorating fundamentals. “In the last few months, tracking Tesla fundamentals has felt a bit like watching paint dry. More margin erosion in Q3 and uncertain growth in 2024 still raise questions whether Tesla’s earlier profit edge was structural or a timing difference.” Citi downgrades Skyworks and Qorvo to sell from neutral Citi said it’s concerned several chipmakers may be replaced in certain phones in China. “We downgrade smartphone specialty semis QRVO/ SWKS to Sell from Neutral on increased China substitution risk post recent Huawei Mate 60 phone launch which we believe uses domestic RF/connectivity chips.” UBS reiterates Skechers as buy UBS said it’s standing by its buy rating on shares of the shoe company. “We believe Skechers’ brand and products continue to resonate with global consumers.” JPMorgan reiterates Disney as overweight JPMorgan lowered its price target on the stock to $120 per share from $125 but said it’s standing by its overweight rating. “While it may take 6-12 months before we have better clarity on Disneys strategic direction, including Hulu, an ESPN investment, and linear sale (or, more likely, not), which could be needed before shares begin to work, we remain Overweight shares given the company’s favorable asset mix vis-à-vis media peers.” Bank of America upgrades Electronic Arts to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for the video game maker. “We upgrade EA to Buy as the balance of risk appears more favorable.” Bank of America reinstates Northern Trust as buy Bank of America resumed coverage of Northern Trust and said the regional bank is “well positioned to navigate the cycle.” “We believe that the stock offers a compelling entry point to gain exposure to a hard to replicate wealth management franchise that caters to high-net and ultra-high-net worth clientele.” Daiwa initiates Arm Holdings as buy Daiwa said the semiconductor conductor is well positioned for upside. “Fast forward to now, Arm’s architecture is the most widely used in the world, 265b chips have shipped to date, all due to aiding customer time to market and lowering cost.” JPMorgan downgrades Juniper Networks to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the networking company and said it sees better value elsewhere right now. “We are downgrading shares of Juniper to a Neutral rating from an Overweight rating, as we look for the best positioning within our coverage given the current macro backdrop, with favoritism toward recovering spend in relation to Enterprise customers as well as accelerating spend from Cloud companies toward AI infrastructure.” JPMorgan downgrades Corning to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said it sees a more “muted” earnings upside for the glassware company. “We are downgrading shares of Corning to Neutral led by our expectation that the magnitude of earnings upside in the near- to medium-term is likely more muted than previously anticipated as the broader “recovery investors had been hoping for appears to be stretched out over a longer time period.” TD Cowen initiates O’Reilly as outperform TD said the auto parts company is “best-in-class.” ” ORLY is our top idea as we are constructive on its best-in-class execution and supply chain management that we believe position the company to take outsized DIFM [do-it-for-me] share and support DIY growth. Bank of America reiterates Block as buy Bank of America said investors should buy the dip in shares of the company formerly known as Square. “We are bullish on SQ’s full-fledge dual-sided ecosystem (Square and Cash App). Shares underperformed in ’22 due to macro concerns, but we believe the stock is not being given enough credit for the general resilience the business has shown to date as well as its opex discipline.” Read more about this call here. Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said it’s standing by its overweight rating on Microsoft shares. “Microsoft (OW, $415 PT) continues to screen well with favorable alignment to key secular AI themes and: 1) scope to monetize Generative AI across its broad portfolio; and 2) leverage to consumption pricing (via its Azure Cloud business) enabling investors to see any pick-up in demand earlier.”
