Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: D.A. Davidson initiates Blaize as buy D.A. Davidson said in its initiation of the tech company that it is best “positioned to become a key player in AI-enabled edge computing.” “We are initiating coverage o f Blaize with a BUY rating and $10 price target.” UBS reiterates Walmart as buy The firm says it is bullish heading into Walmart earnings next week. “With that said, we think the company’s results will live up to the high expectations.” Needham upgrades GlobalFoundries to buy from hold The firm says the semis company is well positioned as it emerges from the “cyclical downturn.” “We believe the outlook for GlobalFoundries is improving as the semiconductor industry emerges from the cyclical downturn.” Goldman Sachs downgrades On Holding to neutral from buy Goldman Sachs says it is concerned about slowing growth for the show company. “Near term, we note recent US credit card data points to US growth below consensus for 4Q24 in the DTC channel; while this data is US specific and we do not expect a miss to consensus expectations for On, we note that sportswear companies that have missed expectations such as Nike, Puma and Deckers have seen significant share price declines recently.” Bernstein reiterates Netflix as outperform Bernstein says it is bullish on Netflix’s podcasting opportunity. “Netflix is exploring a foray into video podcasting. This isn’t the first time the idea has surfaced, and there are more questions than answers at this point. However, we believe adding this category to Netflix’s content library aligns well with their overall content strategy.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight The firm said it was standing by the stock after reports emerged on Tuesday that Apple could partner with Alibaba. “If confirmed, we would view this as a critical catalyst for Apple’s competitive standing in China. … Could a potential Alibaba AI partnership help solve Apple’s China smartphone problem? Yes, it could, in our view.” JPMorgan upgrades Upstart to neutral from underweight The firm upgraded the artificial intelligence lender following earnings. “More specifically, we see Upstart’s model improvements as a force multiplier that has the potential to boost conversions/transaction volume and unlock operating leverage.” Morgan Stanley initiates AstraZeneca as overweight The firm said in its initiation of AstraZenec a that shares of the biopharma company are too attractive to ignore. “A compelling entry point, with reasonable valuation ahead of key pipeline readouts.” Benchmark reiterates Nvidia as buy Benchmark says it sees new growth opportunities for Nvidia in autos. “Still with all that success, the company isn’t resting on its laurels, instead Nvidia is working to parlay its leadership into new opportunities. In the Automotive market, we believe the company has identified just such a case.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley says investors should buy the dip in Tesla and that it is well positioned for U.S. manufacturing. “We believe Tesla is well positioned in the metamorphosis of US manufacturing in the AI era. Data is defining the software.” JPMorgan upgrades Compass Minerals to overweight from neutral JPMorgan says the salt maker is well positioned. “The core business of Compass is salt for the management of snow and ice on roads in the US and Canada, and the two previous winters have been warm.” Wells Fargo reiterates Coca-Cola as buy Wells Fargo says the stock has plenty more “room to run.” “We argued in September 2024 that, in the coming months, KO would emerge as the most differentiated model in the mega caps. The Kat’s out on KO with notable outperformance vs peers…but there’s still room to run.” Seaport initiates Instacart as buy Seaport says the delivery company is a share gainer. “We are initiating coverage of Maplebear Inc. (Instacart) with a Buy rating and $62 price target.” JPMorgan reiterates Super Micro as underweight The firm says it is sticking with its underweight rating following earnings. ” Super Micro’s F2Q25 (Dec-end) earnings report was mixed in relation to trends as we had expected heading into the earnings print for AI Server companies, with near-term results and outlook falling short in terms of revenue, margins, and earnings…” Needham initiates Ralph Lauren as buy Needham says the stock is a “compelling momentum play.” “We are initiating coverage of RL with a Buy rating and $310 price target.” Morgan Stanley upgrades NXP Semiconductors to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley says it sees “cyclical and Idiosyncratic (gross margin) tailwinds are aligning” for the semis company. ” NXP underperformed during 2022-2024 due to holding back on shipments to direct customers and distributors, but we think the company is set up well to outgrow auto semis in 2025.” Benchmark initiates Tesla as buy The firm says it likes Tesla’s growth opportunities. “Tesla has multiple opportunities to fuel growth including autonomous vehicles, robotics, and energy generation/storage, as well as continued proliferation of the EV market.” JPMorgan reiterates Shopify as overweight JPMorgan says it is sticking with the stock following earnings on Tuesday. ” Shopify reported another solid beat that saw accelerating volume and revenue growth and FCF margin upside.”
