(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Monday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A chipmaker and an online brokerage were among the stocks being talked about by analysts to start the week. UBS gave its Nvidia earnings preview, in which it upped its full fiscal year earnings estimates. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler upgraded Robinhood to overweight from neutral. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:01 a.m.: Goldman starts packaged food coverage Goldman Sachs named General Mills and Mondelez among its buy-rated packaged food stocks when beginning coverage of the sector. “We favor companies with lower exposure to private label risk as well as greater organic growth opportunities through a differentiated portfolio in alignment with key consumption trends,” analyst Leah Jordan wrote to clients in a Monday note. Jordan has a $76 price target on General Mills, which suggests shares can gain 10% over the next year. The stock’s current valuation doesn’t fully account for all the portfolio reshaping the Cheerios and Chex Mix parent has done in recent years, she said. Her $80 price target for Mondelez implies 14.7% upside. The Oreo maker should see above-average earnings growth, Jordan said, and the stock itself is a high-quality core holding. Elsewhere within this sector, Jordan placed Conagra Brands in the buy camp. She rated Hershey and Kraft Heinz as sells. — Alex Harring 5:50 a.m.: UBS lays out earnings expectations for Nvidia UBS is remaining bullish on Nvidia heading into the artificial intelligence giant’s earnings report. Analyst Timothy Arcuri reiterated his buy rating and $150 price target heading into earnings expected later this month. That price target reflects upside of 43.2% from where the semiconductor stock finished last week. While Arcuri kept his price target unchanged, the analyst lifted his forecast for 2025 earnings per share by 8 cents to $4.95. He said most investors appear to be caught up to that per-share earnings outlook. Arcuri said he expects Nvidia to post 68 cents in earnings per share on $29.9 billion in revenue for the fiscal second quarter. That’s above the Wall Street consensus of 64 cents and $28.6 billion. For the data center business specifically, his estimate of $26.3 billion is also above the Street’s $25 billion. If Arcuri is right, that would mark a 17% increase quarter over quarter. Nvidia shares have tumbled more than 15% in the third calendar quarter. But the megcap tech stock is still up more than 111% in 2024, underscoring its huge run earlier in the year. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Alex Harring 5:50 a.m.: Piper Sandler upgrades Robinhood Investors should scoop up shares of Robinhood after their recent pullback, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Patrick Moley upgraded the online brokerage to overweight from neutral. His price target of $23, up from $20, implies a gain of 28.3% over the next 12 months. Robinhood shares have been on fire this year, soaring more than 40%. To be sure, they are down nearly 28% from a 52-week high. HOOD YTD mountain HOOD year to date “We think this pullback presents an attractive entry point into an innovative, fast growing brokerage platform,” Morley wrote. “In the near term, we expect [net interest income] headwinds from future rate cuts to be largely offset by the second order effects of increased trading activity and margin loan growth. We also expect HOOD to benefit from the launch of a new web-based trading platform and the rollout of index options & futures trading later this year.” “Longer term, we expect HOOD to benefit from (1) continued growth in global retail & derivatives trading, (2) the generational wealth transfer from baby boomers to their children, (3) a strong position in crypto, and (4) international expansion, where HOOD is still in the early stages,” Morley added. — Fred Imbert
