(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Two tech names were top of minds for analysts on Thursday. Baird raised its price target on Apple by $40 to $240. BMO also increased its price target on Amazon to $230, implying upside of 27%. Analysts also took a favorable look at digital workflow company ServiceNow as well as energy stock GE Vernova. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:32 a.m. JPMorgan names GE Vernova a top stock idea, says shares can rally more than 30% GE Vernova has earned top-pick status from JPMorgan. Analyst Mark Strouse also reiterated his overweight rating on the energy stock and increased his price target by $21 to $216. That assumes shares could rally 32.6% over the next year from Wednesday’s closing price. “We are adding GEV as a top pick within our coverage owing to improving visibility into revenue and margin, an increasingly fortress-status balance sheet, and relatively less US election risk compared to our coverage,” Strouse said. Despite posting what Strouse called “strong” second quarter earnings on Wednesday, shares slipped more than 4%. He said that was unfair given the report, but more tied to a broader sell-off in artificial intelligence and data center names than due to the release. Strouse said order activity is “solid,” which can offer visibility into a revenue ramp and path for expanding margins. He also noted the company’s description of the recent Vineyard Wind blade failure as a “manufacturing deviation” rather than a design issue, as the latter could have had more wide-reaching implications. Shares took another leg down in extended trading, sliding nearly 2% in Thursday’s premarket. GE Vernova completed its spin-off and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in April. —Alex Harring 6:23 a.m. Mizuho raises price target for ServiceNow following better-than-expected earnings report Mizuho sees more room for digital workflow company ServiceNow to provide solid returns after earnings quieted critics. In addition to reiterating his outperform rating, Mizuho managing director Gregg Moskowitz upped his price target by $30 to $850. Moskowitz’s refreshed price target now assumes shares can climb 16.3% from Wednesday’s close. “NOW defied the skeptics by reporting a stronger than expected 2Q,” he wrote to clients on Wednesday. “The strength was headlined by momentum in the right places.” In specific, Moskowitz highlighted that contracted services not yet counted as revenue were up 22.5% from a year ago, above lukewarm expectations. He also noted solid interest in the generative artificial intelligence offering called Now Assist. NOW YTD line ServiceNow shares In all, the company beat expectations of analysts polled by LSEG on both sales and profits when reporting Wednesday. Looking ahead, Moskowitz said the company “remains very well positioned for high growth over the next few years.” That’s due to AI, cross-selling opportunities and continuous demand for workflow automation, the analyst said. ServiceNow shares have added just about 3.5% in 2024, lagging the S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. But it builds on 2023’s monster return of 82%. —Alex Harring 5:51 a.m.: Stifel downgrades Lamb Weston following weak earnings report Stifel moved to the sidelines on Lamb Weston after a disappointing earnings report prompted the frozen potato supplier’s worst day in its history. Analyst Matthew Smith downgraded the stock to hold from buy and slashed $55 off his price target, bringing it to $60. With that, Smith sees another 2.5% in downside from Wednesday’s close. Lamb Weston plummeted more than 28% in Wednesday’s session, marking its biggest daily loss going back to when it went public in late 2016. That comes after the company missed expectations of analysts polled by FactSet on both lines for the fiscal fourth quarter and issued weak guidance for full-year earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA. “We foresee limited downside from these levels and recommend investors hold their positions in Lamb Weston,” Smith told clients in a Wednesday note, citing the impact of that day’s decline on the stock. Smith pointed to the weaker outlook for the 2025 fiscal year and multiple compression as reasons for Wednesday’s sell-off. He called this “appropriate” because of the volatility and potential for a more competitive pricing environment in the medium term. His new target comes from assigning a multiple of 9 times the enterprise value-to-EBITDA based on the 2025 estimates, which he said is more in line with agricultural peers. This makes sense, Smith said, given the backdrop of dormant capacity and weak demand for the company. Lamb Weston slipped around 0.7% before the bell on Thursday. With Wednesday’s slide, shares are now down more than 47% in 2024. On Thursday, Cowen joined the downgrade party and cut its price target for Lamb Weston by $44 to $61. That fresh target suggests shares can bounce by around 8.1%. — Alex Harring 5:43 a.m.: Apple Intelligence can help stock remain smart pick, Baird says Apple Intelligence can provide upward momentum for the big technology stock — even if consumers don’t upgrade devices as often, according to Baird. Analyst William Power reiterated his outperform rating on the tech titan and hiked his price target by $40 to $240. Power now anticipates 9.8% upside from Wednesday’s closing level. Power pointed to new lows in AT & T and Verizon in upgrades as evidence that the trade up to new devices could continue slowing, which can be bad news for the product maker. Instead, he said investors should look at the use of AI within Apple Intelligence as a reason for optimism. “We have recommended AAPL for years on the back of its expanding eco-system, growing services contribution, strong cash flow and innovation leadership,” Power wrote in a Thursday note to clients. “Following years of slowing upgrade rates … we believe Apple Intelligence could provide a much-needed upgrade catalyst, boosting revenue and EPS growth meaningfully.” Additionally, he still raised the 2025 revenue forecasts for the iPhone and the business as a whole by 9.3% and 5.9%, respectively. Both are above Wall Street consensus, the analyst noted. Power’s note comes ahead of Apple’s earnings report slated for early August. While shares slipped around 0.8% in Thursday’s premarket, the stock is up by more than 13% on the year. AAPL YTD mountain AAPL year to date — Alex Harring 5:43 a.m.: BMO raises Amazon price target Amazon’s cloud business should continue driving shares higher, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Brian Pitz raised his price target on the stock to $230 from $220 and reiterated his outperform rating on the tech and e-commerce giant. The new forecast implies upside of 27% from Wednesday’s close. “With greater visibility following Google results, we monitor the incremental nominal dollar difference between [Google Cloud Platform] and [Amazon Web Services] since 2018 and are comfortable at +19%. As companies invest to stay competitive, we believe AWS is on a sustainable revenue growth trajectory through at least 2025,” Pitz wrote. Additionally, the analyst sees 20% year-over-year growth in Prime Day volume. Amazon shares have climbed 19% this year. However, they are down more than 6% in July. AMZN YTD mountain AMZN year to date — Fred Imbert
