(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Troubled regional bank New York Community Bank faced a downgrade from JPMorgan, which said NYCB is facing a multitude of challenges. On the upside, Pharma giant Eli Lilly was the beneficiary of a huge bump at Truist Securities. The firm upped its price target for the drug maker to $850, all the way from $200. Elsewhere, NXP Semiconductors, despite badly lagging the market this year, has potential for growth due to exposure to the high-end auto market, according to Bank of America. And one analyst thinks red-hot Chipotle could be part of the “Magnificent 7” stocks. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:49 a.m. ET Analysts are loving Chipotle — and one firm thinks it should be part of the ‘Magnificent 7’ Several firms have upped their price targets on Chipotle Mexican Grill, after the fast-casual burrito chain on Tuesday reported a beat on quarterly earnings and revenue. KeyBanc Capital Markets : Analyst Eric Gonzalez maintained his overweight rating and raised his price target on the stock by $500 to $2,750 “to reflect the brand’s strong momentum that is likely to continue to build over time.” That number implies 10.5% potential upside. Chipotle’s ability to grow digital sales, and its strong brand positioning and marketing/innovation all “provide for best-in-class unit returns and a unique level of resilience that is worth a premium relative to its peers,” the analyst said. Gonzalez advised making room for the stock in the ‘Magnificent 7′ group. Wells Fargo : Analyst Zachary Fadem kept his overweight rating and raised his target price by $200 to $2,800, implying 12.5% upside for shares. “CMG checked every box in Q4 with 7%+ traffic growth, impressive flow-through and encouraging late-Jan commentary,” he said, adding that the stock is well-positioned to drive above-category growth, expand new units and improve long-term margins. Bank of America : Chipotle is “firing on all cylinders,” according to analyst Sara Senatore, who reiterated her buy rating on shares and raised her price target by $300 to $3,000, suggesting the stock could gain more than 20%. The call values the stock on its “steady state earnings power,” assuming the chain’s long-term target of 7,000 U.S. stores and an additional 1,000 international units. This year, Chipotle said it plans to open between 285 and 315 new locations. Barclays also raised its price target to $2,400 from $2,246 in a Tuesday note, and kept its neutral rating on slight cautiousness about the stock’s high valuation. Shares gained 2.5% in premarket trading. So far this year, the stock is up 8.8%. — Pia Singh 6:24 a.m. JPMorgan downgrades beleaguered New York Community Bank JPMorgan downgraded New York Community Bank, whose recent plunge has become a focus of the market as investors worry whether its troubles have wider implications about regional banks’ exposure to the commercial real estate sector. The firm cut New York Community Bank to neutral from overweight on Wednesday, citing recent executive departures and credit rating agency downgrades. JPMorgan also cut NYCB’s price target to $5.50 from $11.50. NYCB’s chief risk officer recently departed the bank, according to the Financial Times and Bloomberg News. Its chief audit executive also recently left the bank, Bloomberg News reported. “After speaking to management, we confirmed these two executives had indeed left the company, wrote JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos. “With that said, we were surprised that the news of these departures, particularly for the CRO role, did not come from NYCB directly given its current challenge of integrating three banks and crossing the $100B regulatory threshold — a time when one could argue management continuity is crucial,” Alexopoulos said. New York Community Bancorp shares are down nearly 60% so far in 2023 and closed Tuesday at $4.20. The stock fell 8.3% in premarket trading. The bank last week reported a big fourth-quarter loss citing commercial real estate losses and cut its dividend to meet new regulatory requirements. Moody’s credit rating service cut the regional bank’s credit rating to junk on Tuesday. “These steps by the ratings agencies are likely to present a headwind to NYCB’s ability to raise long-term debt down the road,” the JPMorgan note stated. Bank of America also downgraded the bank on Wednesday, to neutral from buy. —John Melloy 6:08 a.m. ET Bank of America remains confident in NXP Semiconductors, maintains buy rating There’s a buying opportunity in NXP Semiconductors, according to Bank of America. Analyst Vivek Arya upped his target price on the semiconductor manufacturing company by $15 to $270, which suggests just above 21% upside for the stock. He also kept his buy rating. “We remain confident in NXPI’s strong exposure to high-growth auto end markets ( > 56% of sales) despite near-term weakness, and see room for a recovery through CY25E,” Arya wrote in a Tuesday note. Arya added that autos remain a key growth area for the company, which is focused on radar, Battery Management Systems, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems applications. Semis demand is growing in these areas despite slower electric vehicle adoption, he noted. The analyst also mentioned NXP’s disciplined inventory management and strong free cash flow margins, which could reach the mid-20% range through 2025, as additional headwinds for the stock. NXP’s stock price is down 2.9% for the year, but still higher than 15% over the past 12 months. 6:08 On Monday, the company had posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue. — Pia Singh 5:47 a.m. ET Truist boosts price target for Eli Lilly after earnings beat Investors should count on Eli Lilly for its strong top and bottom-line growth potential, especially given the blockbuster growth of its diabetes and weight loss drugs, according to Truist Securities. Analyst Robyn Karnauskas maintained his buy rating and raised his price target on the stock by $200 to $850, which implies shares could gain 20.6% from Tuesday’s close. Karnauskas upped his price target “following increased conviction in LLY’s pipeline and demand for Mounjaro and Type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, as observed from the first 9 weeks of launch on TRx share,” he said. The therapy has been “rapidly growing” since launching in late November to 28% market share of the obesity TRx market share, as of Jan. 19, the analyst noted. Zepbound TRx is a once-a-week injectable prescription medicine for weight loss, and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Nov 8. “We remain bullish on Mounjaro/Zepbound growth,” Karnauskas added, modeling peak combined sales of $65 billion from $44 billion. To reflect growth in the obesity and diabetes markets, he adjusted his peak sales penetration for diabetes treatment Mounjaro by 5% to 15% and for Zepbound by 15% to 50%. Eli Lilly on Tuesday exceeded estimates for its fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, fueled by Zepbound’s whopping $175.8 million sales for the quarterly period, as well as higher prices for Mounjaro. The stock is up nearly 21% so far this year. — Pia Singh
