(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A delivery giant and a social media giant were among the biggest analyst calls on Wednesday. UPS was upgraded by Redburn Atlantic to buy. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo called for 20% upside for Meta Platforms and raised one of its estimates for the company’s ad sales. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:07 a.m.: KBW hikes Coinbase target after crypto volumes surge, still cautious on regulatory risk Strong trading volume in cryptocurrencies during the first quarter should help support the rally that Coinbase has enjoyed so far this year, according to specialty research firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Analyst Kyle Voigt hiked his price target on Coinbase to $230 per share from $160. Shares of Coinbase are already up more than 40% year to date, rallying along with the price of bitcoin. “Volumes over the past few months have continued to surge, with March [average daily volume] of $5.1 bln vs. Feb ADV at $2.4 bln. Admittedly, volumes have been extremely volatile, but we still move our base case assumptions for forward ADV higher,” Voigt said in a note to clients. The increased trading volume goes hand in hand with a growing amount of USDC, a stablecoin, on Coinbase’s platform. USDC has a high gross margin for Coinbase, according to KBW. Despite those positive trends, the new price target from KBW is still below the stock’s closing level on Tuesday of $245.84. “However, despite acute instances of regulators warming to crypto (bitcoin ETF approval), we believe COIN’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC and otherwise uncertain regulatory environment make it extremely difficult for many institutional investors to own COIN,” the note said. — Jesse Pound 5:53 a.m.: Wells Fargo sees strong first quarter for Meta ad business, 20% upside for stock The continued strength of the U.S. consumer in the opening months of 2024 should help fuel the rally for shares of Meta Platforms , according to Wells Fargo. Analyst Ken Gawrelski raised one of his estimates for Meta’s advertising business in the first quarter, saying that it should be slightly better than Wall Street expects. “We view Meta as beneficiary of healthy 1Q eComm environment,” Gawrelski said. Wells Fargo did trim its price target for Meta slightly to $600 per share from $609, based in part on 2025 estimates. The lower target is still about 20% above where the stock closed Tuesday. Long-term, Meta still has more levers to pull to ensure that it continues to grow, Gawrelski said. “[We] see sustainable multiple expansion driven by clear engagement and product catalysts to support the next leg of META share growth, as positive revision cycle driven by macro tailwinds moderates. We view WhatsApp as an under-appreciated asset w/ sizable potential, should Meta invoke more direct monetization beyond Click-to-Message ads,” the note said. — Jesse Pound 5:53 a.m.: Redburn Atlantic upgrades UPS UPS could be in for strong gains after a slow start to the year, according to Redburn Atlantic. Analyst Oliver Holmes upgraded the package delivery giant to buy, raising its price target to $180. The news forecast implies upside of 20.7% from Tuesday’s close. “We believe UPS is at, or close to, trough revenue, volume, margin and share price levels,” Holmes wrote to clients. “We see cause for positivity with key macroeconomic data sets stable, if not showing signs of improvement. This, combined with UPS’ cyclical nature, supports our expectation that volumes will turn positive in [Q2 2024].” UPS shares have lagged in 2024, losing more than 5%, while the S & P 500 is up 9% in that time. The stock climbed nearly 1% in the premarket. UPS YTD mountain UPS in 2024 — Fred Imbert
