Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Verizon, Nike, Uber, Exxon Mobil & more

Published Mon, Feb 3 20207:54 AM ESTUpdated Mon, Feb 3 20208:09 AM EST

Key Points

Credit Suisse downgraded Verizon to neutral from outperform.
Wedbush added Uber to the best ideas list.
Stifel upgraded Seagate Technology to buy from hold.
Credit Suisse downgraded ViacomCBS to neutral from outperform.
Credit Suisse upgraded Charter Communications to outperform from neutral.
UBS upgraded Nike to buy from neutral.
JPMorgan added Nike to the focus list.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Exxon Mobil to sell from neutral.
Telsey upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch to outperform from market perform.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Ulta to buy from neutral.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Northrop Grumman to sell from buy.
BMO downgraded Electronic Arts to market perform from outperform.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Monster Beverage to overweight from equal weight.
RBC upgraded Colgate-Palmolive to outperform from sector perform

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: Credit Suisse downgraded Verizon to 'neutral' from 'outperform' Credit Suisse downgraded the stock and said it doesn't see any "near-term catalysts" in shares of the company. "While we continue to recognize Verizon as a high-quality wireless operator, we are lowering our rating from Outperform to Neutral as we do not see any near-term catalysts for shares; this, as well as the 9% upside to our current $65 target price, suggests a Neutral rating is appropriate." Wedbush added Uber to the 'best ideas list' Wedbush added the stock to its best ideas list and said it sees a "profitable" business model for the ride-sharing company in 2021. "Since its IPO shares of Uber have been a nightmare for investors as the stock has traded well below its $45 IPO with the Street putting the name squarely in the investor penalty box out of the gates. To this point, our analysis of Uber's growth dynamics, pricing rationalization in the ridesharing space, and Uber Eats strategy now lay the groundwork for a company going through a growth metamorphosis with a profitable business model now on the near-term horizon for 2021." Stifel upgraded Seagate Technology to' buy' from 'hold' Stifel upgraded the data storage company and said it sees shares at a more "attractive valuation." "We believe the recent market weakness has provided us an opportunity to be constructively more positive from both a fundamental and valuation perspective. Fundamentally, we believe momentum continues in the near-term data center/ hyperscale environment and this should translate favorably for Seagate and the hard disk drive industry as a whole. On a Seagate-specific basis, we are more encouraged by its competitive positioning going forward in the nearline capacity drive segment, as we expect a halt in recent share losses and even a turn in share gains entering 2021. Credit Suisse downgraded ViacomCBS to 'neutral' from 'outperform' Credit Suisse downgraded the media company and said its valuation was "less compelling" following a downward revision in free cash flow. "We are lowering our rating on ViacomCBS from Outperform to Neutral as a result of a second meaningful downward FCF revision post the Viacom/CBS merger announcement. ViacomCBS's new, less cash-generative profile reduces its ability to repurchase shares (which would have helped offset long-term terminal value concerns), and makes the company's P/FCF valuation less compelling relative to its inherent risks." Credit Suisse upgraded Charter Communications to 'outperform' from 'neutral' Credit Suisse upgraded the cable operator and said it sees broadband "strength" going forward. "We are upgrading Charter from Neutral to Outperform as we reassess the value being created by successful Time Warner Cable integration overlaid with our overweight view on the cable sector and management's clear levered equity returns focus. Given 4Q results and management commentary we have increased confidence in the 2020-21 outlook, including faster growth for broadband customers, margin expansion, and FCF generation – we now see scope for ~$60b of stock buybacks the next 4 years vs. its ~$120b market cap." UBS upgraded Nike to 'buy' from 'neutral' UBS upgraded the stock to buy and said the company's investments continue to "drive" industry growth. "We upgrade Nike to Buy because we now think the market will pay a much higher P/E for NKE as it realizes how Nike's business model changes will make the company worth much more long-term. Nike's investments in product innovation, supply chain, and eCommerce cause us to raise our 5-year sales CAGR to 9% from 6.5% and our 5-yr. EPS CAGR to 17% from 15%." Read more about this call here . JPMorgan added Nike to the 'focus list' JPMorgan added the stock to the focus list and said the recent pullback in the stock makes it an attractive "buying opportunity" "With shares of NKE off 9% in the past 2 weeks (vs. SPX -3%) trading at a 1.5x PEG we see the recent pullback as a multi-year buying opportunity, adding to our Analyst Focus List (AFL) as a growth pick." Goldman Sachs downgraded Exxon Mobil to 'sell' from 'neutral' Goldman downgraded the stock and said it sees "downside risk" due to lack of free cash flow among other things. "We downgrade ExxonMobil to Sell from Neutral following 4Q2019 results given downside to long-term consensus estimates, elevated relative valuation versus peers, lack of free cash ﬂow limiting capital returns, and risk to long-term return on capital employed targets. The core of the Exxon bull case has been predicated on the company improving its return on capital, with a 15% ROCE 2025 goal set out at the 2018 Analyst Day. We see clear downside risk to this goal, with our own modeling showing an 8% ROCE in 2025 on a combination of lower downstream margin assumptions, lower crude price forecasts and risk around execution/capture rates." Telsey upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch to 'outperform' from 'market perform' Telsey upgraded the casual wear retailer and said it sees an "attractive" valuation among other things. "Given what we see as the ability to resume a relatively strong earnings recovery trajectory next year through ongoing improvements to square footage productivity and the anniversary of lease exit charges from last year against an attractive valuation, we are upgrading ANF to Outperform from Market Perform." Goldman Sachs upgraded Ulta to 'buy' from 'neutral' Goldman upgraded the beauty store and said it is sees an "attractive" entry point. "We see three reasons to own the name: The slowdown is cyclical in our view: ULTA has been one of the most debated names in our coverage since we initiated on it with a Neutral rating in October last year, with the biggest point of contention focused on the "cyclical vs. structural slowdown" argument; we think the reason for the slowdown in the business is largely cyclical in nature, based on our analysis of industry websites and manufacturer comments on earnings calls. ... Attractive entry point: Finally, we view the risk/reward as favorable at current valuations." Goldman Sachs downgraded Northrop Grumman to 'sell' from 'buy' Goldman double downgraded the aerospace and defense technology company and said it saw slower organic revenue growth among other things. "We downgrade Northrop Grumman to Sell from Buy. In the medium-term, organic revenue growth is slower than the industry, margins are compressing, and free cash has less growth; all of which we think are below current market expectations with the stock trading at 22X CY21 pension-adjusted P/E post a 70% move higher off the December 2018 lows." BMO downgraded Electronic Arts to 'market perform' from 'outperform' BMO downgraded the game maker on valuation among other things. "We are downgrading shares of Electronic Arts to Market Perform from Outperform. While we are encouraged by improvement in its sports games and strong performance from Star Wars, continuing the recent momentum could prove more challenging that we thought. We are concerned shares could stall as the Street grows concerned over uncertainty around monetization of current titles and a haphazard FY2021 lineup." Morgan Stanley upgraded Monster Beverage to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' Morgan Stanley upgraded the energy drink maker and named it a top pick saying it sees "strong" topline growth among other things. "We are upgrading Monster shares to Overweight from Equal-weight on our view of a pending US topline growth acceleration, continued strong topline growth in international markets, potential for gross margin expansion to return in 2020, and the stock at a compelling valuation, with MNST trading nearly 2 standard deviations below its historical averages vs. CPG growth peers." RBC upgraded Colgate-Palmolive to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' RBC upgraded the consumer products company after the company's earnings report and said it believes shares of the company are "poised" to "outpace the returns of its mega cap peers." "We are upgrading CL shares to Outperform from Sector Perform. After a sustained period of under-performance, we believe CL shares are poised to outpace the returns of its mega cap peers for the following reasons: 1) Colgate's 2020 guidance is both achievable and beatable; 2) CL shares are under-owned by institutional investors; and 3) CL is poised to benefit from the growing popularity of ESG investing." Read more about this call here.

Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi outside the New York Stock Exchange ahead of the company's IPO, May 10, 2019.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday:

Credit Suisse downgraded Verizon to 'neutral' from 'outperform'

Credit Suisse downgraded the stock and said it doesn't see any "near-term catalysts" in shares of the company.

"While we continue to recognize Verizon as a high-quality wireless operator, we are lowering our rating from Outperform to Neutral as we do not see any near-term catalysts for shares; this, as well as the 9% upside to our current $65 target price, suggests a Neutral rating is appropriate."

Wedbush added Uber to the 'best ideas list'

Wedbush added the stock to its best ideas list and said it sees a "profitable" business model for the ride-sharing company in 2021.

"Since its IPO shares of Uber have been a nightmare for investors as the stock has traded well below its $45 IPO with the Street putting the name squarely in the investor penalty box out of the gates. To this point, our analysis of Uber's growth dynamics, pricing rationalization in the ridesharing space, and Uber Eats strategy now lay the groundwork for a company going through a growth metamorphosis with a profitable business model now on the near-term horizon for 2021."