Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Home Depot, Anheuser Busch InBev, & more

Published Thu, Feb 20 20208:30 AM EST

Key Points

Wells Fargo downgraded Advanced Micro Devices to equal weight from overweight.
JPMorgan downgraded Anheuser Busch InBev to underweight from neutral.
Stifel upgraded La-Z-Boy to buy from hold.
Citi upgraded Analog Devices to buy from neutral.
Soc Gen downgraded Workday to sell from hold.
Oppenheimer raised its price target on Home Depot to $288 from $255.
Citi initiated Stanley Black & Decker as buy.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Wells Fargo downgraded Advanced Micro Devices to 'equal weight' from 'overweight' Wells Fargo downgraded the multinational semiconductor company and said it sees shares approaching a more "balanced" risk/reward scenario. "We're positive on AMD 's competitive positioning and share gain story. However, at current levels, and based on our new sum-of-the- parts (SOTP) analysis, we are downgrading to Equal Weight from Overweight as we see shares approaching levels that present a more balanced risk/reward" JPMorgan downgraded Anheuser Busch InBev to 'underweight' from 'neutral' JPMorgan downgraded the beverage maker and said it was seeing "new and intensifying" competition in many high profile markets as well as disruption from hard seltzer in the United States. "Despite a more benign input cost environment, 2020 is shaping up to remain challenging, leading to pressure on both GM and EBITDA margin. We also see ABI at a turning point ‒ as it tries to generate volume growth it appears to no longer be committed to raising prices in line with inflation. 'Smart affordability' has been rolled out across key markets, pressuring our price/mix and margin forecasts." Stifel upgraded La-Z-Boy to 'buy' from 'hold' Stifel upgraded the maker of upholstered recliners, sofas, and other furniture and said the company was "weathering disruptors" like Wayfair. "The company reported another solid quarter with the big news being a 10.5% increase in same-store written orders for the entire LZB store system and improved margin in the upholstery segment. It appears the company is weathering the 'disruptors' like Wayfair, who are running into some difficulties." Citi upgraded Analog Devices to 'buy' from 'neutral' Citi upgraded the multinational semiconductor company after its earnings report and said the bad news about the coronavirus is largely already priced in to the stock. "We are upgrading ADI from Neutral to Buy, and raising our price target from $115.00 to $144.00 as we believe the recovery in the semiconductor sector should benefit ADI just like the rest of the sector now that, in our view, the company-specific issues with ADI are largely over." Soc Gen downgraded Workday to 'sell' from 'hold' Soc Gen downgraded the financial management and human resources software company mainly on valuation. "While we expect Workday to deliver a strong finish to FY20 (to end-January), we lower our rating to Sell from Hold on a stretched valuation, with the stock up 25% since mid-December without substantial changes in fundamentals. ... We prefer Salesforce (Buy; TP $220), which also has impressive fundamentals but trades at a discount." Oppenheimer raised its price target on Home Depot to $288 from $255 Oppenheimer raised its price target on the stock to a Street high and said it sees low interest rates as a "catalyst" for home improvement retail. "Home Improvement Retail Setting Up Well for Spring. We view the recent slide in interest rates as an incremental catalyst for home improvement retail. We stick with our Outperform ratings on Home Depot and Lowe's and lift our 12- to 18-month price targets on shares to $288 and $165 (from $255 and $145), respectively. LOW represents our preferred play in the segment, given prospects for outsized profitability expansion, under the guidance of new management. A now "peak-ish" multiple of HD reflects the market better embracing underlying EPS power of the chain and prospects for outsized investment spending to soon wane." Citi initiated Stanley Black & Decker as 'buy' Citi called the manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware a "powerful industrials disruptor" " SWK is the largest power tools and hand tools manufacturer in the world with market shares of 16% and 39%, respectively. We project a three-year EPS CAGR of 10% until 2022E based on: 1) long-term market-share wins in both power and hand tools, as SWK and Techtronic are two of the few players with advanced R & D innovation platforms to grab market share from tiny players, which have a roughly 50% market share; 2) continued M & A in the highly fragmented fastener and infra tools markets given SWK's financial strength in the core tools segment; 3) stable growth in commercial electronics security."

Budweiser beer products manufactured by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV sit on display during a news conference in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, July 4, 2019.

Kyle Lam | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:

Wells Fargo downgraded Advanced Micro Devices to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'

Wells Fargo downgraded the multinational semiconductor company and said it sees shares approaching a more "balanced" risk/reward scenario.

"We're positive on AMD's competitive positioning and share gain story. However, at current levels, and based on our new sum-of-the- parts (SOTP) analysis, we are downgrading to Equal Weight from Overweight as we see shares approaching levels that present a more balanced risk/reward"

JPMorgan downgraded Anheuser Busch InBev to 'underweight' from 'neutral'

JPMorgan downgraded the beverage maker and said it was seeing "new and intensifying" competition in many high profile markets as well as disruption from hard seltzer in the United States.

"Despite a more benign input cost environment, 2020 is shaping up to remain challenging, leading to pressure on both GM and EBITDA margin. We also see ABI at a turning point ‒ as it tries to generate volume growth it appears to no longer be committed to raising prices in line with inflation. 'Smart affordability' has been rolled out across key markets, pressuring our price/mix and margin forecasts."