Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Micron, Nvidia & more

Published Tue, Feb 25 20208:40 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Feb 25 20208:52 AM EST

Key Points

Jefferies downgraded Tesla to hold from buy.
Nomura Instinet downgraded Nvidia to reduce from neutral.
Citi raised its price target on Tesla to $312 from $222.
Bank of America downgraded Micron to underperform from buy.
Goldman Sachs initiated Reynolds Consumer Products as buy.
Stephens downgraded Wayfair to equal weight from overweight.
HSBC downgraded Anheuser-Busch Inbev to reduce from buy.
Loop upgraded HP to buy from hold.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Tuesday: Jefferies downgraded Tesla to 'hold' from 'buy' Jefferies downgraded the stock mainly on valuation and said it wanted a "clearer" view of the company's battery business model. "However convinced we are about the Tesla equity opportunity, we still need valuation to be grounded into some visibility on market size and potential profitability. We raise our PT to $800 but neutralize our rating pending a clearer view on the upcoming battery business model. We continue to see Tesla as uniquely engaged in a positive sum-game in the EV transition against legacy original equipment manufacturers facing more severe strategic choices." Read more about this call here . Nomura Instinet downgraded Nvidia to 'reduce' from 'neutral' Nomura downgraded Nvidia and said companies and investors may have underestimated the coronavirus risk. "While there has been a lot of attention on the supply chain disruptions associated with COVID-19, we think many investors and companies may have underestimated the risk of the current issues impacting electronics end market demand through 2020. ... We think the economic dislocations resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak pose risk to demand in most electronic end markets, though we believe the end markets associated with consumer purchases might have the most potential downside." Read more about this call here . Citi raised its price target on Tesla to $312 from $222 Citi raised its price target on Tesla and said the stock's recent rally hasn't been "supported by corresponding fundamental data points." "Our view that the current bull case narrative appears premised on a number of flawed extrapolations & data interpretations. At current levels, it's not about being bullish or bearish, but rather about assessing risk/reward. We appreciate the appeal of the Tesla LT upside potential story, but even under a blue-sky/thematic lens (Car of the Future, ESG), we see more powerful storylines with more compelling risk/reward propositions in shared mobility (EV/AVs in particular), including the likes of GM/Cruise and Uber." Bank of America downgraded Micron to 'underperform' from 'buy' Bank of America double downgraded Micron and said the firm's latest checks show chip orders have started to decline due to the coronavirus. "True, we previously assumed that disruption in China tech supply chain will be normalized from mid- to late-2Q, and we still assume normalized smartphone assembly for 2H. However, our latest checks reveal that new memory chip orders (for 2Q and even 2H) have started to decline, led by smartphone/PC OEMs. This implies end-demand risk (retail consumption contraction or memory content increase for better tech specs) is becoming worrisome to original equipment manufacturers, particularly for high-end flagship phones, TVs, game consoles, etc." Read more about this call here . Goldman Sachs initiated Reynolds Consumer Products as 'buy' Goldman Sachs initiated the maker of household consumer products and call it a "unique" defensive asset. "We believe REYN is on the verge of driving an inflection in volume/mix driven sales growth while at the same time benefiting from deflationary input costs. As such, we see strong EBITDA and free cash flow growth going forward. We also take comfort in REYN's unique defensive traits, which should position the company to deliver consistent, albeit modest, growth through various economic cycles." Stephens downgraded Wayfair to 'equal weight' from 'overweight' Stephens downgraded the home goods e-commerce retailer and said its path to profitability is "unclear." While Wayfair' s 19% market share of the U.S. online home goods market is impressive, we question whether market share peaks before profitability is achieved. In a shaky market we think investors will gravitate to profitable companies with valuation support. We are moving to the sidelines with an Equal-Weight rating (was Overweight) and lowering our PT to $80 (was $95). HSBC downgraded Anheuser-Busch Inbev to 'reduce' from 'buy' HSBC downgraded the beverage maker and said it's "not convinced" the company has the right platform to compete in the hard-seltzer category. " ABI was early to identify the US hard-seltzer opportunity but was beaten in the seltzer boom by smaller competitors: These now have at least 5% of the US beer industry's volumes. Hard seltzer sales may double in 2020e, and ABI appears inclined to trade beer volume for hard seltzer volume with Bud Light Seltzer. We are not convinced that ABI has the right brand platform to win in a dynamic category that is new, premium and skews heavily toward women." Loop upgraded HP to 'buy' from 'hold' Loop upgraded HP after the company's strong earnings report and said it saw more upside in the stock due to a new buyback among other things. "A handful of things were announced on HPQ 's earnings call that suggest the stock continues to move higher from here through various means. One of these includes HPQ's new buyback as well as an incremental cost saves plan that places 2022 EPS at $3.25 - $3.65. Additionally, HPQ stated they would be contacting XRX to see if a deal could be reached that appropriately rewards HPQ shareholders for HP putting up strong January quarter EPS and raising 2020 EPS guidance. HPQ does anticipate an $0.08 headwind from coronavirus (mainly) supply chain impact in the April quarter, although they are deeming it temporary."

A booth of Micron Technology at an industrial fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters

(This story is for subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Tuesday:

Jefferies downgraded Tesla to 'hold' from 'buy'

Jefferies downgraded the stock mainly on valuation and said it wanted a "clearer" view of the company's battery business model.

"However convinced we are about the Tesla equity opportunity, we still need valuation to be grounded into some visibility on market size and potential profitability. We raise our PT to $800 but neutralize our rating pending a clearer view on the upcoming battery business model. We continue to see Tesla as uniquely engaged in a positive sum-game in the EV transition against legacy original equipment manufacturers facing more severe strategic choices."

Nomura Instinet downgraded Nvidia to 'reduce' from 'neutral'

Nomura downgraded Nvidia and said companies and investors may have underestimated the coronavirus risk.

"While there has been a lot of attention on the supply chain disruptions associated with COVID-19, we think many investors and companies may have underestimated the risk of the current issues impacting electronics end market demand through 2020. ... We think the economic dislocations resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak pose risk to demand in most electronic end markets, though we believe the end markets associated with consumer purchases might have the most potential downside."