Here are Wednesday's analyst calls of the day: Chipotle, Morgan Stanley, Target, Beyond Meat & more

Published Wed, Mar 4 20209:15 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Mar 4 202010:11 AM EST

Key Points

Citi upgraded Morgan Stanley to buy from neutral.
Wells Fargo upgraded Chipotle to overweight from equal weight.
Goldman Sachs added Target to the conviction buy list.
Nomura Instinet upgraded Home Depot to buy from neutral.
Barclays downgraded Nordstrom to underweight from equal weight.
SocGen upgraded Oracle to buy from hold.
KeyBanc upgraded Mattel to overweight from sector weight.
Argus initiated Beyond Meat as buy.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: Citi upgraded Morgan Stanley to 'buy' from 'neutral' Citi upgraded the investment bank after the recent sell-off in shares and called the company a "high quality franchise." "As we note in our industry note also published today, we believe the recent 15% pullback in the bank stocks since Feb 20 is warranted given our view that the business models for many banks are likely to be impaired from prolonged low rates. MS is down a similar amount to other regionals, yet we believe the impact to longer term returns is slightly less than 100bp vs 200bp or more at other banks which are more dependent on low cost deposits." Read more about this call here . Wells Fargo upgraded Chipotle to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' Wells Fargo said it is bullish on Chipotle as the company expands its "Chipotlane" drive-throughs. "We believe Chipotlane stores are set to accelerate the company's move back toward all-time high store-level sales, margins and returns, which we do not believe is appreciated by the market. Based on our work, we see Chipotlane stores as carrying higher volumes, margins and returns than a traditional format store. When coupled with a multitude of SSS drivers (including new products, loyalty, growing marketing and operational initiatives – all discussed in the body of the note), we have greater confidence in company reaching new highs for system average unit volumes and regaining (if not besting) historical highs for store-level margins which should culminate in earnings exceeding our prior expectations over the next several years." Goldman Sachs added Target to the 'conviction buy' list Goldman added the retail giant to its conviction buy list and said the company is well-positioned to benefit from store closures by competitors. "We think there is room for the top line story to exceed their low-single digit growth guidance as the company continues to benefit from competitor store closures; there could be conservatism too based on store remodel lifts, momentum in click and collect and a more efficient supply chain as the company integrates its investments. The company guidance of stable to slightly up gross margins and operating margins are positives; especially since the company is lapping better dollar and margin growth in 2019. We note that this algorithm of low-single digits growth with the opportunity for operating income dollar growth is still better than most retailers and is becoming a more consistent part of TGT 's story." Read more about this call here . Nomura Instinet upgraded Home Depot to 'buy' from 'neutral' Nomura upgraded the home improvement store and said it sees fundamental factors moving in the right direction supported by a strong housing market among other things. "We are upgrading Home Depot to Buy from Neutral as the recent market volatility, along with movements in rates, makes for a more rewarding entry point. We see several fundamental factors moving in the right direction for Home Depot including supportive housing markets, peaking investment spending and long-term benefits from HD 's current investment cycle. In addition, the recent sharp decline in interest rates could lead to additional demand stimulus for home-related purchases, potentially offsetting any near-term impact from virus-related disruptions. In this note, we outline four specific reasons for our upgrade." Barclays downgraded Nordstrom to 'underweight' from 'equal weight' Barclays downgraded Nordstrom and said the mall-based department store segment will be remain challenged over the longer term. "We are moving to an Underweight rating as, relatively speaking, we see more compelling risk/reward opportunities in the sector. Our UW rating is based on: 1) secular shift away from mall-based department stores, 2) sizable bet on NYC, which although may provide sales growth for the next year, is a significant investment, 3) off-price segment is driver of growth but offers lower EBIT margin than full-price, 4) negative brick-and-mortar comps as sales shift to the e-commerce channel, and 5) primarily branded product offering that competes with less expensive alternatives, as well as other distribution channels for the same product. Although there are encouraging signs with the company's Local stores and the new Manhattan flagship, both driving upside to sales and fixed cost leverage in the near-term, over the longer term we believe the mall-based department segment will remain challenged." SocGen upgraded Oracle to 'buy' from 'hold' SocGen said in its upgrade of the defensive stock that it would have less impact from coronavirus than initially feared. "Our preliminary assessment of COVID-19's potential impact leads us to trim our FY20-21e revenue/operating income estimates by < 1% on average. The stock slid 9% in the recent sell-off. As the 12m projected TSR has now reached 23.5%, we are upgrading Oracle to Buy from Hold (with a new TP of $61)." KeyBanc upgraded Mattel to 'overweight' from 'sector weight' KeyBanc said it had long-term confidence in the toymaker and increased visibility into Mattel' s future to-line growth. "We come away from our recent trip with mgmt more confident in the LT trajectory of the business, underpinned by a transition back onto offense as the turnaround matures, and what we believe is increased visibility into future top-line growth. Combined with future cost savings, cash flow optionality, and a recent pullback in shares, we see a favorable risk/reward for opportunistic LT investors; as such, we upgrade shares to OW (from SW), establishing a $16 PT." Argus initiated Beyond Meat as 'buy' Argus initiated the stock as buy and said it expects demand for the alternative meat company to continue. "We view Beyond Meat as the leading company in the plant-based protein space, with a widely recognized brand and prospects for continued market share growth. We expect demand for plant-based alternatives to meat to continue to grow, driven not only by consumer preferences for healthier food, but also by environmental concerns, especially among younger consumers."

Employees prepare orders for customers at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Hollywood, California.

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday:

Citi upgraded Morgan Stanley to 'buy' from 'neutral'

Citi upgraded the investment bank after the recent sell-off in shares and called the company a "high quality franchise."

"As we note in our industry note also published today, we believe the recent 15% pullback in the bank stocks since Feb 20 is warranted given our view that the business models for many banks are likely to be impaired from prolonged low rates. MS is down a similar amount to other regionals, yet we believe the impact to longer term returns is slightly less than 100bp vs 200bp or more at other banks which are more dependent on low cost deposits."

Wells Fargo upgraded Chipotle to 'overweight' from 'equal weight'

Wells Fargo said it is bullish on Chipotle as the company expands its "Chipotlane" drive-throughs.

"We believe Chipotlane stores are set to accelerate the company's move back toward all-time high store-level sales, margins and returns, which we do not believe is appreciated by the market. Based on our work, we see Chipotlane stores as carrying higher volumes, margins and returns than a traditional format store. When coupled with a multitude of SSS drivers (including new products, loyalty, growing marketing and operational initiatives – all discussed in the body of the note), we have greater confidence in company reaching new highs for system average unit volumes and regaining (if not besting) historical highs for store-level margins which should culminate in earnings exceeding our prior expectations over the next several years."