There were a ton of stock calls on Thursday as analysts try to pick winners and losers amid crisis

Published Thu, Mar 12 20209:31 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Mar 12 202010:12 AM EDT

Key Points

JPMorgan downgraded Boeing to neutral from overweight.
Deutsche Bank upgraded Snap to buy from hold.
Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Tesla to $480 from $500.
BMO downgraded Hilton to market perform from outperform.
Argus downgraded MGM to hold from buy.
JPMorgan upgraded HP to overweight from neutral.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Tencent Music Entertainment to overweight from equal weight.
RBC upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev to outperform from sector perform.
Bank of America downgraded Toll Brothers & Lennar to underperform from neutral.
Bank of America downgraded American Express to neutral from buy.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday as analysts tried to pick winners and losers amid plunging markets from coronavirus fears. JPMorgan downgraded Boeing to 'neutral' from 'overweight' JPMorgan said it lacked "conviction" on the stock and downgraded the company on uncertainty over the coronavirus impact on aircraft demand. "Our desire to hang in with Boeing until the return of the 737 MAX has worked out poorly, both regarding the timeline for re-certification and now more importantly with the impact of COVID-19 on aircraft demand. It's time for us to acknowledge that and without clarity on how COVID-19 will affect aircraft demand over the next year, we lack conviction and downgrade to Neutral. We may be the contrary indicator, downgrading at the bottom, and there is something to be said for risk-reward following the decline in the stock recently. But given the stress on both operators and Boeing's balance sheet as well as the negative data points likely to come, we prefer to re-evaluate when we have a better sense of how Boeing will get through this . . . and we do expect them to get through." Deutsche Bank upgraded Snap to 'buy' from 'hold' Deutsche Bank said in its upgrade of Snap that it was "best positioned" to whether the coronavirus storm among the midcap advertising companies. "We upgrade SNAP to Buy from Hold and see it as best positioned among midcap advertising names to both weather the coronavirus storm and in terms of upside to shares in an eventual recovery. Snap shares are down ~44% from their recent highs on Jan 23, 2020 (vs the S & P 500 down ~13% over the same period), and we see ~76% upside to our TP of $19 (vs $20 previously). We have been impressed with Snap's DAU growth turnaround and accelerating revenue growth in 2019, and we had been hoping for a better entry point in terms of both valuation and investor sentiment." Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Tesla to $480 from $500 Morgan Stanley lowered its price target and auto sales delivery forecast due to the coronavirus "While acknowledging the situation remains fluid, we are marking to market our forecasts for Tesla in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly to adjust for lower expectations of growth outside of China. Our previous 500k delivery estimate is a bull case while 400k units is a bear case." BMO downgraded Hilton to 'market perform' from 'outperform' BMO downgraded the hotel company and said the coronavirus has "wreaked havoc" on travel. "We are downgrading shares of HLT to Market Perform, from Outperform, and lowering our target price to $88 from $124. Coronavirus (COVID-19 virus) has wreaked havoc on travel, with restrictions in place throughout the world, airlines cutting capacity, and groups canceling events, resulting in meaningful demand deterioration. Reflecting the uncertainty, HLT has drawn down its entire $1.75B revolving credit facility in an effort to preserve financial flexibility. While HLT has a strong business model that will persevere and ultimately recover, we are reducing estimates and stepping to the sidelines given the uncertainty." Argus downgraded MGM to 'hold' from 'buy' Argus downgraded the global hospitality and entertainment company on "weakness" in Hong Kong and Macau due to the coronavirus "In 2020, we expect weakness in Hong Kong and Macau to outweigh a full year of contributions from two acquisitions made in the first half of 2019 and modest revenue growth at MGM's regional casinos. To fight the coronavirus, the Chinese government required casinos in Macau to close for 15 days, which we think will negatively impact MGM 's VIP segment going forward." JPMorgan upgraded HP to 'overweight' from 'neutral' JPMorgan lowered its rating on the stock mainly on valuation among other things. "We are upgrading HPQ to Overweight from Neutral, taking advantage of the market correction to buy an attractively-valued stock in advance of positive catalysts, which include some combination of a 12-month $8 billion buy-back program, acquisition by Xerox at ~$24/share or accretive acquisition of Xerox by HPQ, and a recovery from COVID-19 disruption. Events unfold quickly in April-May when shareholders vote on the competing HP and Xerox board recommendations. " Morgan Stanley upgraded Tencent Music Entertainment to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' Morgan Stanley upgraded the China music streaming service and said it saw "improving" earnings quality. "We expect the stock value driver to anchor to the long-term prospects for music streaming in China, starting in 2020. Improving earnings quality and growth support valuation. .. We expect TME 's music revenue to compound > 6x and gross profit > 20x in the next decade, primarily by moving up the paying ratio, followed by ARPPU and ads in the outer years. The growth and margin prospects are supported by its leading share in China's duopoly market." RBC upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' RBC upgraded the beverage maker and said shares were "undervalued." "Has AB InBev forgotten what it was brilliant at? Aggressive deleveraging after the Anheuser-Busch acquisition facilitated exceptional share price performance. The opposite is true since it bought SABMiller. Slashing the dividend and capex would add almost 20% to the share price as value shifted from debt to equity holders. Even without more assertive deleveraging, we think the shares are now undervalued. " Bank of America downgraded Toll Brothers & Lennar to 'underperform' from 'neutral' Bank of America downgraded the homebuilders and said it is tempering it's new construction forecast due to the coronavirus. "While we are still bullish on US housing, we would be remiss to assume no impact on end-market demand from COVID-19. In fact, if you are thinking about the virus daily, given wide spread media coverage, cruise ship quarantines, school closings, corporate travel restrictions and sky-rocketing hand-sanitizer prices, then it is already having an effect. We therefore believe it is prudent to temper our new construction, repair and remodel (R & R) and RV industry macro forecasts. We also lower our estimates and POs across our coverage, while rebalancing our ratings distribution. Specifically, we downgrade TOL from Neutral to Underperform, NVR from Buy to Neutral, LEN from Buy to Neutral and FBM from Buy to Underperform. Finally, we upgrade KBH from Neutral to Buy given recent pressure on shares relative to peers, which seems overdone." Bank of America downgraded American Express to 'neutral' from 'buy' Bank of America downgraded the stock and said near-term risks were now "skewed to the downside" for the financial services company. "Alongside mounting Coronavirus headwinds and ramping economic uncertainty, we now think near- term risks are skewed to the downside, and believe a more cautious approach is warranted. AXP will host an Investor Update Call on 3/17, and we see elevated risk of a guide-down on the back of ramping Coronavirus travel reductions. We reduce our PO to $108 (from $145) based on 11.0x (vs. 16x, prior) our revised 2021 EPS forecast of $9.65 (from $9.86, prior) given elevated risk to the near-term outlook."

Evan Spiegel, CEO of SNAP Inc.

Stephen Desaulniers | CNBC

(This story is for subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday as analysts tried to pick winners and losers amid plunging markets from coronavirus fears.

JPMorgan downgraded Boeing to 'neutral' from 'overweight'

JPMorgan said it lacked "conviction" on the stock and downgraded the company on uncertainty over the coronavirus impact on aircraft demand.

"Our desire to hang in with Boeing until the return of the 737 MAX has worked out poorly, both regarding the timeline for re-certification and now more importantly with the impact of COVID-19 on aircraft demand. It's time for us to acknowledge that and without clarity on how COVID-19 will affect aircraft demand over the next year, we lack conviction and downgrade to Neutral. We may be the contrary indicator, downgrading at the bottom, and there is something to be said for risk-reward following the decline in the stock recently. But given the stress on both operators and Boeing's balance sheet as well as the negative data points likely to come, we prefer to re-evaluate when we have a better sense of how Boeing will get through this . . . and we do expect them to get through."

Deutsche Bank upgraded Snap to 'buy' from 'hold'

Deutsche Bank said in its upgrade of Snap that it was "best positioned" to whether the coronavirus storm among the midcap advertising companies.

"We upgrade SNAP to Buy from Hold and see it as best positioned among midcap advertising names to both weather the coronavirus storm and in terms of upside to shares in an eventual recovery. Snap shares are down ~44% from their recent highs on Jan 23, 2020 (vs the S&P 500 down ~13% over the same period), and we see ~76% upside to our TP of $19 (vs $20 previously). We have been impressed with Snap's DAU growth turnaround and accelerating revenue growth in 2019, and we had been hoping for a better entry point in terms of both valuation and investor sentiment."