Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Chipotle, Microsoft, Peloton, Square, Cisco & more

Published Thu, Jul 9 20208:43 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Jul 9 20209:11 AM EDT

Key Points

Goldman Sachs upgraded Keurig Dr Pepper to buy from neutral.
Credit Suisse initiated Darden as outperform.
SunTrust upgraded Regeneron to buy from hold.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Cisco to overweight from equal weight.
Barclays upgraded Becton Dickinson to overweight from equal weight.
Cowen downgraded Square to market perform from outperform.
Janney upgraded Six Flags to buy from neutral.
Piper Sandler raised its price target on Chipotle to $1,450 from $1,100.
Needham initiated Alibaba as buy.
Bank of America raised its price target on Peloton to $72 from $54.
Bank of America upgraded Pentair to buy from underperform.
Wedbush raised its price target on Microsoft to $260 from $220.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Morgan Stanley upgraded Cisco to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the stock that its earnings flexibility is discounted in the company's valuation. " CSCO 's multiple discount to the S & P is at 10 year highs, despite durable earnings growth. We are mindful of secular headwinds and broad macro exposure, but think growing networking / security needs, cash flow flexibility and opex discipline provide tailwinds, helping multiple gap close over next twelve months.Earnings flexibility discounted in valuation today. We are cognizant that Cisco's top line is challenged in the near to medium term from macro headwinds, but diversification, opex discipline and cash flow flexibility afford it the ability to show greater resilience on the earnings line, something discounted in the multiple today." Read more about this call here. Credit Suisse initiated Darden as outperform Credit Suisse initiated the restaurant hospitality company and said it was "best-in-class" and well-positioned to benefit from industry contraction. "We view DRI as a best-in-class operator in casual dining, with a heightened focus on employees leading to industry-leading retention, well-capitalized balance sheet positioning it to invest for future market share gains, and effective leveraging of its scale to generate efficiencies supporting above-average margin performance. Nearterm, we expect the pace of sales recovery will be the most meaningful catalyst, though improvements in the variable cost profile across the portfolio should allow DRI to return to prior margin levels ahead of a full sales recovery." Goldman Sachs upgraded Keurig Dr Pepper to buy from neutral Goldman Sachs said in its upgrade of the stock the valuation looks "compelling" and it sees a "favorable' risk/reward. "KDP's valuation also looks compelling - with KDP currently trading at an 18.2x FY21E P/E multiple, an -8% discount to its 3-yr historical average price/earnings despite accelerating topline growth. Our new $33 price target is based on a 20.5x FY21E P/E multiple, which is a slight premium to its 3-yr historical average, but still a conservative -4% discount to KDP's beverage peer group multiple on a FY21E price/earnings basis." SunTrust upgraded Regeneron to buy from hold SunTrust said in its upgrade of the biotech company that it was bullish on its pipeline of products to extend beyond the coronavirus pandemic. "Beyond COVID, REGN is set up for longer-term growth with several late-stage assets addressing large patient populations. ... We believe investors are undervaluing REGN's oncology pipeline and see potential for further upside from expansion opportunities in oncology." Barclays upgraded Becton Dickinson to overweight from equal weight Barclays said in its upgrade of the medical technology company that it was bullish on the company's innovations during the coronavirus pandemic among other things. "We believe BD screens well through an ESG lens particularly during these COVID-19 times. BD has been innovating to address the COVID-19 crisis, working to insure healthcare access to individuals in emerging markets and focusing on efficiencies, a sustainable supply chain, and inclusion and diversity." Cowen downgraded Square to market perform from outperform Cowen said in its downgrade of the stock that the good news was "more than priced in" from the company's cash app business. "We are downgrading the shares of SQ shares to Market Perform as we believe the > 200%rise since mid-March has more than priced in all the good news from the Cash App business and does not discount enough the multi-year recovery the Seller business will need. Applying a generous sum-of-the-parts analysis, our PT moves to $119." Janney Six Flags to buy from neutral Janney upgraded the theme park operator and said the company's liquidity position was strong and that the stock's valuation was attractive. "We think the valuation is attractive at current levels given the stock trades in line with FUN, despite an average gap of nearly 3 turns historically. We like how SIX has more park diversity than peers and exposure to some of the largest market by population in the U.S. Given COVID-19, we think investors may be less focused on quarterly financials than normal. This should give the new management team cover to make necessary changes to the business. We also think its strong liquidity position helps offset the expected ramp up in CAPEX. Last, we believe consensus is more bearish on SIX than its peers." Piper Sandler raised its price target on Chipotle to $1,450 from $1,100 Piper Sandler said raised its price target on the stock to a Street high and said its survey checks show Chipotle has the "human capital ability" and financial resources to carry out the company's long-term growth strategy. "We are raising our price target on CMG shares based on current checks, conversations with the company, proprietary survey data, and scarcity value. Fundamentally the company has the human capital ability to pivot and the financial resources required to carry out its long-term growth strategy. Catalysts remain centered on growth of both digital and the timeline for a capital commitment to accelerated development." Needham initiated Alibaba as buy Needham initiated the China ecommerce website company and added to its conviction list. It said Alibaba was well-positioned to compete in the China retail environment. "We think the company's well-established ecosystem, strategic position in the e-commerce value chain, and deep understanding of China's retail environment are not only competitive strengths in its primary business, but also keys to expanding its presence in adjacent industries such as offline retail, food delivery, and cloud computing." Bank of America raised its price target on Peloton to $72 from $54 Bank of America raised its price target on the stock to a Street high and said it sees the company continuing to add more subscribers as the coronavirus pandemic continues. "We reiterate our Buy and include Peloton in our 'in-home' stock group that should benefit from a longer-term change in consumer habits. We raise our PO to $72 from $54 as we shift to a DCF model assuming a higher 15mn long-term subscriber estimate. While expectations and valuation risk are elevated, we think elevated case levels and health concerns could limit gym activity and drive continued order upside." Bank of America upgraded Pentair to buy from underperform Bank of America double upgraded the water treatment company and said it should benefit from the upcoming summer pool season especially during the coronavirus. "We are double-upgrading Pentair to Buy from Underperform ahead of 2Q results. We expect a solid 2Q earnings beat on upside from pools, one of the company's most profitable product groups. Multiple data points indicate strong pool sales in the quarter. Pool Corp., Pentair's largest US pool distributor, disclosed favorable trends in late April and May. Stay-at-home orders have driven demand for pools up. Hotter and drier weather conditions are tailwinds." Read more about this call here . Wedbush raised its price target on Microsoft to $260 from $220 Wedbush raised its price target on the stock to a Street high and the work from home environment should continue to drive the company's cloud business. "We have seen relatively strong cloud deal activity around Azure in the field during the June quarter, as this current work from home environment is further catalyzing more enterprises to make the strategic cloud shift with Microsoft across the board. In many cases we are seeing enterprises accelerate their digital transformation and cloud strategy with Microsoft by 6 to 12 months as the prospects of a heavy remote workforce for the foreseeable future now looks in the cards with this COVID-19 backdrop."

Dr Pepper soda in the warehouse at the Dr Pepper Snapple Group bottling plant in Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2015.

Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:

Morgan Stanley upgraded Cisco to overweight from equal weight

Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the stock that its earnings flexibility is discounted in the company's valuation.

"CSCO's multiple discount to the S&P is at 10 year highs, despite durable earnings growth. We are mindful of secular headwinds and broad macro exposure, but think growing networking / security needs, cash flow flexibility and opex discipline provide tailwinds, helping multiple gap close over next twelve months.Earnings flexibility discounted in valuation today. We are cognizant that Cisco's top line is challenged in the near to medium term from macro headwinds, but diversification, opex discipline and cash flow flexibility afford it the ability to show greater resilience on the earnings line, something discounted in the multiple today."

Credit Suisse initiated Darden as outperform

Credit Suisse initiated the restaurant hospitality company and said it was "best-in-class" and well-positioned to benefit from industry contraction.

"We view DRI as a best-in-class operator in casual dining, with a heightened focus on employees leading to industry-leading retention, well-capitalized balance sheet positioning it to invest for future market share gains, and effective leveraging of its scale to generate efficiencies supporting above-average margin performance. Nearterm, we expect the pace of sales recovery will be the most meaningful catalyst, though improvements in the variable cost profile across the portfolio should allow DRI to return to prior margin levels ahead of a full sales recovery."