Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Target, L Brands, Shopify, Amazon & more

Published Thu, Jul 30 20207:56 AM EDTUpdated Thu, Jul 30 20208:01 AM EDT

Key Points

Canaccord upgraded Blue Apron to buy from hold.
Citi upgraded American Eagle Outfitters to buy from neutral.
BMO raised its price target on Amazon to $3,500 from $2,850.
MKM initiated Target as sell.
Citi downgraded L Brands to sell from neutral.
Rosenblatt raised its price target on Shopify to $1,400 from $860.
Morgan Stanley initiated MSG Sports as overweight.
Evercore ISI upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev to outperform from in line.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Canaccord upgraded Blue Apron to buy from hold Canaccord said in its upgrade of the meal home delivery company that it saw improving fundamentals. "With an undemanding valuation and the model returning to a growth footing for the first time in years, we find the risk/reward profile compelling for 2 reasons: (1) with customers engaging with the service at robust levels, we think current COVID-related tailwinds have a solid chance of proving structural rather than temporary, which would likely mean at least 6-12 months of upward estimate revisions, and (2) the current multiple of 0.35x 2021 revenue is indicative of a company that is shrinking and/or facing liquidity concerns, and at this point we see neither applying to APRN ." Citi upgraded American Eagle Outfitters to buy from neutral Citi upgraded the lifestyle and accessories retailer and said it thinks the company will be a "share winner" in the intimates and loungewear category. "We believe the success and opportunity at Aerie is too significant to overlook. Aerie has been and we believe will continue to be a share winner in the intimates/loungewear category. Their performance over the past several years has stood out in retail, and we believe with Victoria's Secret closing ~250 stores, Aerie is poised to accelerate its market share gains. And Aerie is showing signs of becoming more of a lifestyle brand with its entry into athletic/athleisure." BMO raised its price target on Amazon to $3,500 from $2,850 BMO raised its price target on the e-commerce giant but said it was cautious ahead of the company's earnings report after the bell on Thursday . "We believe AMZN' s is stronger than ever, and we also continue to see outperformance over the next 12 months. But per CEO Bezos, 'you may want to take a seat, because [they] are not thinking small' and we are cautious into the print owing to recent stock outperformance and the potential for significant new investment spending." MKM initiated Target as sell MKM initiated the retail giant as sell and said it was worried about foot traffic underperforming due to the coronavirus among other things. " Target has a decent opportunity to monetize a growing, captive digital audience. That said, we are worried about: 1) deteriorating customer satisfaction seen in Yelp! scores and declining RedCard loyalty penetration; 2) heavy overlap with Walmart (60% of locations share a zip-code); 3) an aging store fleet; 4) negative skew to regional population growth and competitor closures; 5) foot traffic underperformance related to COVID-19 disruption; and 6) heavy skew to states that are 'Open' and offering more competing retail options." Citi downgraded L Brands to sell from neutral Citi downgraded L Brands after the company's earnings report and said it was concerned that the company's Bed Bath and Body Worls brand wouldn't help earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic. " Following this stock surge, there are 3 reasons for our downgrade: (1)We believe near term strength at Bed Bath and Body Works is driven by pent up demand and is being incorrectly extrapolated by the market into future periods, (2) COVID-19 does not improve BBW's long term earnings power, and (3) A shift toward Ecom is not good for BBW margins. With LB stock implying a ~8x EBITDA multiple for the BBW biz, we believe risk/reward is skewed to the downside. " Rosenblatt raised its price target on Shopify to $1,400 from $860 Rosenblatt raised its price target on the online e-commerce platform for online stores to a Street high and said it still sees more upside in the stock especially if additional stimulus is delivered to consumers. "Examining Mastercard SpendPulse 2Q data alongside Shopify 2Q results and past share of reported US Ecommerce Retail Sales, suggests nearly +200 bps of incremental share of US ecommerce beyond our '20E 10.3%, or near-term cushion to our expectations should consumer stimulus and/or economic fatigue set in. On the flip side, it suggests additional momentum if/when stimulus check #2 is delivered. Near-term aside, we remain confident SHOP will continue to satisfy our long-term thesis, delivering the most agile retail software stack and synergistic fulfillment network to the full spectrum of merchants seeking a full stop omnichannel/DTC strategy." Morgan Stanley initiated MSG Sports as overweight Morgan Stanley initiated the sports holding company as overweight and said it sees upside for MSG Sports once its Knicks and Rangers franchises return to full time play next season. "COVID-19 dislocations exist throughout Media. However, we think a pure-play sports equity with two marquee franchises trading at a 35% discount to net asset value is too compelling to pass up. Following the spin-off of MSG Entertainment and as the NBA/NHL return to play, we initiate at Overweight.' Evercore ISI upgraded Anheuser-Busch InBev to outperform from in line Evercore ISI upgraded the beverage maker after the company's earnings report and said it looks like it's "turning the corner" " ABI reported 2Q EBITDA of $3.4 billion, -34% organically, vs $3.0 billion and -36% consensus. 2Q volumes -18% vs -23% consensus, improving m/m from -32% in April to -21% in May and June +0.7%, despite tough comps, as markets and on-premise channels reopened. While June benefited from pipeline replenishment in Mexico and South Africa, the firm delivered meaningful beer volume growth in Brazil, China delivered its highest ever monthly sales, and the U.S. top and bottom line grew."

Brian Cornell, CEO, Target

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:

Canaccord upgraded Blue Apron to buy from hold

Canaccord said in its upgrade of the meal home delivery company that it saw improving fundamentals.

"With an undemanding valuation and the model returning to a growth footing for the first time in years, we find the risk/reward profile compelling for 2 reasons: (1) with customers engaging with the service at robust levels, we think current COVID-related tailwinds have a solid chance of proving structural rather than temporary, which would likely mean at least 6-12 months of upward estimate revisions, and (2) the current multiple of 0.35x 2021 revenue is indicative of a company that is shrinking and/or facing liquidity concerns, and at this point we see neither applying to APRN."

Citi upgraded American Eagle Outfitters to buy from neutral

Citi upgraded the lifestyle and accessories retailer and said it thinks the company will be a "share winner" in the intimates and loungewear category.

"We believe the success and opportunity at Aerie is too significant to overlook. Aerie has been and we believe will continue to be a share winner in the intimates/loungewear category. Their performance over the past several years has stood out in retail, and we believe with Victoria's Secret closing ~250 stores, Aerie is poised to accelerate its market share gains. And Aerie is showing signs of becoming more of a lifestyle brand with its entry into athletic/athleisure."