Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Nike, Twitter, Apple & more

Published Wed, Sep 23 20208:21 AM EDT

Key Points

KeyBanc downgraded KB Home to sector weight from overweight.
JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management to underweight from equal weight .
Bank of America downgraded American Express to underperform from neutral.
BMO upgraded Hasbro to outperform from market perform.
Deutsche Bank upgraded Nike to buy from hold.
Pivotal upgraded Twitter to buy from hold.
UBS assumed coverage of Apple as neutral.
Baird named Tesla a fresh bearish pick.
Deutsche Bank upgraded Tesla to buy from hold.
Craig-Hallum upgraded Western Digital to buy from hold.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: KeyBanc downgraded KB Home to sector weight from overweight KeyBanc downgraded the home builder after the company posted a big beat on the top and bottom line for its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and said it momentum was "limited" in the near term. " KBH 's 20.6% gross margin and 27% y/y order growth both exceed guidance and Street expectations, yet we think FY21 momentum is limited near term on community growth, supporting our downgrade, despite favorable operating metrics and a discount to peers. ... .We think KBH's comments on FY21 revenue amid robust 2H20 gross margin supports a favorable FY21 outlook, despite rising input costs." JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management to underweight from equal weight JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management mainly on valuation and possible changes in environmental regulations due to the upcoming election. "Changes in the tax law could also slow M & A activity, but we still see runway for healthy activity levels in 2020 and into 2021. Additionally, changes in environmental regulations could require greater reductions in greenhouse gases, such as requiring landfill operators to capture more of the methane emissions from landfills." Bank of America downgraded American Express to underperform from neutral Bank of America said in its downgrade of the financial services and credit card company that it was concerned about "billing volumes" as travel spending is slow to recover during the coronavirus. "While we have been impressed by management's execution and the company's resilience during COVID-19, we are downgrading Amex to Underperform and lowering our PO to $95. We are most concerned about near-to-medium term billing volumes, particularly airline and lodging spend. Travel spend could take some time to fully recover based on the results of BofA's Proprietary Global Travel Survey and industry commentary. AXP is over-indexed to travel and we think prolonged travel spend weakness will weaken sentiment for the shares." BMO upgraded Hasbro to outperform from market perform BMO upgraded the toy maker and said Hasbro should benefit from the stay-at-home environment and that it saw an "improving" outlook. "Our upgrade is based on an improving outlook for the toy industry, benefits from stay-at-home, good brand positioning in an uncertain environment, and the attractiveness of toy stocks in a time of uncertainty. The Entertainment One (eOne) acquisition has added a layer of complexity and confusion, and is still a concern for us." Deutsche Bank upgraded Nike to buy from hold Deutsche upgraded the stock after the company's strong earnings report on Tuesday after the bell and called it "best-in-class." " NKE is a best-in-class consumer brand with 1) an innovative product pipeline in running, basketball, yoga, and sportswear for men & women; 2) robust digital and strong overall direct sales growth that are lifting the margin profile as it becomes a bigger part of the mix; and 3) market share gains across all geographies while also benefiting from an expanding pie through increased consumer focus on health, exercise, sports, and dressing casually." Pivotal upgraded Twitter to buy from hold Pivotal said in its upgrade of Twitter that the company's third-quarter earnings should act as a "positive catalyst" for the stock. "Investors will admittedly need to underwrite a high multiple with a company that has had some historical executional hiccups. We believe it will be warranted if the ship is moving in the right direction as we suspect. In particular, we like: 1) Olympics on the come in 21, 2) the hopes for direct response to beginning to kick in (we think happening), and 3) a potential subscription business (albeit very nascent)." UBS assumed coverage of Apple as neutral After a change in analyst coverage of the stock, UBS downgraded Apple to neutral from buy and said it thought the 5G cycle was already priced in. "While Services revenue has increased at a 23% CAGR over the past four years, 'product' revenue has grown in the low single digits as iPhone, Mac, and iPad have struggled. Following a one-time COVID driven bump in Macs/iPads and a one year iPhone 12 cycle, in FY21, 'product' revenue should revert back to low-single digit growth over the next three years." Baird named Tesla a fresh bearish pick Baird named the company a "bearish" fresh pick after its Battery Day and said it sees a lack of upcoming catalysts from the company. "The long-awaited Battery Day highlighted breakthroughs in technology and manufacturing; TSLA is accomplishing impressive things, but we think current valuation already reflects TSLA's significant disruption potential. With the Battery Day in the rearview, we think there is a lack of upcoming catalysts and are cautious about demand given the recessionary environment." Deutsche Bank upgraded Tesla to buy from hold Deutsche upgraded the stock after the company's battery day and said it thinks Tesla will help "accelerate" the shift to electric vehicles. "We upgrade Tesla from Hold to Buy, following the company's Battery Day that showcased impressive trajectory for its technology, capacity and cost, which should help accelerate the world's shift to electric vehicles and extend Tesla's lead considerably. While investor expectations into the event were high, Tesla's plan to achieve 56% reduction in battery cost over the next 3 years came in considerably better than anticipated, and could materially boost its volume and margin outlook." Craig-Hallum upgraded Western Digital to buy from hold Craig-Hallum said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees the separating of the company's flash and hard-disk drive segments as a precursor to a potential spin-off in the future of one of the businesses. "Yesterday, Western Digital announced it would be forming separate business units for its flash and HDD businesses, each led by its own general manager. We believe the company's new CEO, Mr. Goeckeler, is making the appropriate decision to separate the HDD and flash businesses within Western Digital. We believe this is likely a first step to ultimately spinning off one of the businesses at some point in the future."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses on the red carpet as he arrives for the 43rd "Golden Steering Wheel" awards on November 12, 2019 in Berlin.

Tobias Schwarz | AFP via Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday:

KeyBanc downgraded KB Home to sector weight from overweight

KeyBanc downgraded the home builder after the company posted a big beat on the top and bottom line for its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday and said it momentum was "limited" in the near term.

"KBH's 20.6% gross margin and 27% y/y order growth both exceed guidance and Street expectations, yet we think FY21 momentum is limited near term on community growth, supporting our downgrade, despite favorable operating metrics and a discount to peers. ... .We think KBH's comments on FY21 revenue amid robust 2H20 gross margin supports a favorable FY21 outlook, despite rising input costs."

JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management to underweight from equal weight

JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management mainly on valuation and possible changes in environmental regulations due to the upcoming election.

"Changes in the tax law could also slow M&A activity, but we still see runway for healthy activity levels in 2020 and into 2021. Additionally, changes in environmental regulations could require greater reductions in greenhouse gases, such as requiring landfill operators to capture more of the methane emissions from landfills."