Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Citi, Snowflake, Target, Roku & more

Published Thu, Oct 8 20208:10 AM EDT

Key Points

New Street upgraded Tesla to buy from neutral.
Cowen initiated DraftKings as market perform.
JPMorgan downgraded Citi to neutral from overweight.
Atlantic Equities initiated Snowflake as underweight.
JPMorgan added PulteGroup to the focus list.
Oppenheimer initiated Utz as outperform.
Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on Shopify.
Needham raised its price target on Roku to $255 from $190.
Wedbush added Harley-Davidson to the best ideas list.
Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on Target.
Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on Tapestry.
Barclays initiated Sprout Social as overweight.
Stifel upgraded Medtronic to buy from hold.
Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on L Brands.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: New Street upgraded Tesla to buy from neutral New Street said in its upgrade of the company that it sees "several strong catalysts" for the stock and that expectations for next year are "at least 20% too low." "We have done a ton of work on Tesla in recent weeks, to the point that we felt the need to "re-initiate" on the name. We have given it a fresh look from multiple angles: the addressable market, the competitive landscape and its upcoming evolution, both from incumbents and new entrants, price, cost and margin trajectories for Tesla, quantifying the energy storage opportunity, understanding how the street will value the stock going forward, etc." Cowen initiated DraftKings as market perform Cowen initiated the fantasty sports betting operator as market perform mainly on valuation and said there is "little room" for regulatory risks. "The U.S. online sports betting and iGaming opportunity for DraftKings is sizeable and we acknowledge the company's business model carries structural advantages vs. competitors. However, valuation discounts market share leadership at maturity and leaves little room for operational/regulatory risks." JPMorgan downgraded Citi to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the stock after the U.S. government's Office of Comptroller Currency imposed a $400 million penalty on the banking giant. The firm called the penalty an "overhang" on the stock in addtion to the "unknown" timing of the new CEO. " Citi has a credibility gap versus peers due to its much weaker profitability, and these orders will add to the pressures as it will need to add resources – inadequate staffing and technology in certain areas were explicitly mentioned in the orders. This will be an overhang on Citi and the new CEO, with timing unknown. Hence, we are downgrading to Neutral from Overweight, despite its attractive valuation." Atlantic Equities initiated Snowflake as underweight Atlantic Equities initiated the cloud-based data-warehousing company and said it was waiting for a "better entry point." "Snowflake is the best play on databases moving to the cloud. ... . Snowflake has the best technology and a great management team. However, valuation is discounting perfect execution in a market not without competition. We would wait for a better entry point post the IPO lockup period to build a position if the stock drops below our $214 price target." JPMorgan added PulteGroup to the focus list JPMorgan added the homebuilder to its focus list and said it sees a "solid amount of additional upside" for Pulte among other things. "Despite our universe up 38% YTD led by an impressive rebound in demand following the early days of the pandemic, we believe the builders have a solid amount of additional upside potential left in the tank over the next 15 months, as we raise our 2020-21 estimates, introduce our 2022 estimates and establish our Dec. 2021 price targets." Oppenheimer initiated Utz as outperform Oppenheimer initiated the snack food company as outperform and said it was benefiting from the recent "grocery boom." "Its brands include Utz , Zapp's, Golden Flakes, Good Health, and Boulder Canyon. Going forward, we believe the company is well positioned to drive at least 3-4% organic sales growth and 6-8% EBITDA growth with upside optionality from strategic acquisitions." Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on Shopify Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on the e-commerce platform that helps businesses and said it sees improved "visibility" ahead of the company's earnings report. "Citi's analysis of SHOP merchant additions contextualizes magnitude of Q2 upside and reveals high likelihood of follow-through into Q3 (where we raise numbers). We note that this analysis does not include the "Plus" customers that were on free trials and contributed minimally to Q2 revenue. We expect some degree of 'catch-up' here on the subscription side in Q3. Needham raised its price target on Roku to $255 from $190 Needham raised its price target on the stock to a Street high and said it sees "upside" to the company's third-quarter earnings. "Roku's installed base is growing rapidly during COVID-19, which should drive higher monetization as advertising demands. ... . Roku is a pure-play way to invest in growth of the US over-the-top ecosystem. We believe that Roku's total addressable market for advertising revenue comes from the $70B of US traditional linear TV advertising revenue reported in 2019 (source: PwC)." Wedbush added Harley-Davidson to the best ideas list Wedbush added the stock to its best ideas list and said the move to outdoor activities would benefit the company over the long-term as retail trends "stabilize." "We believe that while yet to be manifested in HOG 's reported financials, the early-2020 quarantines and subsequent increased interest in outdoor products, synced up perfectly with the management changeover, has been beneficial to underlying fundamentals, providing the fuel for a meaningful and sustainable recovery. For this to work, we will need to see retail trends stabilize and ultimately grow, but it should not be much longer before this match is lit." Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on Target Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on the stock and said it thinks the company will continue to "take market share" into the holiday season. "We believe the company has a strategy that will resonate with consumers including Black Friday pricing throughout all of November, Target Deal Days 10/13-10/14, and extended price match guarantee. We think our 4Q assumptions are prudent and believe TGT will continue to take market share this year given the disruption in retail and evolving consumer shopping trends." Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on Tapestry Deutsche Bank initiated a catalyst call buy idea on the retail company and owner of brands such as Coach and Kate Spade and said its checks look "favorable" for the stock heading into earnings season. "We are adding TPR as a Short-Term Catalyst Buy idea heading into the Fall reporting season. Our channel checks and TPR peer commentary have been favorable as consumers utilize reallocated entertainment and travel dollars to purchase the latest fashions." Barclays initiated Sprout Social as overweight Barclays initiated the social media management platform and said it sees "upside" to current valuation levels. "The company has the opportunity to flourish in the social media management market with a $25bn TAM and seems to be positioned well to benefit from shifting consumer lifestyle trends. Sprout has been making investments into its platform to better appeal to enterprises, which we see driving annual contract value and retention rates higher. Despite these tailwinds, the company trades at a discount to its peer group and hence, we see upside to the valuation level from here." Stifel upgraded Medtronic to buy from hold Stifel said in its upgrade of Medtronic that it was bullish on the company's new management and that it would be a "positive directional change." "Ahead of Medtronic 's October 14th Analyst Day, which we think will be a positive stock catalyst, we upgrade MDT to Buy; TP moves to $125 from $110. After years of lagging peer group performance due to inconsistent results and below-peer growth, we believe recently appointed CEO/Chairman Geoff Martha (CEO:Apr-2020/Chairman:Dec-2020) is in the earliest stage of enacting substantial, positive directional change." Deutsche Bank added a catalyst call buy idea on L Brands Deutsche added a catalyst buy idea on the fashion retailer and said it sees "ongoing momentum" for the company's Bath & Body Works brand and that its Victoria's Secret brand is "on the right track." "We believe LB remains squarely on the right track to improve profitability and sales at Victoria's Secret as we observed promotional activity that was meaningfully below last year's levels during the month of September, particularly across categories such as bras, panties, and lounge/ sleepwear, and the month marked the best result we have seen since November 2017. "

A 'Citi' sign is displayed outside Citigroup Center near Citibank headquarters in Manhattan on December 5, 2012 in New York City.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:

New Street upgraded Tesla to buy from neutral

New Street said in its upgrade of the company that it sees "several strong catalysts" for the stock and that expectations for next year are "at least 20% too low."

"We have done a ton of work on Tesla in recent weeks, to the point that we felt the need to "re-initiate" on the name. We have given it a fresh look from multiple angles: the addressable market, the competitive landscape and its upcoming evolution, both from incumbents and new entrants, price, cost and margin trajectories for Tesla, quantifying the energy storage opportunity, understanding how the street will value the stock going forward, etc."

Cowen initiated DraftKings as market perform

Cowen initiated the fantasty sports betting operator as market perform mainly on valuation and said there is "little room" for regulatory risks.

"The U.S. online sports betting and iGaming opportunity for DraftKings is sizeable and we acknowledge the company's business model carries structural advantages vs. competitors. However, valuation discounts market share leadership at maturity and leaves little room for operational/regulatory risks."