Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls of the day: McDonald's, Boeing, Lyft, DraftKings & more

Published Mon, Dec 7 20208:14 AM ESTUpdated Mon, Dec 7 20208:30 AM EST

Key Points

JPMorgan initiated DraftKings as neutral.
Piper Sandler upgraded Lyft to overweight from neutral.
UBS upgraded Boeing to buy from neutral.
Bernstein upgraded Southwest Airlines to outperform from market perform.
Truist downgraded Vail to hold from buy.
MKM downgraded Occidental Petroleum to neutral from buy.
Stephens downgraded McDonald's to equal weight from overweight.
MoffettNathanson initiated American Express as buy.
Stephens downgraded Teladoc to equal weight from overweight.
Tudor Pickering Holt downgraded Chevron to hold from buy.
Seaport initiated Visa, Square, and Mastercard as buy.

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: JPMorgan initiated DraftKings as neutral JPMorgan initiated the stock as neutral and said it sees an "even risk/reward" at current levels. "We believe there is a lot to like about DKNG , including (1) its position as a leader with scale advantages in the fast growing US sports betting/iGaming industry, (2) our proprietary survey work indicating that US sports bettors are fairly sticky and also that DKNG is the most preferred online sports betting platform." Piper Sandler upgraded Lyft to overweight from neutral Piper said in its upgrade of the ride sharing company that it several catalysts that would support 30% upside potential for the stock. "First, while ridership remains depressed due to COVID, LYFT has nonetheless demonstrated an improving ability to extract revenue from each incremental mile traveled in the United States. Second, recent regulatory developments have benefited companies that employ gig-based drivers. Third, cost cuts have enabled improving EBITDA despite falling revenue — thus setting the stage for post-vaccine opex leverage." UBS upgraded Boeing to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees several positive catalysts including Max certification among other things. "We upgrade BA to Buy as our out-year free cash flow ests have moved materially higher as we see advances coming back faster with 50/mo+ on the 737 in '25 coupled with costs actions across the enterprise more than offsetting lower wide body production (i.e. another 787 rate cut just announced). Our concern on BA's balance sheet restoration through greater equity issuance is mitigated at current higher share price." Bernstein upgraded Southwest Airlines to outperform from market perform Bernstein upgraded the airline and said it sees a "firmer recovery" taking place by the end of 2021. "There may not be light at the end of the tunnel, but vaccines tell you there is an end. The timing of their deployment also suggests that the end will come before a major airline fails. This lowers the risk that LUV might have had to compete with an advantaged at scale competitor emerging from a restructuring process (a good thing). " Truist downgraded Vail to hold from buy Truist downgraded the ski resort company and said it sees a less favorable risk/reward. "Year-to-date, MTN is the best performing stock in our lodging-leisure coverage universe, up approx. 16% vs. the average name in our coverage down 20%. While we are strong believers in a rapid recovery for leisure travel driven by plenty of pent-up demand, that recovery looks priced in for shares of MTN." MKM downgraded Occidental Petroleum to neutral from buy MKM downgraded the hydrocarbon exploration company mainly on valuation. "Our fair value estimate of $18 per share is unchanged. OXY has appreciated 100%+ since late October and now reflects our fair value estimate, thus necessitating the downgrade from Buy to Neutral." Stephens downgraded McDonald's to equal weight from overweight Stephens said in its downgrade of the stock that it doesn't see any upcoming catalysts to propel the stock higher right now. " MCD has performed admirably during the pandemic as it continues to speak to the consumer's desire for convenience, value, and familiarity. However, the stock is at 25x P/E, and our prior bull case was based on 30x P/E. Given the current setup, we don't see a catalyst for achieving that kind of multiple expansion. In the U.S., comps, we believe, are tracking to positive mid-single-digits QTD." MoffettNathanson initiated American Express as buy Moffett initiated the stock as buy and said the company had "differentiated" value propositions from its competitors. "We view Amex as a specialized payments company and card issuer focused on the affluent consumer and small business segments. With $1.1 T in proprietary card volumes, Amex has ~8% market share of total global (ex-China) general purpose card volumes, and 21% share of the U.S. credit card market." Stephens downgraded Teladoc to equal weight from overweight Stephens downgraded the online telehealth company mainly on valuation and increased competition. "While we are not forecasting a deceleration in fundamentals for the telehealth industry, we see the TDOC story as now more of a show me story, particularly towards their long-term synergy targets. Our new $210 target price (was $270) is predicated off shares trading at 14.5x our FY21 rev. estimate." Tudor Pickering Holt downgraded Chevron to hold from buy Tudor said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees a better risk/reward elsewhere in 2021. " CVX 's strong balance sheet entering 2020 and disciplined approach have resonated with investors through recent market chop, with the company outperforming majors peers ~15% YTD on average and U.S. large cap E & P ~11%. That said, as we chart a course for a better crude and broader macro backdrop in 2021 and beyond, we see more compelling risk-reward and free cash flow offerings elsewhere in either U.S. E & P for U.S.-focused investors or the broader integrateds group for investors looking beyond the U.S.' borders." Seaport initiated Visa, Square, and Mastercard as buy Seaport initiated several payment stocks and said estimates were "too low" across the group. "We are initiating coverage on our favorite payments stocks with Buys on SQ , V , MA , and ADYEN and Neutral-for-now on PYPL. We love this sector and although we're catching these stocks at peak valuations, we are bullish as estimates appear to be too low across the group."

A person walk a dog near McDonald's in Union Square during the coronavirus pandemic on April 14, 2020 in New York City.

Noam Galai | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: