Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Disney, Walmart, Microsoft, Ford & more

Published Fri, Jan 22 20218:11 AM ESTUpdated Fri, Jan 22 20218:54 AM EST

Key Points

Jefferies named Walmart a top pick in 2021.
Citi upgraded US Bancorp to buy from neutral.
Goldman Sachs initiated Microsoft as buy.
UBS upgraded Disney to buy from neutral.
Wells Fargo upgraded Expedia to overweight from equal weight.
JPMorgan upgraded Ford to overweight from equal weight.
Janney initiated PulteGroup as buy.
Goldman Sachs initiated Oracle as sell.
Nomura initiated Nio as buy.

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Jefferies named Walmart a top pick in 2021 Jefferies named Walmart a top pick and said it was "best-positioned for 2021 and beyond." "We believe '21 has the makings of a transformational year in a mid-term period of compounding value, supporting our $200 upside PT. We favor WMT 's ability to leverage proximity to consumers & scale advantages into a more comprehensive ecosystem with omni-channel adoption. WMT+ and potential TikTok acq bolster the digital platform, loyalty, and shoppable content." Citi upgraded US Bancorp to buy from neutral Citi said in its upgrade of the bank that it saw a good "entry" point on a "high quality" name. "The bull case is the economy improves and rates move higher. In our view, USB is a good way to play this given more leverage to the overall macro with a larger payments business and are amongst the largest beneficiaries of a steeper curve." Goldman Sachs initiated Microsoft as buy Goldman said in its initiation of the multinational technology company that its cloud business was "well positioned" to double in value. " Microsoft stands out very uniquely in the technology world given its strong presence across all layers of the cloud stack including applications platforms and infrastructure. Our investment thesis is that Microsoft is well positioned to double its $60bn+ commercial cloud business (Azure, Office 365, Dynamics, and LinkedIn Commercial) into a $120bn to $140bn business longer term." UBS upgraded Disney to buy from neutral UBS upgraded the entertainment and media giant and called it a "re-opening beneficiary" and a "direct-to-consumer leader." "We are upgrading Disney to Buy from Neutral with a $200 PT based on our SOP valuation & expectations for continued strength in DTC. We believe Disney is positioned to achieve scale similar to industry leader Netflix with 340M+ global subs by '24 while its premium IP creates pricing power and enables the company to spend less per sub on content, driving better economics over time." Wells Fargo upgraded Expedia to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo upgraded the travel website company and said it sees a return to growth as the "Given the slow pace of vaccine rollouts, we believe the 2021 summer season could remain impacted by COVID-19, a scenario that could play to Vrbo's strengths in whole-home rentals and resort markets. A faster normalization could drive a return to urban tourism and resort hotels, which we'd view as mixed for Vrbo but positive for Core OTA." JPMorgan upgraded Ford to overweight from equal weight JPMorgan upgraded the auto maker and said shares were "attractive" and that it was bullish on the company's upcoming line of new products. "We preview 4Q earnings for automakers by raising estimates to account for a stronger trend to global light vehicle production led by China and by upgrading shares of Ford Motor Company to Overweight from Neutral on what we see as a multitude of factors, foremost of which is an incoming tide of hot new products we expect will bring substantial volume, mix, and pricing benefits." Janney initiated PulteGroup as buy Janney initiated the home builder with a buy rating and said Pulte was a best idea with "growth potential." "We think the company is positioned to outperform consensus expectations in 2021 given its land position and buyer mix, especially the move up segment exposure. We also like how the company has a significant gross margin and return on equity premium compared with peers, something we expect will persist into the future." Goldman Sachs initiated Oracle as sell Goldman said in its initiation of the stock that it sees slowing growth and loss of market share in the near term. " Oracle 's middleware business has been under secular pressure. In software as a service, Oracle continues to lose market share in front office, while the back office business is growing 30%+ but not large enough yet to move the needle." Nomura initiated Nio as buy Nomura initiated the electric vehicle company with a buy and said it was "Tesla-like" with its electric vehicle pipeline. "domestic leader in EV manufacturing with eye toward future mobility solutions Initiating coverage at Buy with a TP of USD80.3, implying +39% upside We like NIO Inc. for the company's Tesla-like top-down approach in launching its EV pipeline – starting with its luxury flagship model ES8, followed by more consumer friendly models and variants."

Tourists at Disney town on May 05, 2020 in Shanghai, China.

Hu Chengwei | Getty Images

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: