Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Apple, GE, Western Digital, Honeywell, JPMorgan & more

Published Fri, Apr 9 20218:25 AM EDT

Key Points

JPMorgan named Honeywell a top pick.
Deutsche Bank upgraded Honeywell to buy from hold.
JPMorgan upgraded Philip Morris to overweight from neutral.
Citi downgraded Charter and Altice USA to neutral from buy.
UBS raised its price target on General Electric to $17 from $15.
Jefferies named JPMorgan a top pick.
Citi reiterated its buy rating on Apple.
Jefferies named DraftKings a top pick.
Piper Sandler initiated US Foods as overweight.
Canaccord initiated MicroStrategy as buy.
Citi added a positive catalyst watch on Western Digital.
Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival to outperform from neutral.
Wolfe named Raytheon a top pick.
MS reiterated its buy rating on Simon Property.
JMP upgraded Charles Schwab to market outperform from market perform.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Credit Suisse to equal weight from overweight.

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: JPMorgan named Honeywell a top pick JPM named Honeywell a top pick and said it had the "best mega cap set up in 20 years." "While generally thought of as a stable mega-cap diversified, and therefore not associated with cyclical beta, the fundamental setup for Honeywell is as good as it gets cyclically for the next 3-4 years, while market outgrowth initiatives and non-fundamental levers, namely a best-in-class balance sheet, are materially additive." Deutsche Bank upgraded Honeywell to buy from hold Deutsche said in its upgrade of Honeywell that it saw an "attractive" buying opportunity. "We upgrade to Buy after sharp YTD underperformance, despite attractive end-market exposures, high-quality nature and likely near-term EPS upside." JPMorgan upgraded Philip Morris to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said in its upgrade of the tobacco company that Philip Morris was a "leader" in the heated tobacco industry. "Heated Tobacco Products (HTP) are an integral part of the global nicotine industry's future. In light of better-than-expected growth in 2020 we acknowledge HTP has been gaining more traction than anticipated, especially in Central/Eastern Europe, at a time when vapor is slowing in Western countries." Citi downgraded Charter and Altice USA to neutral from buy Citi said in its downgrade of the cable company's that multiple expansion would be "tougher" for cable "pure-plays" over the next 12 months. "With the risk of negative consensus revisions from slower broadband revenue growth as soon as 2022, multiple expansion may be tougher for cable pure-plays over the next 12 months. We downgrade our ratings on Charter and Altice USA to Neutral." UBS raised its price target on General Electric to $17 from $15 UBS raised its price target on shares of General Electric as the "transformation accelerates." "Despite the strong stock performance we remain constructive and increase our PT to $17 as we expect the turnaround to result in a simpler industrial company with high single digit free cash flow/Sales." Jefferies named JPMorgan a top pick Jefferies named the banking giant a top pick and said it was bullish on JPMorgan ahead of its earnings report. "While still-slow loan growth is the current reality for 1Q, investors are focused as much on the direction of the 10-year UST, pending GDP inflection, and improving capital return. Deposit growth will shine in 1Q, most fee areas look good, and reserve release and nominal loss rates should be the norm on credit." Citi reiterated its buy rating on Apple Citi reiterated its buy rating on shares of Apple and said the company's fundamentals remain robust ahead of its earnings report later this month. "Our checks continue to suggest underlying demand fundamentals across consumer tech demand and App Store remains robust, App Store momentum also continues while we view the regulatory concerns as headline risk which are unlikely to be resolved soon. Capital returns likely to be in focus during this earnings call." Jefferies named DraftKings a top pick Jefferies called the fantasy sports betting company and "top operator" and leader as states continue to legalize gaming. "We continue to favor DKNG and FLTR and DraftKings and FanDuel as they remain top operators across most categories. We expect both companies to retain > 20% market share each." Piper Sandler initiated US Foods as overweight Piper said in its initiation of the food distributor that US Foods was a top reopening pick. "Catalysts include acquisition-based market share, cash & carry segment, and debt repayment with exposure to independents a noted near-term risk. Our differentiated point of view is informed by our restaurant domain expertise as well as a series of consumer survey insights." Canaccord initiated MicroStrategy as buy Canaccord said in its initiation of the business intelligence software company that Bitcoin was a key "driver" of "shareholder value." "Enter MicroStrategy and its innovative thinking relative to Bitcoin (BTC) as a driver of shareholder value. Not new to the public markets and having achieved notable success as a leader in business intelligence software, the MSTR core business enjoys a solid cash flow in what is now a somewhat mature market." Citi added a positive catalyst watch on Western Digital Citi added a positive catalyst watch on the hard data disk drive manufacturer and said the company would "materially" beat earnings. "Enterprise infrastructure appears to have bottomed with resumption in enterprise data infrastructure as capex resumes, albeit more 2H loaded. We are putting a near-term positive catalyst watch on WDC ahead of earnings." Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival to outperform from neutral Credit Suisse said in its upgrade of the cruise company that it was bullish on the reopening and Carnival sailings resuming. "We are upgrading CCL to Outperform and increase our target price to $40. While an exact return to cruise date is still in flux, it's looking increasingly likely that a mid/late summer restart is reasonable." Wolfe named Raytheon a top pick Wolfe named the defense contractor company a top pick and said it was "underappreciated." " RTX is our top pick. We think that the earnings power of the geared turbofan franchise is underappreciated and see ~97% of lucrative aftermarket revenue coming beyond the forecast period of most models." MS reiterated its buy rating on Simon Property Morgan Stanley reiterated its buy rating on the real estate investment trust and said it was pounding the table for the stock. "As a companion to our report Hope Springs Eternal - 1Q Fundamental Snapshot and ahead of earnings, we pound-the- table on SPG : 1) multiple drivers of earnings growth, 2) higher multiple is warranted, 3) retail fundamental recovery." JMP upgraded Charles Schwab to market outperform from market perform JMP said in its upgrade of the stock that it had some of the "strongest" earnings growth over the next few years. "We upgrade SCHW to Market Outperform and establish an $80 price target. We provide additional details in the report, but believe Schwab will exhibit some of the strongest earnings growth in the capital markets over the next three years." Morgan Stanley downgraded Credit Suisse to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley downgraded the banking giant due to concerns over the bank's "lingering uncertainty" over the Archegos fallout among other things. " Credit Suisse shares are down -12% YTD despite strong revenue trends, reflecting concerns over the bank's prime brokerage business & Greensill."

A picture taken on August 21, 2018 shows the research and development campus of cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company Philip Morris International, in Neuchatel, western Switzerland.

FABRICE COFFRINI | AFP | Getty Images

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: