Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Apple, Shopify, Southwest Airlines, Tesla & more

Published Wed, Jan 12 20228:38 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Jan 12 202210:08 AM EST

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: JPMorgan downgrades Archer-Daniels-Midland to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the food processing company that it sees "limited opportunity" for multiple expansion. "We are Neutral-rated on both stocks (down from Overweight on ADM under prior J.P. Morgan coverage) because (a) EPS beats might not be a surprise at this point (industry data are widely available), (b) earnings for both companies could soon roll over, and (c) we see limited opportunity for multiple expansion." Deutsche Bank adds a catalyst call buy idea on Vail Resorts Deutsche added a catalyst call buy idea on the skiing and resort company. The firm reiterated its long-term hold rating and said investors should buy the dip. "In our view, near-term sentiment on MTN has tilted in a direction that we view to be overly negative in light of the more favorable macro backdrop that we think is driving record visitation to its resorts." Barclays names Salesforce a top 2022 pick Barclays named the stock a top pick for 2022 and said it sees "ample room" for margin expansion. "Our Top Pick for 2022 is CRM, after last quarter's sell-oﬀ and the recent correction CRM is trading is on attractive cash flow multiples for a name with double digit growth and ample room for margin expansion." Evercore ISI adds a tactical underperform call on Lyft Evercore added a tactical underperform call on the ride-sharing company due to continuing concerns over rising Covid cases. The firm kept its long-term outperform rating on the stock. "We are adding LYFT to Evercore ISI's Tactical Asset Positioning (TAP) Underperformance List with a short-term time horizon. Our rationale is simple. We believe rising COVID cases due to the Omicron variant likely mitigated any potential upside to Q4 Street Revenue estimates." New Street names Tesla a top 2022 pick New Street named the automaker a top pick for 2022 and said it sees the "perfect storm" for revenue growth and margin expansion. "Despite the ramp of two factories, we expect margins to expand, as recent price increases impact recognized revenues. We expect Tesla to break the 30% GM (gross margin) bar this year." BMO Capital Markets upgrades Take-Two Interactive to outperform from market perform BMO said in its upgrade of the stock that it's bullish on the company's proposed acquisition of Zynga. "We are upgrading shares of Take-Two Interactive to Outperform from Market Perform. Our $180 target price is unchanged. The basis for our upgrade is the pending acquisition of Zynga (ZNGA), which we think will help smooth earnings variability while offering compelling synergy opportunities." Read more about this call here . Wells Fargo names T-Mobile as a top 2022 pick Wells Fargo said it sees a "compelling risk/reward" for the wireless company in 2022. " T-Mobile is our top wireless pick, as we believe recent underperformance creates a compelling risk/reward proposition during 2022." Jefferies reiterates GameStop as hold Jefferies lowered its price target on shares of GameStop to $145 per share from $180 and said it still has "limited visibility." "While we are increasingly enthusiastic about the changes underway at GameStop, we are trimming our 12-mo PT multiple and rolling forward to FY22 with somewhat limited visibility into real changes to the financial model." Citi adds a 30-day positive catalyst watch on Bank of America Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on shares of the banking giant. The firm said the bank is "among the most levered to the long-end." "Open 30-Day Positive Catalyst Watch on BAC — While we believe BAC is not as asset sensitive as other banks on the short-end of the curve, it is among the most levered to the long-end. Piper Sandler downgrades Biogen to neutral from overweight Piper said in its downgrade of the biotech company that it doesn't see any near-term positive catalysts for Biogen. "Combining this with continued pressure on the base business and little in the way of pipeline backfill, we think the right thing to do here is cut our losses and move on." Read more about this call here. Jefferies downgrades PayPal to hold from buy Jefferies said in its downgrade of PayPal that it sees a lack of catalysts in 2022. "The poor optics of downgrading ~40% off the highs are not lost on us. Nevertheless, we move to Hold based on: limited pot'l for P/E expansion at ~5x prem. to pre-COVID while e-commerce trends cont. to worsen & competition intensifies." Read more about this call here . William Blair upgrades Shopify to outperform from market perform William Blair said in its upgrade of the e-commerce platform that it sees an attractive entry point. "We are upgrading shares of Shopify to Outperform from Market Perform. With the recent sell-off in the SaaS space, Shopify's valuation has come down to a more reasonable level." Bank of America reiterates General Electric as buy Bank of America reiterates GE as a buy and said it's bullish on the stock heading into earnings later this month. "For GE , we expect initial 2022 FCF guidance of $5.5-6.5bn, which should be well received by investors, in our view. We sense a "wait and see" attitude from some investors given the pending spin-offs of Healthcare and Renewable & Power segments, but argue that upward estimate revisions will drive the stock." KBW upgrades Silvergate Capital to outperform from market perform KBW said in its upgrade of the crypto bank that it has "earnings leverage" to higher rates. "We still believe stablecoins could be a catalyst for SI in 2022, with our 2023 EPS now sitting 10% above consensus." Piper Sandler names Crocs a top 2022 pick Piper said it sees "impressive consumer growth" for years to come. "We are highlighting CROX as a top idea for 2022 and see it as one of the most impressive consumer growth stories for several years to come." Wolfe downgrades Southwest Airlines to peer perform from outperform Wolfe downgraded Southwest mainly on valuation. "Sell side continues to kick the can on estimates, assuming this V-shaped recovery comes as soon as this most recent lull fades. It isn't helping the stocks. The group still needs a good hard washing, as lofty expectations and lofty market valuations are materially above where some of the more skeptical investors sit." Evercore ISI upgrades DoorDash to outperform from in line Evercore said in its upgrade of the food delivery company that it's a "strong fundamental asset." "We are upgrading DASH to Outperform with a $256 PT based on four key factors: 1) DASH is dislocated (off 40%) and trades close to a trough multiple; 2) DASH is a strong fundamental asset and a proven Structural COVID Winner, having grown Q3 revenue 45% Y/Y on its toughest comp." Read more about this call here. Macquarie initiates coverage of Nio as outperform Macquarie initiated coverage of the Chinese electric vehicle company with an outperform rating and said it's bullish on Nio's suite of services. " NIO' s foundation (design, manufacturing and scale) scores better than peers, especially the design. … We believe NIO's cars are well designed and manufactured, though we still have doubts about battery swapping." Barclays names Marvell a top 2022 pick Barclays named Marvell as a top pick for 2022 and said it sees "unique growth." "15-20% revenue target with drivers across every segment (Cloud, Carrier, Infra, Auto), much greater vs. most large cap peers. Argument that multiple should expand closer to AMD/NVDA. The company has re-shaped its portfolio with the broadest set of IP and process technologies and many secular drivers across all segments." Barclays upgrades Snowflake to overweight from equal weight Barclays said in its upgrade of the stock that the market is not appreciating the company's "emerging data sharing opportunity." "We are upgrading SNOW in this report to Overweight (from Equal Weight) as we think the market is not fully appreciating the quickly emerging data sharing opportunity." Morgan Stanley initiates coverage of Rocket Lab as overweight Morgan Stanley said the aerospace and satellite company is a "SpaceX alternative." " Rocket Lab offers investors high-quality exposure to the space race. While execution and competitive dynamics drive a wide range of outcomes, risk reward skews to the upside. We initiate at Overweight and PT of $17." Read more about this call here. Goldman Sachs initiates coverage of Planet Labs as buy Goldman said the satellite imaging company has a "first mover advantage." "We initiate coverage of Planet Labs with a Buy rating and $11 price target. Planet is the market leader in commercial Earth observation, where the opportunity to sell data analytics into many industries is massive." Piper Sandler upgrades Wells Fargo to overweight from neutral Piper said in its upgrade of the banking giant it sees a compelling valuation. "We were also sensitive to how long it might take to effect a turnaround. But the group's updraft has left valuations higher for many banks, and the market's focus on rates has narrowed the sense of differentiation among stories. Thus, we find ourselves searching for names that still have both multiple touchpoints for opportunity and a compelling valuation. And while WFC is certainly not without its risks, it fits the bill better than many others." Read more about this call here. Wells Fargo upgrades Ambarella to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo said in its upgrade of the semiconductor company that investors should buy the pullback. "Given the recent pullback in AMBA shares, we take this opportunity to upgrade AMBA to OW from EW, while maintaining our $205 PT." Loop reiterates Apple as buy Loop reiterated Apple as a buy. The firm said the popularity of the iPhone Pro models is "altering" the average selling price dynamics "for the foreseeable future." "2022 overall iPhone ASPs appears positioned to grow stronger than Street estimates." Morgan Stanley reiterates Wells Fargo as a top 2022 pick Morgan Stanley kept Wells Fargo as a top pick for 2022 and said the company's valuation is attractive. " WFC is the most asset-sensitive stock in our coverage Cash stands at 15% of earning assets (7% above pre-COVID levels) and the excess capital."

Passengers check in for a Southwest Airlines flight at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida, U.S., October 11, 2021.

Joe Skipper | Reuters

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Wednesday: