Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Tesla, Apple, SolarEdge, Netflix, Target & more

Published Thu, Jan 13 20228:34 AM ESTUpdated Thu, Jan 13 20228:40 AM EST

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: Goldman Sachs upgrades Bumble and Match to buy from neutral Goldman said that it sees an attractive entry point for the online dating sites. " Match Group & Bumble have underperformed the S & P 500 in '21 and we see the current valuation as an attractive entry point into a multi-year compounded growth story." Read more about this call here. Mizuho names Tesla and Rivian top 2022 picks Mizuho said in a note to clients on Thursday that Rivian is well positioned in the electric vehicle race in 2022. The firm also called Tesla "a leader" with "improving battery technology." "2022 is a big year for EVs and RIVN as the company begins to significantly ramp its R1T, R1S and EDVs for Amazon. ... We see TSLA continuing to be a leader in the EV market with improving battery technology, a strong ADAS/AD (advanced driver assistance system) roadmap, and an emerging player in energy storage." Oppenheimer initiates coverage of Hertz as outperform Oppenheimer gave the auto company an outperform rating and said it likes Hertz's shareholder-friendly buyback program. "With a meaningfully improved cost structure, an under-levered balance sheet and newfound competitive discipline, we believe Hertz is an interesting post-bankruptcy equity." Credit Suisse reiterates Netflix as outperform Credit Suisse said in a note to clients on Thursday that it has a "complete lack of visibility" heading into earnings next week. "We see four clear dynamics for Netflix shares going into 4Q21: investor interest is as low as we have seen the past eight years; sentiment regarding 4Q21/1Q22 net adds has faded with some negative previews; with 4Q's record content slate, results are a watershed moment for the Netflix thesis." Read more about this call here . Oppenheimer downgrades Qorvo to perform from outperform Oppenheimer said in its downgrade of the radio frequency solutions company that it sees increased competition. "QRVO is now ~80% exposed to handset/mobile. Handset is a big (1.6B units/year) but largely ex-growth mature market with component suppliers dependent on sustained content gains for growth. In 2022, we see limited content gains for QRVO at iPhone and increased competition from QCOM in China Android." Piper Sandler initiates coverage of Match as overweight Piper said it likes the online dating company's "broad portfolio." "We feel Match's position with Tinder and its broad portfolio provides several 'shots on goal' for success as online dating continues to grow across the globe, particularly as we eventually move past the pandemic." JPMorgan upgrades Halliburton to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said in its upgrade of the energy stock that the valuation is attractive. "We upgrade HAL to OW (from N) and downgrade BKR to N (from OW) as we see more earnings upside and a more attractive relative valuation under our 'normalized' framework." Deutsche Bank names Ford, Tesla and General Motors as top 2022 picks Deutsche Bank said in a note to clients it sees several positive catalysts for the automakers in 2022. "We also continue to favor names most likely to see success from accelerating vehicle electrification, such as GM who offers large Autos 2.0 optionality, as well as TSLA for which 2022 should be important, with the ramp up of 2 new factories, potential near-doubling of volumes, FSD deployment, and initial production of its own battery cells and Cybertruck. The 2022 setup and catalysts for F remain positive as well, but we see better mid-term upside potential in GM ." Cowen downgrades Snap to market perform from outperform Cowen downgraded the social media stock due to elevated valuation and difficult first-half 2022 comps. "We are downgrading SNAP to Market Perform given (i) Near-term concerns around lingering iOS 14.5 changes impacting SNAP's measurement, targeting and attribution for direct response ad units, (ii) Difficult 1H22 comps (peaking in 2Q22)." Read more about this call here. Cowen reiterates Amazon as outperform Cowen kept its outperform rating on the e-commerce giant and said it's bullish heading into earnings in early February. " Amzn Expected to Continue to Gain Share of Global Digital Advertising '22-'27: Per our proprietary survey of 54 senior US ad buyers, Amazon is expected to be the largest Digital ad share gainer for the second consecutive year, next to TikTok." Truist initiates coverage of Target as buy Truist said in its initiation of Target that it sees "operational improvements driving share gains." " Target has made substantial improvements to its stores, merchandise quality and omni-channel capabilities over the last several years, which we think enabled them to capitalize on the pandemic-related surge in demand. In our view, the company will continue to be a primary share gainer and this momentum will result in higher than historical growth rates on a go-forward basis." Susquehanna downgrades Southwest Airlines to neutral from positive Susquehanna said in its downgrade of the stock that it still has concerns about the pandemic. "On the low- and ultra-low-cost side, while we continue to view the low-cost model as best positioned to withstand margin and earnings volatility until CV-19 becomes endemic, we do see LCC LUV and ULCC SAVE as facing larger cost headwinds relative to peers and therefore are downgrading both to Neutral." Bank of America names Apple a top 2022 pick Bank of America said in a note to clients on Thursday that it sees multiple positive catalysts for Apple 's stock in 2022. "We see multiple tailwinds on both the hardware (AR/VR-led iPhone upgrade cycle, new revenue stream from new products, potentially improved March qtr. seasonality given iPhone SE launch) and services side." Truist upgrades Home Depot to buy from hold Truist said in its upgrade of Home Depot that it's a "market leader in a favorable sector." "We expect key industry drivers including supply/demand imbalances in the housing market, pandemic-driven behavioral changes and aging housing infrastructure to drive significant incremental home improvement growth. Further, we believe that Home Depot will continue to gain share from its size/scale benefits and enhanced supply chain capabilities. We are buyers of HD shares." Piper Sandler upgrades Chegg to overweight from neutral Piper said in its upgrade of the education company that the stock is compelling. "Compelling GARP EdTech pick following selloff from diminished visibility and enrollment headwinds. Long-term holding (may require some patience) as core growth levers remain intact and CHGG is trading below pre-pandemic levels." Morgan Stanley names Plug Power and Sunrun as top 2022 picks Morgan Stanley named Sunrun and Plug Power as top picks for 2022 and said it sees strong growth. "We move our Clean Tech industry view from In-Line to Attractive as we see strong growth and valuations that broadly screen attractive regardless of whether US legislation passes Congress. We favor stocks with strong barriers to entry and little growth priced in: OW AES, PLUG, RUN , and TPIC; UW FSLR." MKM upgrading Mattel to buy from neutral MKM said in its upgrade of the toy maker that it has an underappreciated 2022 product line-up. "Upgrading to Buy from Neutral on the strength of Mattel's upcoming product lineup and capital structure optionality. We look for continued positive momentum from Mattel's product portfolio in 2022 and believe guidance for MSD (mid single digits) net sales growth will prove conservative as could its $1bn+ adjusted EBITDA projection." Susquehanna upgrades Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to positive from neutral Susquehanna upgraded several airline stocks and said it sees a "gradual recovery in a high-margin business." "Hence, we are upgrading global carriers DAL and UAL to Positive, as a gradual recovery in high-margin business and long-haul international travel along with various revenue and cost-savings initiatives should help support EBITDA growth into 2022 and 2023." JPMorgan reiterates Apple as overweight JPMorgan said it expects a "modest" beat when Apple reports earnings later this month. "We expect the upcoming earnings print for Dec-Q to feature some of the headwinds from the slow supply chain ramp in relation to new products, which will limit the magnitude of upside; although, we expect a modest beat nevertheless, led by better iPhone shipments." Guggenheim upgrades SolarEdge and Enphase Energy to buy from neutral Guggenheim said in its upgrade of several solar stocks on Thursday that concerns are starting to dissipate. "We are upgrading our investment recommendations for SolarEdge and Enphase to BUY from Neutral, and introducing price targets of $329 for SEDG and $213 for ENPH. Relative to current prices, our target valuations imply potential upside of 26% for SEDG and 43% for ENPH, respectively. Although challenges remain, we believe that concerns regarding high valuations, high consensus expectations and potential negative news that we highlighted in our October 2021 downgrade have largely dissipated." Read more about this call here.

Shoppers exit a Target store during Black Friday sales in Brooklyn, New York, November 26, 2021.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: