Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls of the day: Apple, Home Depot, Disney, DraftKings & more

Published Thu, Feb 17 20228:35 AM ESTUpdated Thu, Feb 17 20229:28 AM EST

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: UBS reiterates Dick's Sporting Goods as buy UBS kept its buy rating on shares of the sporting-goods store and said it's bullish heading into earnings in early March. "Given the pre-announcement, we think it's well understood that DKS experienced solid trends in 4Q. We model 4.2% SSS (same store sales). … While the sporting-goods category likely remains a beneficiary of elevated time at home, we think trends decelerated later in the quarter." Barclays reiterates Home Depot and Lowe's as overweight Barclays kept its overweight rating on several home-improvement retailers ahead of earnings next week. The firm said it sees the long-term tail winds as "sustainable." "So bottom line: Multiples have contracted YTD for HD / LOW /FND near five-year historical averages due to the expectation of near-term volatility in results/interest rates. However, we still view the LT tail winds for home improvement as sustainable and HD/LOW/FND's ability to navigate inflationary pressures favorably vs. other retailers." Morgan Stanley reiterates DraftKings as overweight Morgan Stanley kept its overweight rating on DraftKings ahead of earnings on Friday. The firm said gambling "demand continues to outperform." "With a number of large states recently reporting final Dec. numbers, it's clear bad luck and higher promos are impacting 4Q more than we previously modeled. However, 4Q handle still outperformed and initial Jan./Feb. results suggest demand continues to outperform." Bank of America reiterates Apple as buy Bank of America said in a note to clients on Thursday that its global smartphone survey indicates "tail winds for device & services sales" for Apple. "According to our survey (six months ended in Jan 2022), more than 25% of respondents globally still have old iPhones (iPhone 8 or earlier) and we see this as an opportunity for driving a replacement cycle. Atlantic Equities downgrades Altice USA to neutral from overweight Atlantic Equities downgraded the cable provider due to increased competition. "We are downgrading Altice USA to Neutral. We believe management's strategy to address heightened competition through increased investment in fiber is the right one but believe it will take time before results improve materially." Cowen upgrades Yum! Brands to outperform from market perform Cowen said in its upgrade of the owner of Taco Bell and other brands that it sees multiple expansion and an attractive buying opportunity. "We upgrade YUM shares based on a compelling ~15% total return story derived from a diversified global franchise sales base with room for multiple expansion. In particular, we highlight YUM's opportunity to raise long-term development guidance and upside to Taco Bell SSS (same store sales) estimates to help drive multiple expansion in 2022." Read more about this call here. Citi reiterates Disney as buy Citi lowered its price target on shares of Disney to $200 per share from $210. However, the firm said it expects a strong second quarter of 2022 and particular strength in Disney Parks. "DIS reported F1Q22 revenues and segment EBIT ahead of the Street. Notably Disney+ net adds were stronger than expected. And Domestic Parks posted a record quarter with attendance up double-digits against F4Q21, and with per caps notably up 40% against F1Q19." Bank of America reiterates Cisco as buy Bank of America kept its buy rating on the stock after its earnings report on Wednesday and said it sees "improving growth momentum." " Cisco is also seeing accelerated demand from the legacy networking segments benefiting from increased infrastructure spending, which prompts us to reiterate our Buy rating and $68 PO." BMO initiates coverage of Monster Beverage as market perform BMO said it's staying on the sidelines over concerns about "market share dynamics" for the beverage company. " Monster is a high-quality company in an attractive category with favorable long-term growth potential. That said, we are on the sidelines owing to concerns about market share dynamics and shelf space, sales risk from leading on price increases and margin implications of brand building behind alcohol entry." BMO upgrades Check Point Software to outperform from market perform BMO said in its upgrade of the IT security company that Check Point is well positioned as the security market improves. "We are upgrading CHKP for several reasons. First, we expect security demand to remain strong in CY22. Second, we believe that CHKP's relative positioning in the security market is improving." UBS reiterates Dollar Tree as buy UBS kept its buy rating on shares of the discount retailer. The firm said its analysis shows consumers are responding favorably to the company's price hikes to $1.25. "While we fully expect DT' s sales to benefit from this change in strategy, even if it doesn't, its GM (gross margin) should still expand meaningfully." Morgan Stanley downgrades 3M to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of 3M that it sees too many negative catalysts and growth is hard to come by. "Fundamentals are improving, but growth is still mixed and insufficient relative to liabilities." Read more about this call here. Roth downgrades Shopify to neutral from buy Roth said that it sees slowing growth for Shopify . "While plans for international expansion and recalibrated investment seek to limit further growth decelerations in FY22, it does so with a material impact on profitability. Point of sale and key partnerships could act as mitigators, but the recalibrated investment and taper in growth leave us to step to the sidelines, downgrading shares to Neutral from Buy." MoffettNathanson reiterates Meta Platforms as buy Moffett reiterated its buy rating on the company formerly known as Facebook . The firm said Meta's earnings report on Feb. 2 created more uncertainty than clarity. "In the second half of this year, we would expect the Apple iOS and Reels revenue headwinds to abate and reported Facebook ad revenue growth should re-accelerate." Bank of America double upgrades Upstart Holdings to buy from underperform Bank of America said in its upgrade of the lending-platform company that it sees a long growth runway for auto loans and personal loans. "We upgrade from Underperform to Buy as we believe Upstart's 4Q'21 results showcased the company's ability to deliver growth and profitability above expectations despite industry headwind (Industry historically flat Q/Q in 4Q) and see long growth run ways in both personal loans and the still early opportunity in auto loans." Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America kept its buy rating on shares of Nvidia after its earnings report on Wednesday . The firm said it likes the company's "balance sheet flexibility" and "data center momentum." "Our positive view on Nvidia is based on its underappreciated transformation from a traditional PC graphics chip vendor, into a supplier into high-end gaming, enterprise graphics, cloud, accelerated computing and automotive markets."

A Home Depot location in Encinitas, California.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday: