Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Schwab, Pinterest, Exxon, Disney and more

Published Wed, Nov 29 20238:31 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Nov 29 202311:12 AM EST

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Piper Sandler downgrades Hershey to neutral from overweight Piper Sandler said it's concerned about rising cocoa costs for Hershey. "We lower our rating from OW to Neutral and trim our estimates on higher cocoa costs (up ~60% in 4Q23) driven by supply shortages." UBS reiterates Apple as neutral UBS said its survey checks show wait times for Apple's iPhone are almost nonexistent. "Utilizing UBS Evidence Lab data that tracks iPhone availability across 30 countries, wait times for the entire iPhone 15 lineup continue to be effectively nonexistent across the US, China, and Europe. Japan remains an outlier, with wait times of just over two weeks at the high-end." Guggenheim reiterates Tesla as sell Guggenheim said it's standing by its sell rating heading into Tesla's cyber truck event Thursday. "We remain SELL rated as we do not believe the Cybertruck meaningfully changes the demand story over the next several years, which we expect to remain challenged by a lack of new product offerings, difficulty convincing the next wave of EV buyers to drive adoption and increasing competition." Truist reiterates Amazon as buy Truist said its survey checks appear robust following Black Friday. "We remain constructive on AMZN with N. America revenue growth tracking ahead of consensus expectations QTD (thru 11/26) based on Truist Card Data." Canaccord initiates Moderna as hold Canaccord said expectations are too high for the vaccine maker. " Moderna is its own tough act to follow: Initiate at HOLD, PT $82. Proven development capabilities balanced by high spend and expectations." Raymond James initiates GitLab as market perform Raymond James initiated the software company with a market perform mainly on valuation. "We are initiating coverage of GTLB with a Market Perform rating, held back by potential market exuberance for FY25 growth reacceleration." Bank of America upgrades RBC Bearings to buy from underperform Bank of America said in its upgrade of the aerospace and defense solutions company that the setup looks robust. "We continue to see RBC's defense exposure as having a particularly strong set-up heading into CY24. Defense sales increased 25% Y/Y in the quarter, driven by growth in marine end-markets and strong demand in helicopters, jets, space, and missiles." TD Cowen names AstraZeneca a top idea TD Cowen said it likes the pharmaceutical company's pipeline heading into 2024. " AZN has promising new products and pipeline and participates in many large, high-growth markets." Goldman Sachs downgrades Leslie's to neutral from buy Goldman Sachs said in its downgrade of the pool company that demand is slowing. "We are downgrading LESL to Neutral from Buy following their 4Q23 results as sales and margins are expected to remain pressured in the near term, and the demand recovery that we expected to take place in FY24 now appears increasingly uncertain." Evercore ISI downgrades Carlyle Group to in line from outperform Evercore ISI said in its downgrade of the private equity company that "healing is slow, capital raising is challenging." "Don't get us wrong, we still see great secular growth opportunities in the alternatives space & believe Carlyle will participate in some of those areas, has a ton of accrued carry, lots of dry powder, has taken out some costs, and sports a group-low multiple." Wells Fargo reiterates Goldman Sachs as overweight Wells Fargo said it's standing by its overweight rating despite reports of Goldman and Apple ending their credit card partnership. "Apple sent a proposal to GS to exit from its entire consumer contract incl. credit cards and savings accounts in 12-15 mths, per WSJ (not confirmed by GS). As a result, GS will be closer to its roots w/a strategy leveraging its historical strengths." Bank of America reiterates Union Pacific as a top pick Bank of America said it sees earnings upside for the railroad company. "We reiterate our Buy and raise our PO to $264 (from $258) on UNP's shares. Our PO is based on 23.5x our 2024e EPS, above its 14x-20x range, given rebounding operations. We see earnings ramping above target as service and volume growth scales." Jefferies downgrades Airbnb to hold from buy Jefferies said it sees a slowdown in bookings. "However, our deep dive suggests the monetization opportunity is largely priced in, underscored by ABNB' s 65% valuation premium to Internet despite in-line EBITDA growth." JPMorgan reiterates Disney as overweight JPMorgan said it's standing by its overweight rating on the stock. "Our Overweight rating is driven by continued strength at Disneys theme park segment despite a slowdown in domestic results." Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Microvast as buy Cantor Fitzgerald said Microvast is an "underappreciated" battery play. "Today, Microvast is ramping up production of its newest battery cell and scaling production of existing facilities that have the potential to generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue by the end of 2024." Piper Sandler reiterates Charles Schwab as buy Piper Sandler said the company is a "likely beneficiary of fed rate cuts." " SCHW has had a challenging 2023 as stronger than expected client cash sorting has weighed on NII [net interest incoe] and the earnings outlook (stock down 33% YTD)." Morgan Stanley upgrades Tuya to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the China artificial intelligence company that it sees an attractive risk/reward. "Running at US$10mn quarterly non-GAAP profit, Tuya's current valuation is still close to its net cash level." Bernstein reiterates Taiwan Semiconductor as outperform Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $125 per share from $113 and said it's a best idea for 2024. "We project TSMC's revenue & EPS to grow at ~20% & 25% CAGR in 2024 & 25. Some is on cycle, but AI & Intel contribute more than half & will ensure TSMC to outgrow peers." Morgan Stanley names PDD a top pick Morgan Stanley said the company is the "pride of China e-commerce." " PDD's strong 3Q23 results imply both sustainable market share expansion of its domestic e-Commerce business and strong growth momentum of its cross-border e-Commerce business, Temu." Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Marti Technologies as buy Cantor Fitzgerald said the Turkish ride-hailing company is poised to be a leader. " Marti is a Turkey-based mobility super app, currently offering micromobility transportation through its fleet of two-wheeled electric vehicles (scooters, bikes, and mopeds), as well as operating a ride-hailing marketplace that connects riders with drivers." Piper Sandler reiterates Pinterest as overweight Piper Sandler raised its price target on Pinterest to $40 per share from $37 and says trends are improving. "Based on our proprietary data, pricing metrics suggest Direct Links continues to drive lower outbound cost per click and overall CPM [cost per impressions]." TD Cowen names Discover a top pick TD Cowen said the financial services company is a top pick for 2024. " DFS' shares continue to see pushback on credit due to seasoning as well as the regulatory overhang. The company has a strong brand, and we believe the regulatory issues are improving and will not damage its relationship with customers." UBS reiterates Exxon as buy UBS said it's bullish heading into Exxon's corporate plan event on Dec. 6. "We reiterate our Buy rating ahead of XOM's Dec 6 Corporate Plan webcast. While additional details on the PXD acquisition may be limited, we see the event reinforcing our view that XOM is best positioned to outperform the sector this upcycle." D.A. Davidson adds Estée Lauder to the top picks list D.A. Davidson added the stock to its "best-of-breed bison" list and says the company is best in class. "We are including BUY-rated EL in our research team's Best-of-Breed Bison initiative, which focuses on long-term best-in-class companies with sustainable competitive moats."