Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Nvidia, Snowflake, Coinbase, Skechers, Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway & more

Published Thu, Feb 15 20248:24 AM EST

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Macquarie downgrades Sony to neutral from buy Macquarie said it sees a more balanced risk/reward for the entertainment company. "With Sony near our target price and market expectations at risk given lacklustre FY3/25 guidance, we are downgrading to Neutral." JPMorgan adds Ulta to the focus list JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock to $600 per share from $535. "We are adding ULTA to JPMs Analyst Focus List as a growth investment for the following reasons. (1) We see potential upside to 4Q23 earnings and believe the current FY24 Street estimate is reasonable for the company to guide to with 2025 too low." DA Davidson names I3 Verticals a top pick DA said the software solutions company has "untapped value." "Based in Nashville, i3 Verticals provides integrated software and payment solutions to select vertical markets." Deutsche Bank reiterates Rocket Lab as a top pick Deutsche said it's standing by its bullish status on the space company. " Rocket Lab remains the Top Pick in our Space coverage universe especially in the context of a transitional year for the industry." Piper Sandler reiterates Nvidia as overweight Piper raised its price target on the stock to $850 per share from $620 ahead of earnings next week. "We continue to see positive momentum building around NVDA's existing tailwinds of accelerated compute and generative AI." Citi initiates Similarweb as buy Citi said the software company is a turnaround story. "We believe SMWB' s Q4 results signaled a turnaround with a rebound in growth metrics, improving execution with a sustainable ramp in profitability." Deutsche Bank reiterates FedEx as buy Deutsche said it sees another "tough quarter" when the company reports earnings in March but that it's standing by its buy rating. "We still think it's possible for FedEx's full year EPS to come in within the range of its guidance of $17-18.50, though the low end is much more likely and it's even possible to dip below the low end depending on the magnitude in inflection in the seasonally much stronger fiscal 4Q period." KeyBanc reiterates Apple as sector weight Key said its survey checks show "in-line to slightly better iPhone 15 sell-through post-holiday season." "We are maintaining our below-consensus Hardware revenue estimates where AAPL will likely be pressured due to: 1) historically low U.S. upgrade rates; 2) increased China competition; 3) an Apple Watch ban from a patent dispute, and 4) a sluggish PC environment." HSBC initiates GE Healthcare as buy HSBC said it sees margin expansion for the GE spinoff health care company. " GEHC's 4m installed base globally is considerably above those of peers and could be an important advantage when it comes to up-selling, cross-selling and augmenting its data, while helping to develop better AI-driven solutions and raise its service income." Evercore ISI initiates Skechers as outperform Evercore said Skechers has a "steady growth profile." "Steady Revenue Compounder with Potential Margin Upside." JPMorgan upgrades Coinbase to neutral from underperform JPMorgan upgraded Coinbase as bitcoin ETF flows "strengthen." "Upgrading to Neutral — Surge in Bitcoin Price Takes Crypto Market and Coinbase Earnings Power Higher — Bitcoin ETF Flows Strengthen." Evercore ISI initiates Deckers as outperform Evercore said the shoe company has robust brand momentum. "We believe that DECK offers one of the best plays with a high quality growth profile that has a portfolio of differentiated brands sustaining strong brand momentum through multiple metrics & a margin expansion story on top of that." UBS upgrades Medpace to buy from neutral UBS said guidance is too conservative for the clinical research company. "We are upgrading MEDP to Buy and raising our PT to $452 as we believe fundamentals are improving, 2024 guidance appears conservative and there could be upside to 2025 consensus." JPMorgan upgrades Teradyne to neutral from underweight JPMorgan said in its upgrade of Teradyne that the equipment test manufacturer is now derisked. "Upgrading to Neutral as 2024 Estimate Risks Moderate Leaving Limited Downside to Current Levels." HSBC downgrades Snowflake to hold from buy HSBC downgraded stock mainly on valuation. "We downgrade Snowflake to Hold after a strong rally." Bernstein reiterates Arm as underperform Bernstein raised its price target on Arm to $72 per share from $46 and said it's standing by its sell rating. "Q3 results were strong, guidance for FY24 was raised, and we are now more convinced in the increasing royalty rate story based on v9 penetration; however, we can't get to the current valuation levels even with increased estimates." Redburn Atlantic Equities initiates Eastman Chemical as buy Redburn said the chemical company is undervalued. " Eastman is a specialty chemical company that is vertically integrated to gain a feedstock advantage. It has a highly cash-generative Fibres business that funds organic growth in the downstream segments." Redburn Atlantic Equities downgrades Comcast to neutral from buy Redburn said in its downgrade of Comcast that it sees broadband subscription pressure. "Our top-down broadband analysis suggests additional downside to cable broadband subscription consensus across 2024 and 2025." Morgan Stanley upgrades Principal Financial to equal weight from underweight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees "improved positioning and better valuation." "Better guidance, improved capital position, and a more attractive valuation lead us to upgrade PFG back to Equal-weight." Wells Fargo resumes Cisco as equal weight Wells resumed coverage of the stock after its earnings report on Wednesday and says shares are fairly valued. "We resume coverage of CSCO at Equal Weight; $52 PT." Morgan Stanley downgrades Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley downgraded several metal stocks on Thursday and says it sees limited upside. "Only Modest Demand Growth & Lower Prices; Downgrading X, CLF." Bank of America upgrades Air Products to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its upgrade of the chemical industry company that the business is "better than the market thinks." "We are upgrading APD to Buy for three reasons: we believe the valuation disconnect with Linde (LIN) is unwarranted, the speculative project backlog has less risks than we previously viewed, and we think the base business is robust, contrary to the current market view." Bank of America initiates Super Micro as buy Bank of America said the server and storage solutions company is an AI beneficiary. "We launch coverage of Super Micro Computer, Inc. with a Buy rating and $1040 price objective. We think this provider of server and storage solutions will be a beneficiary of AI-driven demand growth." Guggenheim downgrades Generac to neutral from buy Guggenheim downgraded Generac on valuation. "We downgrade our investment recommendation from Buy to Neutral following Q4 2023 results and a talk with management." Mizuho upgrades Eversource Energy to buy from neutral Mizuho said that the energy company is going to be a "a pure-play, regulated utility with an improved balance sheet" once it divests its offshore wind assets. "We are upgrading shares of ES to Buy from Neutral." Bank of America reiterates Uber as buy Bank of America said it's feeling more bullish after the company's investor day. The firm raised its price target on the stock to $91 per share from $78. " Uber hosted an Investor Update with new disclosures, a 3-Yr financial outlook, & $7bn share repurchase authorization. Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's sticking with its overweight rating on Tesla but that you "can't have Western EVs without China." "Western car companies have come to realize that mass EV adoption and China are inextricably linked." BMO upgrades Manulife Financial to outperform from market perform BMO said it sees "improving earnings visibility" for the insurance company. "While a good GARP story, trading at 8.2x NTM [next twelve months] core EPS, MFC's cash remittances net of holdco costs at 75% of core EPS represent an even more attractive 10.8x price-to-capital generation multiple for an even more attractive 9.3% FCF yield." KBW reiterates Berkshire Hathaway as market perform KBW said it's sticking with its market perform on the stock after reviewing its 13-f. "We estimate that the value of BRK's equity portfolio declined by about $6.98 billion pretax quarter-to-date." Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.