Monday's analyst calls: Ford set for strong gains ahead, big Nvidia price target hike

Published Mon, Apr 8 20245:48 AM EDTUpdated Mon, Apr 8 20248:55 AM EDT

(This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Monday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A major automaker and a key chipmaker were featured among Monday's biggest analyst calls. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Ford after the company reassessed its electric vehicle strategy. KeyBanc also raised its price target on Nvidia and now sees more than 30% upside for the stock. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 8:38 a.m.: Morgan Stanley sees a path for Amazon shares to reach as much as $290 Morgan Stanley has raised its price target on Amazon and reinstated it as its top pick, citing the stock's multiyear, efficiency based cash flow story. Analyst Brian Nowak raised the price target on Amazon to $215 from $200, implying about 16% upside. However, he said the firm's breakdown of the "cost to serve" – which includes shipping, fulfillment, payment processing, inbound shipping, returns, and inventory shrinkage costs – gives him "increased confidence in AMZN's ability to deliver $100bn+ of '26 EBIT and $10-11 of '26 FCF/share." That "paints path to ~$230-$290 stock price as we argue AMZN could warrant an even higher multiple in this scenario," he added. Shares rose 1% in premarket trading. — Tanaya Macheel 8:36 a.m.: Chipotle shares could rally nearly 16%, says Citi Citi expects a topline beat when Chipotle Mexican Grill reports financial results for its first quarter April 24. The bank hiked its price target on Friday to $3,358 from $3,016, suggesting almost 16% upside from Friday's close. Analyst Jon Tower also anticipates encouraging commentary about momentum through the quarter. "We would be surprised if we emerge from the quarter with any real holes to poke in the story/anything that drives LT investors away from the name, and a clear path for SSS [same-store sales] drivers, HSD [high single-digit] unit growth, and a 20%-plus EPS [earnings per share] algo should continue to justify a marginal multiple premium vs history," he wrote in a note to clients. Tower upped his 2024 EPS estimate to $52.38 from $52.17 and his 2025 EPS estimate to $66.70 from $64.24. Shares of Chipotle are up 27% year to date. — Michelle Fox 7:38 a.m.: Evercore hikes Disney price target, points out near-term catalysts Walt Disney has a bright near-term outlook, according to Evercore ISI. The investment firm increased its price target for the entertainment stock in a Monday note, with analyst Vijay Jayant's new price target of $130 — up from $115 — implying that shares could rally another 10%. At the same time, he stood by his outperform rating on Disney. Jayant cited Disney's new foray into the Indian market as a major catalyst. Specifically, Disney is due to merge its media assets with India's Reliance Industries, with Disney owning a 37% in the joint venture. "The transaction allows Disney to retain exposure to the Indian market with a strong partner in Reliance Industries," the analyst wrote. There are also further opportunities to grow margins as Disney begins cracking down on password sharing. Using Netflix as an example, Jayant thinks there could be 50 million households sharing a Disney+ core service and 20 million households sharing Hulu. Finally, the analyst also updated his outlook due to updated expectations from Disney CEO Bob Iger. These include anticipation that free cash flow should exceed $8 billion in 2024, and the operating income for domestic and international parks could grow in the low- to mid-teens in the second quarter of this year. — Lisa Kailai Han 7:34 a.m.: Buy Domino's stock as key sales metric looks attractive, Evercore ISI says Domino's Pizza could see strong gains as same-store sales improve, according to Evercore ISI. Analyst David Palmer added $50 to his price target, now expecting shares to climb 13.5% to $560. Palmer has an outperform rating on the Michigan-based pizza chain. "We are encouraged that SSS accelerated in March driven by transaction growth from its revamped loyalty program and start to targeted national marketing on Uber Eats," Palmer said, using the acronym for same-store sales. "We believe the company's SSS strength will increasingly prove a standout compared to that of fast food industry peers." Palmer raised his expectation for full-year growth in same-store sales to 5% from 4%, exceeding the average analyst's outlook. He now anticipates earnings per share will come in at $15.86 for the year, which would be above Wall Street consensus and mark an annualized gain of about 8%. He acknowledged that his target is at a premium from a price-to-earnings multiple perspective. But the multiple could actually expand further relative to the S & P 500, the analyst said, given the potential for multiyear growth in same-store sales. Domino's stock has jumped nearly 20% in 2024. — Alex Harring 7:19 a.m.: Boeing stock is in 'purgatory', Bernstein says Boeing shares are currently in "purgatory" following the midair panel blowout earlier this year, Bernstein said. Analyst Douglas Harned cut down his price target by $32 to $240, which still reflects potential upside of about 31%. He also has an outperform rating on the aerospace stock. "Since the January 5th MAX-9 accident with Alaska flight 1282, we see Boeing's stock as essentially in a purgatory situation [until] three issues are resolved," Harned wrote to clients. The first of the three issues is the CEO choice after Dave Calhoun steps down at the end of 2024. Harned noted there appears to be a small pool of candidates, though timing on the decision is unclear. Next is the 737 Max delivery recovery. Harned said he needs to see more signs of improvement on this to have confidence in a long-term ramp. Stability of market share is the last of the three, according to the analyst. He said it has become increasingly likely that airlines may opt to work with other plane makers amid Boeing's reputational crisis. In addition to cutting his price target, Harned also pulled down his outlook for free cash flow and deliveries. Still, he said there's reason to remain positive on the stock looking longer term. "Long-term, Boeing will remain part of a successful duopoly," he said. "But, the path there is more uncertain and the end result could now place the company in a weaker position." Boeing shares slipped about 1% before the bell on Monday. The stock has tumbled nearly 30% this year, making it the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. — Alex Harring 7:04 a.m.: Buy Ulta following worst week since 2020, Loop Capital recommends Investors should snap up Ulta Beauty after last week's sell-off, Loop Capital advised. Analyst Anthony Chukumba upgraded the beauty retailer to buy from hold on the heels of last week's drop of nearly 15%, its biggest since 2020. Chukumba's $540 price target implies an upside of 21.4% from where the stock finished Friday. Chukumba said comparable sales data should improve over the remainder of the year, which can provide financial tailwinds to the stock. Solid capital allocation and the potential for a cash dividend in the near future also offer reasons for optimism, he said. "We believe last week's selloff was well overdone, particularly given the extremely difficult comparison Ulta Beauty is facing in F1Q 2024," he said. "We expect the company's performance to improve over the final three quarters of F2024, primarily driven by easing YoY comparisons as well as new product introductions." Shares rose 1.5% in Monday premarket trading. But after last week's slide, shares are down more than 9% on the year. — Alex Harring 6:58 a.m.: Deutsche Bank reinstates Broadcom with buy rating Deutsche Bank restarted its coverage of Broadcom , seeing room to run for the artificial intelligence-connected semiconductor stock. Analyst Ross Seymore reinstated his buy rating on the stock. His new price target of $1,500 implies an upside of around 12%. "As we resume coverage, we continue to see three positive drivers to AVGO shares," Seymore said. Here are the big three: AI, with the company set to see around $12.5 billion in revenue tied to the technology in the 2025 fiscal year, up from $10 billion the prior year. The accretion potential connected to the company's acquisition of VMWare. The likelihood of a rebound in de-risked segments that are cyclically levered, a group that includes broadband and server storage connectivity. Seymore's call comes amid a strong period, with shares jumping 20% in 2024 after almost doubling in the prior year. AVGO YTD mountain AVGO year to date — Alex Harring 6:56 a.m.: Analysts raise expectations for Netflix shares ahead of earnings The price target hikes have started rolling in for Netflix ahead of the streaming titan's quarterly earnings report later this month. The big technology company posts its latest financials on Thursday, April 18. Ahead of that, JPMorgan and TD Cowen told clients they were raising their respective estimates for where shares will go over the next year on Monday. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth increased his target by $40 to $650, reflecting a 2.2% upside from where Netflix finished last week. Anmuth said there's more opportunity for Netflix, which he has an overweight rating on, to continue monetizing following the password sharing crackdown. "While the lowest hanging fruit was captured in 2023, we believe Netflix still has meaningful Paid Sharing monetization opportunity as it tightens filters across specific use cases & borrower cohorts," he said. TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge hiked his target by $125 to $725, now implying a 14% ascent on the horizon. In addition to paid sharing, Blackledge also said the company's strong media was a core reason for his buy rating. "Netflix is benefiting from a dual tailwind of paid sharing initiatives as well as strong underlying biz demand from a robust, increasingly global content slate," he said. These calls come amid an already good year for the California-based company, with shares climbing more than 30%. — Alex Harring 6:21 a.m.: Take-Two can rally more than 30%, Citi says Citi sees Take-Two's risk-reward ratio as too good to pass up. Analyst Jason Bazinet upgraded the video game maker's shares to buy from neutral and hiked his price target by $30 to $200. Bazinet's new target shows the potential for the stock to rally 32.4% over the next year. "Given the 4:1 risk-reward, we view the equity as compelling at prevailing levels," he wrote to clients. The new target reflects a a weighting of approximately 67% to the firm's bull case, with the rest allocated to the bear outlook, Bazinet said. Bazinet said the timing of Grand Theft Auto VI's release and volume of bookings are both unknowns weighing on the stock. Trends within the mobile gaming portfolio is another reason for pause, he added. On the release timing front, he said there's a downside of approximately $7 for every six months of delays. He called timing a "very real but manageable risk." But there isn't much risk when it comes to how it will perform, he said. The analyst forecasted between $2.6 billion and $2.9 billion in bookings from the product. There's also signs that the mobile portfolio, which has been historically weak, is stabilizing, according to Bazinet. Take-Two shares jumped more than 2% before the bell on Monday. But shares have struggled in 2024 with a slide of more than 6%. — Alex Harring 6:05 a.m.: Goldman: Buy BJ's Wholesale on earnings upside potential There are several earnings-related reasons to be optimistic on BJ's Wholesale Club , according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Kate McShane upgraded shares to buy from neutral and raised her price target by $6 to $87. McShane's new target implies a 14.9% gain from where the wholesaler finished Friday. "We see earnings upside driven by a better top-line outlook with the return of volume growth in grocery and solid inflation support," McShane wrote to clients Monday. That's "along with greater customer engagement likely in general merchandise categories amid an improving consumer backdrop and the company's assortment refresh." In short, volume growth can help the grocery business, while positive general merchandise trends can drive up sales. Trends for the quarter so far also appear beneficial, she said. The Massachusetts-based company's stock can also see upside through an increase to membership fees, McShane said. "Ultimately, BJ is an attractive club model with a compelling value proposition and long runway for new club growth that should continue to gain market share over the long term," she wrote. Shares popped nearly 2% in Monday premarket trading. The stock has advanced nearly 14% in 2024. BJ YTD mountain BJ in 2024 — Alex Harring 5:53 a.m.: Buy GE Vernova's dip, JPMorgan says JPMorgan said a slide in shares of newly public GE Vernova provides a good spot to buy in. Analyst Mark Strouse upgraded the energy stock, which began trading last week , to overweight from neutral. Strouse's $141 price target implies shares can climb 14.9% from last week's close. "We believe the pullback presents an attractive entry point for what we believe will be a core holding for investors in the US/global electrification theme," Strouse wrote in a note to clients. Strouse said the stock can be a core long-term holding for investors wanting exposure to electrification. He also said the company can see upside to forecasts as data centers require more energy. Looking ahead, he said the new few earnings reports can provide evidence into a continued margin rebound. Despite its rough start to trading, GE Vernova shares climbed nearly 2% before the bell on Monday. — Alex Harring 5:48 a.m.: Morgan Stanley sees more upside for Ford stock following EV strategy shift Ford's reassessment of its electric vehicle strategy is largely good for the automaker's financials, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Adam Jonas upped his price target on the automaker by $1 to $17, implying 28% upside over Friday's close. He has an overweight rating on Ford and called it a top pick. "Following Ford's announcement of a significant recalibration (slower/later) of their EV strategy we make a number of changes to our Ford earnings model that are largely positive and drive a slight increase in our price target," he wrote in a Friday note to clients. Unit volume for the electric Model e cars was cut by a combined 27% compared with prior Morgan Stanley estimates for 2024 and 2024. Now, Jonas anticipates battery electric vehicles should make up less than 7% of total Ford unit volume by 2030, far lower than the prior forecast of 14%. Ford should see adjusted loss before interest and taxes for the Model e at $4.6 billion and $3.6 billion in the fiscal 2024 and 2025 years, respectively. That's a decrease from prior guidance showing losses of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024 and $4.4 billion in 2025. Jonas also cut his capital expenditure outlook for the two years. He now expects $7.7 billion in 2024 and $8.6 billion in 2025, down from prior estimates of $8 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively. Ford management has said the company still believes in electric vehicles, but doesn't see widespread adoption happening until costs come closer in line with traditional cars. Shares have climbed nearly 9% in 2024. — Alex Harring 5:48 a.m.: KeyBanc raises Nvidia price target There's no slowing down Nvidia , according to KeyBanc. Analyst John Vinh raised his price target on the stock to $1,200 per share from $1,100, implying upside of 36% from Friday's close. He also reiterated his overweight rating. Vinh noted "supply chain feedback indicates GB200 with [average selling prices] of $1.5M-$2M are expected to become a mainstream configuration in 2025 and could generate as much as $90B-$140B in revenues in of itself." He added: "Demand for H20 in China is much higher than anticipated and could contribute $9B-$12B in incremental revenues this year." Shares have been on a tear this year, surging more than 77%. In 2023, the stock surged more than 200%. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Fred Imbert