Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Credit Suisse names Microsoft among top picks Credit Suisse has said Microsoft is a key beneficiary of AI. “Within US Software, MSFT is our top pick and we are adding it to CS’s Top Picks list following a thorough evaluation of potential MSFT monetization avenues.” Roth MKM Launches Getaround as Buyer Roth launched the car-sharing company and said it was a “digital platform for the massive population of idle vehicles”. “With parked vehicles idling approximately 95% of the time, GETR’s 100% digital and frictionless car-sharing technology platform serves as a springboard capable of maximizing the use of approximately 1.2 billion existing cars.” RBC launches Moderna as an outperformer RBC said in its launch of Moderna that it was a “cancer vaccine believer”. “We believe the COVID cliff and its near-term impact on P&L is well appreciated given the $5 billion guided revenue floor for 2023, CDC numbers framing the volume and price move, new variants and compliance offering upside potential.” JPMorgan downgrades Nio from overweight to neutral JPMorgan said it saw too much challenge after Nio’s earnings report on Wednesday. “We believe the stock will likely trade sideways in the near term and will reassess a potential inflection point in the middle to late 2Q23, depending on the extent of sequential volume and margin improvement where we are directionally positive but cautious given that street expectations are too high, which leaves a surprise bias more to the downside than upside, in our view.” Learn more about this call here. JPMorgan downgrades Dollar Tree to neutral since its overweight JPMorgan said it saw too many macro headwinds for the discount retailer. “We are downgrading DLTR to Neutral. Over several years, we see DLTR reverting to a “compound” double-digit EPS with high and low drivers in place at the main DT banner (with incremental rollout of DT Plus) and stabilization at the Family Dollar Concept JPMorgan Downgrades Silvergate to Underweight Neutral JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the crypto bank that it sees too much “downside risk” for Silvergate shares. Additional downside risk with the possibility of continuing as a going concern now quoted.” Bank of America reiterates Lowe’s as a buyer Bank of America said it was holding onto shares of the home improvement retailer after its Earnings report on Wednesday.”The concept of Lowe’s ‘closing the gap’ in its same-store sales growth and operating margin with that of Home Depot is another key part of the investment thesis. Morgan Stanley moves Pinduoduo from equal weight to overweight Morgan Stanley said the agri-tech company is a “long-term growth story.” “PDD benefits from the long-term consumer trend given its share of spirit of “low-cost” users, and its expansion of branded product coverage supports above-industry growth, making it a structural growth stock in the like rc electronics in China. Citi adds positive catalyst watch on Lockheed Martin Citi has opened a positive catalyst watch on the stock and says it is a beneficiary of the defense budget in Congress. “We are opening a 90-day catalytic watch on our names of buy-listed defense companies, including GD, LDOS, LMT and SAIC, ahead of the introduction of the FY24 budget later this month and the start of both committees’ markups on spending bills in Congress and cap negotiations debt between House Republicans and the Biden administration.” Goldman Sachs Reiterates Tesla as Buyer Goldman said Tesla’s Investor Day on Wednesday should give shareholders even more confidence in the automaker’s strategy.” The bottom line is that we believe the event should increase investor confidence in Tesla’s ability to cut costs by around 50% with its next-generation platform, co Given the breadth and depth of Tesla’s team and how its vertically integrated model allows it to optimize both cost and performance criteria. Raymond James Picks Up Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices as Strong Buys Raymond James took over Nvidia’s coverage and said it’s a leader in the AI race. The firm also said that AMD is an “underrated” AI game. “Nvidia Corporation is the undisputed leader in AI/ML and has arguably the best self-driving solutions out there. ….Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an underrated play on AI/ML, in our opinion. .” Barclays launches Carlyle Group and overweight KKR Barclays said KKR is an “attractive” long-term growth story. The company also launched the Carlyle Group and says it is “undervalued”. “We are launching coverage of CG (PT $41) and KKR (PT $69), both at Overweight. CG has been a contested story, but we consider it undervalued and believe the continued shift in mix away from the PE can help valuation over time. KKR sees us as an attractive long-term producer with plenty of scaling opportunities and lower short-term fundraising risk.” Goldman Sachs Reiterates Salesforce as Buy Goldman said it stood by shares of Salesforce after the company’s earnings report on Wednesday. “F4Q23 should change the narrative towards a path of profitable growth and reinforce our belief (articulated last week) that CRM is at an inflection point that can propel it into the upper echelons of highly valued technology companies.” Learn more about this call here. Jefferies Reiterates Apple as Buyer Jefferies said its investigative checks show limited impact from economic uncertainty. “Our analysis of global web traffic indicates that Apple sees limited impact from macro pressure through January.” TD Cowen upgrades Okta to outpace market performance TD Cowen said in its stock upgrade that stability has been “restored”. “We are upgrading OKTA to outperform by increasing our PT to $100 from $70. Our upgrade is based on: 1) strong fourth quarter results and improved guidance for FY24; 2) the The focus is on profitable growth as FY24 operating margin and FCF are expected to significantly increase on the heels of disciplined past and expected cost management.” Citi reiterates Disney as buyer Citi said in a note to clients that Disney may sell its stake in Hulu. “We believe Disney may sell its 67% stake in Hulu. At the same time, we suspect Disney may obtain the distribution rights to two Marvel characters held by Comcast (Hulk and Namor).” Morgan Stanley Reiterates Liberty Formula One While Overweight Morgan Stanley said it was bullish on the racing company’s stock. “We believe F1 is the fastest growing global sport and this growth is expected to drive an Adjusted EBITDA CAGR of 10-15% from 2022 to 2026.” Morgan Stanley Reiterates Tesla Is Overweight Morgan Stanley said competitors couldn’t keep up after Tesla’s Investor Day on Wednesday. “In a race to the bottom, we seriously wonder how the competition can keep up.” Needham upgrades Salesforce to buy pending Needham said after several years of inactivity the investor should buy the stock now. “Six years on the sidelines is a long time in our universe, but we’re here, upgrading CRM to buying, as we believe its FY24 profitability guidance better aligns its structure. of costs on its medium-term growth prospects.”
Thursday’s top Wall Street analysts include Snowflake and Salesforce