Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said Tesla sharers remain overvalued. “The past few weeks have served as a reminder of how difficult TSLA is to call in the short term, however we believe that in the long term, valuation matters, and the stock is trading above our 2050 DCF value of $150/share.” Loop reiterates Apple as buy Loop said it sees attractive iPhone revenue upside for Apple. “As was the case much of 2021 into 2022, we again see a return to iPhone ASP upside vs. Street through 2023 which we currently anticipate could (should) lead to attractive iPhone revenue upside.” KeyBanc upgrades Restaurant Brands to overweight from sector weighy KeyBanc it likes the Burger King parent’s management. “We are upgrading QSR stock to OW and establishing a one-year PT of $76. Since the start of the pandemic, QSR stock has underperformed fast-food peers by 19%. This largely reflects poor SSS results, inflation, staffing difficulties, and declining franchisee cash flow.” Canaccord upgrades Generac to buy from hold Canaccord said it sees “storm clouds breaking” for shares of Generac. “We see fundamentals improving in 2H23 as management works to purge inventory in 1H23. The company continues to ramp its dealer network, helping to buoy underlying demand and support our conviction around a 2H23 return to growth.” Read more about this call here. Goldman Sachs adds Sea Limited to the conviction buy list Goldman said it now sees a “path to profitability” for the the Singapore-based tech conglomerate. “We reiterate our Buy on Sea Ltd and add the stock to our Conviction List with a 12M SOTP based TP of US$132 (US$125 prior) as we believe SE will outperform on profitability this year, then demonstrate a return to growth.” Piper Sandler upgrades Baker Hughes to overweight from neutral Piper upgraded the oil field services company and said it sees improved visibility. “Upgrading BKR to Overweight and raising our tgt to $43 from $34 as we give credit for the improving visibility w/in IET. Quite simply, w/ ~$25B backlog that should grow thru the end of the decade, we believe it’s too punitive just to look at ’24.” Bernstein downgrades Boston Beer to underperform from market perform Bernstein downgraded Boston Beer after the company’s disappointing earnings report on Wednesday. “Yesterday’s results (especially the much lower F23 guidance) was akin to ripping the Band- Aid off again. But crucially for us, it has fundamentally changed our view on the potential for meaningful gross margin expansion. Supply inefficiencies run deeper than we initially thought.” Bank of America downgrades Livent to neutral from buy Bank of America downgraded the lithium company mainly on valuation. “While a modest disappointment, other takeaways reflect positively on the trajectory of earnings. Namely, LTHM has re-written a majority of its fixed-price contracts higher y-y in 2023, with all but 1 lapsing by year-end.” Mizuho reiterates Coinbase as underperform Mizuho said it’s standing by its bearish thesis on Coinbase. “Yet their depressed take rates appear unable to fill the revenue void caused by dwindling retail participation. We expect more doom and gloom.” Bernstein downgrades Tripadvisor to market perform from outperform Bernstein downgraded Tripadvisor mainly on valuation. “Downgrade here is on (1) valuation, having risen 40% YTD, (2) some sizable estimate revisions due to the new strategy guidance and (3) the lack of major catalysts with no major acceleration in Q1, consensus beats or other separation plans.” Read more about this call here. Wells Fargo upgrades Scotts Miracle-Gro to overweight from equal weight Wells said it sees “margin commentary improving.” “Upgrade SMG to OW from EW, target to $100, after our fireside chat with CFO Garth/Hawthorne’s Hagedorn. Visibility on FY23 seems good. It’s the thereafter which step-changed for us though, with margin commentary improving our confidence on EPS power.” Cowen initiates Academy Sports as outperform Cowen said it sees upside ahead for the sporting goods store. “We see Dick’s and Academy controlling ~40% of the total Sporting Goods category shopping preference in our survey, with potential for further gains from less differentiated competitors that lack relationships with vendors.” Cowen initiates Tractor Supply as market perform Cowen said it’s waiting for a better entry point. ” TSCO is a best-in-class retailer with attractive moats which dominates a fragmented industry.” DA Davidson downgrading Planet Fitness to neutral from buy DA Davidson said it’s concerned about growth challenges for Planet Fitness. “Many franchisees were opening stores at a pace pre-COVID that was running ahead of their contract requirements, which means many have the leeway to slow the pace now, perhaps waiting for inflationary cost pressures to abate.” DA Davidson downgrades Coinbase to neutral from buy DA Davidson downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. “After a furious rally, we’re taking on break on shares of COIN. The stock has nearly doubled YTD yet risks are still increasing. In just the last week, the SEC has targeted 3 of COIN’s business lines (stablecoins, staking, custody) at competitors (Paxos, Kraken).” Benchmark upgrades Roblox to hold from sell Benchmark said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees “reemerging growth and operational discipline.” ” RBLX delivered better than expected F4Q22 financial results, with profit exceeding both consensus and Benchmark estimates.” Guggenheim initiates Dutch Bros as neutral Guggenheim said investors should wait for a better entry for shares of the coffee chain. “We believe Dutch Bros has best-in-class unit economics and the highest growth algorithm in restaurants, which supports a premium multiple for shares.” JPMorgan reiterates Roku as overweight JPMorgan said it’s standing by shares of Roku after the company’s earnings results on Wednesday. ” Roku reported a strong 4Q beat across revenue/profit, guided 1Q revenue ahead of expectations ($700M vs. buyside at ~$675M), committed to positive Adj. EBITDA for full-year 2024 (vs. consensus ~breakeven), and showed more willingness to engage in self-help initiatives.” Read more about this call here. Deutsche Bank upgrades Activision Blizzard to buy from hold Deutsche said in its upgrade of the video game maker that it sees an attractive risk/reward for shares of Activision Blizzard. “We believe the company’s business model offers the best risk/reward outlook across the sector this year, based on: (1) strong momentum across the company’s key franchises, (2) the highest concentration of ‘must-have’ content.” Bernstein reiterates Meta as outperform Bernstein kept its outperform rating on the social media giant and says it likes the company’s “clear cost takeout plan.” “In growth’s absence, investors pivoted their focus towards operational efficiency and companies that moved quickly offering a clear cost takeout plan – META – were rewarded. Everyone else is stuck in ‘growth purgatory.'”
Top Wall Street analyst calls on Thursday include AAPL & TSLA
