Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Cowen reiterates Microsoft as outperform Cowen said it sees robust upside potential heading into Microsoft earnings next week. “We model Azure growth of 48% cc & see upside potential as our third-party data shows robust IaaS demand activity in MarQ, which should help growth reach nearly ~2-yr highs.” RBC upgrades Exxon to outperform from sector perform RBC said Exxon will benefit from a “tight refined oil products market.” “We believe XOM has two key advantages relative to peers: 1) it is the largest refiner among the majors; and 2) it screens well on upstream-portfolio longevity, an area we expect to be under increased scrutiny in a high commodity price environment.” Evercore ISI downgrades Carvana to in line from outperform Evercore said it lacks visibility after the company’s earnings report on Wednesday. ” CVNA s lingering investment cycle in the midst of the auto shortage is likely to constrain the upside and results in a more balanced risk-reward, in our view.” RBC downgrades Chevron to sector perform from outperform RBC said in its downgrade of the stock that it sees a more “balanced” risk/reward. ” CVX has rallied more than any other major in recent months, and we believe part of this has been a ‘safety trade’ alongside strong commodity prices.” Credit Suisse reiterates Starbucks as outperform Credit Suisse said the company is “well positioned” as consumer behavior continues to normalize. “We believe SBUX is a more resilient brand today, supported by the power of Starbucks Rewards, noting the program was started in FY08 in an effort to offer value & capitalize on loyal customers, as well as the shift to more cold beverages over time, which we believe are more differentiated and difficult to replicate at home.” JPMorgan reiterates Coinbase as overweight JPMorgan lowered its price target on the crypto company to $258 per share from $296 and said the “crypto markets are in need of some excitement in terms of new products and/or new use cases.” “We are marking our Coinbase model to crypto market ahead of 1Q22 earnings, accounting for lower crypto prices and notably lower volumes than previously modeled.” Credit Suisse reiterates Meta as outperform Credit Suisse lowered its price target on shares of the company formerly known as Facebook to $272 from $336, but said it’s cautiously optimistic heading into earnings next week. “We maintain our Outperform rating on the following: Potential for better than-expected ad revenue growth on product innovation; Street models are too conservative and underestimate the long-term monetization potential of other billion-user properties like Messenger and WhatsApp; [and] optionality for faster FCF growth on greater efficiency on content screening/security costs.” Credit Suisse reiterates Alphabet as outperform Credit Suisse said it sees “ongoing signs of multiyear AI-driven value creation cycle” for Alphabet . “We maintain our Outperform rating based on: 1) ongoing monetization improvements in Search through product-/AI-driven updates; 2) greater-than-expected revenue contribution from non-Search businesses; and 3) optionality/shareholder value creation from new monetization initiatives such as Maps, Discover tab, as well as the eventual commercialization of Other Bets.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said after Tesla released its earnings on Wednesday that the electric vehicle maker continues to distance itself from competitors. “It’s not so much the strength of TSLA’ s 1Q that is impressive, but their gap to the competition. The more we see out of Tesla, the more we are concerned about the rest of the industry’s ability to play catch-up. Yes, there will be competition but who can compete on raw materials and cost leadership?” Read more about Tesla earnings here. Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform Bernstein said Tesla earnings were strong on Wednesday, but that the stock is still overvalued. “Demand for Tesla cars remains unequivocally strong, with expanding lead times despite material price increases.” Citi reiterates Domino’s as buy Citi said that its data survey checks show accelerating same-store sales for Domino’s. “Our 3x daily data scrub of delivery availability and estimated delivery times for DPZ ‘s U.S. business continues to show greater delivery availability (stores without delivery down almost 50%/10% from end of Feb./start of March) and falling estimated delivery times. … . We believe this is indicative of improving staffing levels and a potential driver of accelerating SSS trends.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Lam Research as a top pick Morgan Stanley said it still sees a “good setup” for Lam , but that it has concerns about the supply chain. “Versus our supply chain numbers cut on Monday, March revs were worse but June was in line with our estimates. We still see a good setup for the stock here with high 2H backlog alleviating many of the concerns holding the multiple back.” Truist downgrades Twitter to hold from buy Truist downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. “We’re downgrading TWTR to Hold as the stock is approaching our $50 PT on Elon Musk’s $54.20/share offer which we view as fair, all things considered.” Bernstein reiterates Amazon as outperform Bernstein said Amazon’s “moats are only getting stronger.” “With everyone giving back pandemic-based games, only Amazon seems to be in a structurally better position than before: double the fulfillment capacity, 50M more Prime subs, flexed pricing power, and more long-term content rights. The moats are only getting stronger.” DA Davidson reiterates Apple as buy DA Davidson kept its buy rating on shares of Apple heading into earnings next week, but said investors should watch closely for supply chain issues. “With news of recent shutdowns across China and the ongoing Ukraine/Russia conflict, we look for updates as to impacts on the company’s sales and profits. Recall, the company reported a $6B impact to revenue in the December quarter but said it expected a lower impact in the March quarter.” UBS reiterates Chipotle as buy UBS said in a note on Thursday that the Mexican chain restaurant is “among the best positioned in the sector.” “We continue to see solid upside for CMG shares given: accelerating unit development toward the upper end of 8-10%; drivers to support margin expansion; and good visibility into a compelling multiyear growth opportunity. Morgan Stanley upgrades M & T Bank to overweight from underweight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the bank holding company that shares are undervalued. “As inflation ratchets higher, the probability of the full 300bp of rate hikes that the forward curve is pricing in increases. This earnings season we are moving from baking in 80% of the fed funds forward curve to 100% for all our coverage. Given MTB’ s large cash pile, it is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this change.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the premiere for season two of the television series “Ted Lasso” at Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, U.S. July 15, 2021.
Mario Anzuoni | Reuters
Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street:
