Here are Friday’s biggest analyst calls: Netflix, Apple, Walmart, Arm, Ralph Lauren, Wells Fargo & more
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Goldman Sachs reiterates Constellation Brands as buy Goldman said it sees a slew of positive catalysts ahead for the beverage and alcohol giant. “We reiterate our Buy rating on STZ based on our new bottom-up distribution analysis and are incrementally more bullish ahead of two upcoming events (STZ’s 2FQ24 results on Oct 5 and Investor Day on 11/2) that we expect will be positive catalysts for the stock.” Deutsche Bank reiterates Wells Fargo as buy Deutsche said it’s standing by its buy rating on the stock. ” WFC shares have performed well in 2023 vs. the broader bank group, following strong relative performance in 2022. The strong relative performance in WFC shares reflects a combination of optimism that WFC is addressing regulatory issues, beat and raises to net interest income guidance, solid cost control and a better capital position than some peers.” Citi adds a positive catalyst watch on Meta Citi said it’s bullish heading into Meta’s Connect event next week. “Opening an Upside Catalyst Watch on META in advance of Meta Connect 2023 where we expect to hear more details around Meta’s GenAI plans and our expectation of strong 3Q23 earnings.” BTIG initiates Instacart as neutral BTIG initiated the stock with a neutral mainly on valuation. “We initiate on CART with a Neutral rating on a view that valuation is fair relative to modest growth prospects and challenging competitive dynamics with the likes of Doordash (DASH, Neutral) and Uber (UBER, Buy, $60 PT) extending into the category.” Raymond James initiates Ralph Lauren as outperform Raymond James said in its initiation of Ralph Lauren that it has “strengthening direct-to-consumer.” “We initiate coverage on Ralph Lauren (RL) with an Outperform and $135 price target. RL has made big strides in recent years elevating its brand, right-sizing wholesale distribution, strengthening direct-to-consumer (DTC), and improving GM%” Read more about this call here . Bank of America reiterates Apple as neutral Bank of America said its analysis shows that wireless carrier incentives are not a driver of iPhone unit demand for Apple. “Carrier incentives allow iPhones to be more affordable as they 1) bundle iPhone financing (free with eligible trade-in under select plans) with telecom services under one monthly payment, and 2) spread out the cost of iPhone over 24/36 months.” CFRA downgrade Boeing to hold from buy CFRA downgraded the stock due to concerns about delivery issues and delays. “We still believe in the long-term story for aircraft demand and estimate that about 76% of the 2022 global fleet is likely to need replacement by 2042, which is a strong opportunity for BA. ” Read more about this call here. Wells Fargo upgrades Charter to overweight from equal weight Wells said in its upgrade of the cable giant that the “worst of cable is behind it.” “We see mobile roll-to-pay, rural growth and video contributing to EBITDA acceleration. As a levered return, this should rerate CHTR and we upgrade to Overweight. The worst of Cable is behind it, and CHTR is the clearest expression of the new normal.” Read more about this call here. UBS initiates Squarespace as buy UBS said in its initiation of the website hosting company that it has “durable revenue growth.” “We think Squarespace is taking the right steps to position itself for durable revenue growth of at least mid-teens through FY25 as they expand deeper into international markets and sell more higher-priced subscriptions which should create a path for shares to work higher through positive estimate revisions.” Read more about this call here. Oppenheimer reiterates Netflix as outperform Oppenheimer lowered its price target on the stock, but said it’s standing by its outperform rating on shares of Netflix. “Following CFO comments at competitor conference, we are lowering ’24E/’25E margins and reducing target to $470 from $515, but maintaining Outperform rating on revenue outlook.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Exxon as overweight Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $131 per share form $124 and says it sees upside to consensus. “This week, XOM hosted a Product Solutions Spotlight, showcasing the value proposition and attractive growth of its peer-leading downstream & chemicals business, with earnings on track to rise 3x, or $10B, by ’27 vs ’19. Post the event, we raise our estimates and see upside to consensus.” Jefferies upgrades Yum China to buy from hold Jefferies said in its upgrade of the China fast food restaurant holding company that it sees robust unit growth ahead. “Given mgmt’s proven track record, investor focus is now on YUMC’ s 3-year plan (2024-26), in which the co aims to operate 20,000 stores by the end of 2026. Also, the USD3bn cash return (~4% yield p.a. at current price) offers a minimum return, which should be seen as positive by investors, given the macro uncertainties.” Susquehanna initiates Arm as neutral Susquehanna initiated the semiconductor company as neutral mainly on valuation. “We, along with our Semiconductor Analyst Chris Rolland, are launching co coverage of Arm, offering investors two perspectives on the company. Nonetheless, our investment conclusions are consistent, and the stock is currently fairly valued. Canaccord downgrades Deere to hold from buy Canaccord said in its downgrade of Deere that it sees slowing unit growth for ag equipment. “Moving to sidelines as large ag growth slows, dealer inventories begin to normalize.” HSBC initiates Walmart as buy HSBC said in its initiation of Walmart that it has “competitive advantages.” “Size matters: a large customer base, big store footprint, and solid O2O [online-to-offline] strategy provide Walmart sustainable competitive advantages.” HSBC initiates Procter & Gamble as buy HSBC said in its initiation of Procter that it has robust free-cash flow. “In our view, the company has built one of the strongest sets of capabilities in the sector, successfully defending its market share leadership across several categories through strong innovation.” Bernstein upgrades Wayfair to market perform from underperform Bernstein said in its upgrade of Wayfair that it’s making a tactical call on the stock. “This is more of a tactical call given improving revenue growth and margin commentary. The stock has had a strong YTD run, and we see further upside potential over the next few quarters with room for positive EBITDA revisions (2024 adj. EBITDA at $515M vs. Street at $445M).”
