Here are Friday’s biggest calls on Wall Street:
Evercore ISI upgrades TE Connectivity to outperform from in line
Evercore said it sees “multiple paths for upside” for the consumer electronics company.
“We are upgrading TEL to OP from In Line as we think FTM (forward 12 months) estimates should have room to move higher. While the margin ramp in H2 may contain some risk, their revenue guide appears rather conservative which could offset weaker pricing.”
JPMorgan upgrades Kellogg to neutral from underweight
JPMorgan said the risks for Kellogg are already baked in.
“On the positive side, fundamentals are improved and more consistent, investor sentiment remains slanted cautiously (in our view), and many risks that previously worried the Street (e.g. pension income, interest expense) are now baked in.”
Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight
Morgan Stanley said Apple is “delivering under pressure” after its earnings report on Thursday.
“March and June largely in-line with our expectations; attention shifts to the AR/VR and iPhone 15 launches.”
Guggenheim upgrades Portillo’s to buy from neutral
Guggenheim said it sees multiple expansion for the restaurant chain.
“We think 2023 will prove to be a year of getting back on track for Portillo’s with a pivot towards openings in Florida, Arizona and Texas (and the core market of Chicago) supporting investor confidence in the opportunity for near-term development.”
Bernstein upgrades Rio Tino to outperform from market perform
Bernstein said the metals and mining company has an opportunity to “seize the lead.”
“Third, RIO’s exposure to energy-hungry aluminum provides an interesting set up in a world of potential energy woes.
Goldman Sachs downgrades Atlassian to neutral from buy
Goldman said the company’s “cloud transition [is] likely taking longer than expected.”
“We are downgrading Atlassian to Neutral (from Buy) with a $165 PT (vs $240 prior) as we see the pace of the company’s cloud transition likely taking longer than expected.”
Wells Fargo upgrades VF Corp to equal weight from underweight
Wells said “green shoots are getting harder to ignore” for the footwear and apparel company.
“VFC: Vans Still a Ways from Turning, but Green Shoots Harder to Ignore; Upgrading to EW.”
Citi reiterates Disney as buy
Citi said it’s bullish heading into earnings next week.
“DIS will report F2Q23 results Wednesday (5/10) after the close. We believe the primary focus will be on profitability and the company’s cost initiatives announced last quarter. We maintain our Buy rating and $130 target price.”
UBS upgrades Shopify to neutral from sell
UBS said in its upgrade of Shopify that it sees revenue upside.
“The sale of the logistics ops, higher focus on profitability, and the 23% reduction in workforce remove a key source of gross margin dilution, and raise the prospect of significantly higher FCF generation from 2H onwards.”
Morgan Stanley upgrades Avis to equal weight from underweight
Morgan Stanley said the risks are already priced in for the car rental company.
“Avis’ Q1 results were strong with positive forward view on travel patterns and fleet discipline. While we continue to expect earnings to decline we believe such risks are discounted in the share price, Upgrade to EW.”
Deutsche Bank upgrades SolarEdge to buy from hold
Deutsche said cost concerns are “fading” for the solar company.
“We upgrade SolarEdge to BUY rating (PT $375, 30% upside). We are increasingly constructive on the name, given previous concerns around cost control, better geographic localization of its supply chain and margin pressure have faded away.”
Piper Sandler upgrades Becton Dickinson to overweight from neutral
Piper said in its upgrade of the medical devices company that it sees earnings per share upside.
“We’re upgrading shares of BDX to Overweight today and raising our price target to $290 We’ve been patiently waiting for the margin ramp in the back half of FY′23 to be de-risked and for evidence that we’re moving closer to other shareholder friendly activities
Oppenheimer upgrades Blue Owl to outperform from perform
Oppenheimer said in its upgrade of the alternative investment management firm that investors should buy the dip.
“We have long admired this franchise, but have been put off by a comparatively-rich valuation versus others. But now, when people are throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we say ‘grab the baby.’”
Jefferies initiates Playboy Group as buy
Jefferies said it sees “significant upside” for the adult themed global media and lifestyle company.
“As PLBY comes out of a turnaround, proof of profitability and the early success of Centerfold offers significant upside.”
Piper Sandler reiterates Carvana as outperform
Piper said the car seller is “coming back from the brink” after its earnings report on Thursday.
“CVNA was indicated higher by 25% after the company released Q1 results, and if recent trends continue, we think there’s ample room for more upside.”
Wedbush reiterates Coinbase as outperform
Wedbush said it’s standing by shares of the crypto company.
“Outperform rated COIN reported better than expected Q1/CY23 results, with outperformance in most metrics, including Transaction and Subscription for both Retail and Institution areas, Adjusted EBITDA margin, as well as institutional trading volumes.”
Needham reiterates Amazon as buy
Needham said it’s standing by its buy rating on the e-commerce giant.
“As we detail each quarter, since services revs are >50% of total revs, AMZN should be valued as a services company, we believe. Also, based on our sum-of-the-parts analysis, investors are only paying about 1x forward year eCommerce revs, we calculate.”
JPMorgan upgrades Western Alliance and Comerica to overweight from neutral and Zions Bancorporation to overweight from underweight
JPMorgan upgraded several regional banks on Friday morning and said it sees “significant intermediate-term favorable re-rating of regional bank stocks.”
“We are upgrading WAL and CMA from Neutral to OW and ZION from UW to OW. With sentiment this negative, in our view it won’t take much to see a significant intermediate-term favorable re-rating of regional bank stocks.”
Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy
Bank of America said the internet giant should continue to take share in search.
“While traffic to potential competitors is increasing, Google’s search share continues to be up y/y and is stable since December.”
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