Nvidia initiated, AMD upgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

Top 5 Upgrades:

• HSBC upgraded AMD (AMD) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $225, up from $180. The firm thinks AMD has enough supply capacity and demand to surpass management’s artificial intelligence revenue guidance.
• UBS upgraded Rivian Automotive (RIVN) to Neutral from Sell with an unchanged $9 price target. The near-term risk-reward on the stock has become more balanced at current levels as shares now price in about $4.5B in 2025 sales vs. consensus that stands still at $7.5B, the firm says.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Kroger (KR) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $65, up from $58. The firm has turned bullish on Kroger, saying the company’s fundamentals look poised to improve and catalysts are building.
• Argus upgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) to Buy from Hold with a $465 price target. The company’s Q1 results demonstrated the considerable strengths of the Goldman franchise during an investment banking upturn, the firm tells investors in a research note, stating that while the investment banking environment offered a few false rebounds in 2023, the current surge appears to have staying power as equity and debt underwriting showing sequential improvement.
• Barclays double upgraded Tyson Foods (TSN) to Overweight from Underweight with a price target of $69, up from $53. Though Tyson has faced its share of challenges in recent quarters, the company is now in position to turn its performance around, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Honeywell (HON) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $215, down from $227. Deutsche finds it is hard to gain conviction in the company’s second half of 2024 implied revenue ramp.
• Baird downgraded Berry Global (BERY) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $65, down from $68. The firm says a second inflation pulse” is taking hold led by crude oil, and Berry’s “poorly received” decision to separate the Health and Hygiene Products segment from the portfolio via a commensurate merger “derails the purity” of its exposure towards improved consumer personal goods volumes.
• Barclays downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $38, up from $35. While the firm expects the company to deliver strong gains for both sales and earnings in 2024 and 2025 due to the strength of chicken, it believes the stock’s current valuation levels “have started to track above historical averages.”
• DA Davidson downgraded Encore Wire (WIRE) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $295 after the company entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Prysmian will acquire Encore Wire for $290 per share in cash.
• Truist downgraded Snap One (SNPO) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $10.75, down from $12, following the announcement of the $10.75 per share takeout offer from Residio (REZI). The firm sees “a very limited chance” of another bidder and thus sees little further upside in the shares. JPMorgan also downgraded Snap One to Neutral from Overweight.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Nvidia (NVDA) with an Outperform rating and $1,160 price target. The firm thinks investors underestimate the importance of the chip, hardware and software ecosystem that Nvidia has created, and contends that computing eras last 15-20 years and are “typically dominated by a single vertically integrated ecosystem company, whose returns are measured in 100-to-1000 bagger range.” Evercore also started Broadcom (AVGO), Astera Labs (ALAB), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Analog Devices (ADI), ON Semiconductor (ON), ASML (ASML), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Texas Instruments (TXN), Lam Research (LRCX), Arm (ARM), AMD (AMD), and Applied Materials (AMAT) with Outperform ratings, and Intel (INTC) and Qualcomm (QCOM) with In Line ratings.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of DraftKings (DKNG) with a Buy rating and $60 price target, implying 36% upside. The firm expects DraftKings to compound revenue at 20%-plus as it continues to benefit from “healthy growth” in existing states, as well as future state legalizations across online sports betting and internet gaming. Goldman Sachs also started coverage of Genius Sports (GENI) with a Buy rating and $7.50 price target.
• Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Reddit (RDDT) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The firm thinks Reddit is on the early end of a number of positive inflections, saying its top-of-funnel growth is accelerating, the advertising platform is in the early stages of being built to address lower funnel objectives, and the data licensing business is in the very early stages of growth. Meanwhile, BofA started coverage of Reddit with a Neutral rating and $46 price target.
• Benchmark initiated coverage of Penn Entertainment (PENN) with a Hold rating and no price target. While the firm has concerns about the ability of ESPN Bet to significantly influence the U.S. online sports betting market, it also thinks these issues are already reflected to “some degree” in the company’s current valuation and contends that given the “diminished valuation” that shares could see a potential valuation reset if ESPN Bet can gradually capture a material market share.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of GE Vernova (GEV) with a Buy rating and $154 price target. The firm is optimistic on the company’s position in helping the world electrify and decarbonize.