Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls this week

Wall Street experts reveal the five stocks to buy, five stocks to sell this week

What has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 Buy calls and the top 5 Sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the week of April 3-6.

Find all top-rated stocks by the best-rated analysts on TipRanks.

Top 5 Buy Calls:

Meta Platforms upgraded to Buy at Argus on higher profitability from cost cuts

Argus upgraded Meta Platforms (META) to Buy from Hold with a $270 price target. The company’s deep cost cuts should boost its profitability even in an uncertain macro uncertainty, the slowdown in digital advertising, and the impact of Apple’s (AAPL) ad tracking policy, Argus tells investors in a research note. The firm adds that two of Meta’s competitors are currently experiencing problems that could slow their growth: TikTok faces a potential ban in the U.S., or at least the sustained hostility of the U.S. government and Twitter may not have been a major threat to Meta. Argus is also raising its 2023 GAAP EPS view to $8.21 from $7.53 and its 2024 forecast to $9.43 from $8.06.

Etsy upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded Etsy (ETSY) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $140, up from $135. The company should see a reacceleration of active buyer growth over the medium term, which can support continued share gains, the firm tells investors in a research note. Piper Sandler says that while macro environment "remains choppy," Etsy’s EBITDA margin and long-term growth opportunities place it among the highest quality names in its coverage. It views the stock’s valuation as "compelling" at current levels.

Comcast upgraded to Overweight on cable setup at KeyBanc

KeyBanc upgraded Comcast (CMCSA) to Overweight from Sector Weight with a $44 price target. The firm believes the near-term setup in cable and wireless is most attractive for cable. Estimates are de-risked, macro and competitive data points are improving, and stock valuations "can likely revert to mean" as comfort toward the competitive environment improves, KeyBanc tells investors in a research note. The firm favors "inexpensive, lower leverage" names and sees company-specific catalysts for specific names.

Wells Fargo upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded Wells Fargo (WFC) to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $47, down from $52. The firm sees "several incremental positive catalysts for the bank going forward." As a systemically important financial institution, Wells Fargo will be a major beneficiary of the SVB Financial, Signature Bank fallout, Raymond James tells investors in a research note. With uninsured depositors across the country fleeing to larger and safer institutions, the firm expects incremental growth in Wells’ deposit base. Additionally, it believes Wells offers greater earnings growth potential over the intermediate term given the possibility of the removal of consent orders and the associated regulatory expenses, which amount to billions of dollars every year.

Raymond James says "undeniable change is foot," upgrades FedEx to Outperform

Raymond James upgraded FedEx (FDX) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $285 price target. The firm says "undeniable change is afoot" post the company’s drive event that provided better visibility into key transformational changes that are likely set to drive better margins, earnings, and free cash flow in out years. Management’s "palpable shift in direction" toward integrating FedEx’s primary Express & Ground offering, focus on attacking costs across, enhanced capital allocation scrutiny and a more shareholder-friendly capital return program set the stage to drive improved shareholder returns in time, Raymond James says.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

Boeing downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Northcoast

Northcoast downgraded Boeing (BA) to Sell from Neutral with an $180 price target as the firm expects changes to commercial aircraft production schedules and foresees a resetting of consensus forecasts that it says "look aggressive." After talks with "high-level" industry contacts, Northcoast sees "several turbulence blips on the radar screen with darker clouds forming around the aerospace bellwether peer group."

Morgan Stanley more bearish on First Solar, downgrades to Underweight

Morgan Stanley downgraded First Solar (FSLR) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $200, up from $194, offering 8% downside. First Solar is one of the biggest direct beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act, the stock has appreciated 196% since the IRA was announced, the firm tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley believes the shares already price in the significant benefits of the IRA. Going forward, it sees risk of increased competition as domestic and international competitors expand in the U.S. given the "very supportive" potential subsidy level available to panel manufacturers. This will likely drive down the long-term earnings profile of First Solar, contends Morgan Stanley.

Super Micro Computer downgraded to Underperform at Wedbush on near-term risks

Wedbush downgraded Super Micro Computer (SMCI) to Underperform from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $65. The firm believes Super Micro should outperform its peers in its traditional market of servers, citing in particular the need for more unique designs requiring the integration of new silicon. However, in the near-term the firm sees risk given management’s expectation for a sharp bounceback in revenues in the calendar Q2 timeframe and a call for sales momentum to continue through calendar Q4. Wedbush believes that a regression to the mean in Super Micro’s general purpose server business, in terms of both margins and sales, could be exacerbated by factors that include softer macro, increased system energy requirements and uncertainty around Facebook’s future AI Supercomputer build-out.

Albemarle downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA

BofA downgraded Albemarle (ALB) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $195, down from $262. Lithium carbonate prices in China continue to contract, which creates earnings risk for Albemarle, the fimr tells investors in a research note. BofA cut estimates for the company to reflect softer chemical markets and a reversal in spodumene price through its joint venture structure. The latter could be an $800M headwind to EBITDA which is underappreciated by investors, the firm says.

BofA downgrades ADP to Underperform, lowers price target $211

BofA analyst Jason Kupferberg downgraded ADP (ADP) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $211, down from $249. With the backdrop of slower sales growth and "waning" estimate upside potential, there could be risk to the stock’s valuation multiple, the firm tells investors in a research note. BofA’s analysis suggests that ADP tends to underperform the S&P 500 Index during the initial phase of a rising unemployment cycle.

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