Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls 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 January 2-5.
 
Find all top-rated stocks by the best-rated analysts on TipRanks.

Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. Piper Sandler more bullish on Micron, upgrades to Overweight

Piper Sandler upgraded Micron (MU) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $95, up from $70. The firm believes pricing momentum paired with HBM in the first half of 2024 provides tailwinds. With normalized inventories and recent supply cuts, pricing should accelerate upwards in both DRAM and NAND markets, Piper says. The firm also argues that production cuts from South Korean competitors should be meaningful to achieving supply and demand parity, and says it believes that on peak earnings, book value could reach highs of $50-$60 per share with the stock trading at a multiple of 2.5-3.0-times.

2. Home Depot upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded Home Depot (HD) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $372, up from $325. The firm sees an opportunity for demand stabilization across the broadlines, hardlines and food retail space in 2024 from consumable volume to big ticket discretionary. Investors should focus on self-help stories that can work in a variety of macro scenarios and select cyclicals, Barclays says. The firm moved from a defensive view to a more balanced view across sub-sectors in 2024. It is more positive on home improvement, less positive on auto parts, and mixed on consumer retail. Barclays adds that Home Depot gives exposure to potential rate cuts, is not over-earning, and “really just needs to hit numbers.”

3. General Motors upgraded to Outperform at Wolfe on capital return plans

Wolfe Research upgraded General Motors (GM) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $42 price target. The firm believes that OEMs, as opposed to suppliers, should “disproportionately benefit” from a more moderate rate environment and that OEMs may also do better in any scenario that results in ICE vehicles being “stronger for longer.” In that context, Wolfe believes that GM’s new capital allocation message has provided Investors with a “compelling reason to own this stock” and believes that investors underestimate the sustainability of these rewards.

4. Merck upgraded to Outperform at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded Merck (MRK) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $135, up from $125. Versus pharma peers, Merck offers greater near-term earnings visibility and solid news flow, yet the stock was only an average performer in 2023, and it sells at a below-average multiple, the firm tells investors in a research note. TD Cowen has confidence that Merck can deliver, and its analysis suggests investors should look through even large patent expirations such as Keytruda. All told, the company could be an above average performer in 2024, contends the firm.

5. Cigna upgraded to Outperform at Bernstein

Bernstein upgraded Cigna (CI) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $372, up from $330, citing a more favorable outlook for PBMs, coupled with reduced likelihood of a significantly dilutive deal in the near-term. The firm sees Cigna delivering improving earnings growth from its PBM unit, coupled with stable earnings growth from its employer business, and solid cash flow that enables their $10B buyback, while adding that it sees the passage of “mild” PBM legislation as a potential clearing event.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. Apple cut to Underweight at Barclays, to Neutral at Piper

Barclays downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $160, down from $161. The company’s iPhone 15 has been “lackluster” and iPhone should be the same, the analyst told investors earlier this week. Meanwhile, Apple’s other hardware categories should remain weak, and Barclays does not see its Services growing more than 10%, says the analyst. The firm expects “reversion” in 2024 after a year when most quarters were missed and the stock outperformed. Barclays slightly lowered Apple estimates following another round of checks as it is still picking up weakness on iPhone volumes and mix, as well as a lack of bounce-back in Macs, iPads and wearables.

Two days later, Piper Sandler downgraded Apple to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $205, down from $220. The firm cites valuation concerns and broader handset and macro weakness in the first half of 2024 for the downgrade. Piper is starting 2024 with a cautious stance on semiconductors, believing that the first half of the year will be challenging for the analog market, handset and consumer end markets. For Apple, the firm is concerned about handset inventories entering the year and also feels that its growth rates have peaked for unit sales. A deteriorating macro environment in China could also weigh on Apple’s handset business, the firm contends.

2. Monness Crespi more bearish on Snowflake, downgrades to Sell

Monness Crespi downgraded Snowflake (SNOW) to Sell from Neutral with a $160 price target. Benefitting from an “overly exuberant tech market” in the final quarter of 2023 and “riding the coattails of an unprecedented” artificial intelligence hype cycle, Snowflake has rebounded sharply over the past couple of months, the firm tells investors in a research note. Monness Crespi believes this has left the stock “overvalued and vulnerable to selling pressure.” In the long run, Snowflake is well positioned for secular tech trends, but its “margins are thin,” valuation is rich, competition dynamic, and the “darkest days of this economic downturn are ahead of us,” the firm contends.

3. BofA downgrades Mobileye to Underperform, lowers price target to $22

BofA downgraded Mobileye (MBLY) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $22, down from $47, after the company issued a “surprisingly disappointing” initial 2024 outlook. The key reason cited is a large inventory buffer of its products built up by Tier 1 suppliers that is expected to hit Q1 “hard” and continue to be worked down through 2024, while the ramp of its next leg of growth SuperVision also appears to be slower than expected. The firm, which adds that it has been “somewhat wary” of the growth and implied valuation of the stock, argues that growth and profits are now “even more uncertain.”

4. Piper downgrades Unity to Underweight with “little margin for error”

Piper Sandler downgraded Unity (U) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $35, up from $20. The stock rose 35% in one month and 43% in 2023, which leaves “little margin for error,” the firm tells investors in a research note. Piper, however, enters 2024 with a higher degree of optimism for application software based on stabilizing demand fundamentals after two years of moderation, a declining interest rate backdrop, and new secular tailwinds for cloud and data driven by a generational shift to artificial intelligence.

5. Palantir downgraded to Underperform at Jefferies

Jefferies downgraded Palantir (PLTR) to Underperform from Hold with a price target of $13, down from $18. The firm believes Palantir shares are “overhyped on AI,” the firm said as part of Jefferies’ 2024 software playbook. The analyst expects 2024 to be another positive year for software, but says the group is likely see more measured returns versus 2023. The first half of 2024 could be challenging given the Q4 rally and seasonal Q1 “black ice,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm would position selectively for a better second half of the year, driven by fundamental acceleration, increased adoption of artificial intelligence, lower interest rates, “still reasonable” valuations, and potential acquisition pick-up.