Here are Wednesday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Bernstein initiates Iris Energy and Core Scientific as outperform Bernstein said it’s bullish on several bitcoin miners on Tuesday night. “We extend our Bitcoin equities coverage to two additional Bitcoin miners with a hybrid Bitcoin/AI data center strategy. We initiate on IREN ( $26, 78% upside) and CORZ ($17, 64% upside) with an Outperform.” Argus upgrades Teva to buy from hold Argus said the pharmaceuticals company has a robust pipeline. “Upgrading to BUY. After several years of challenges, Teva appears to have steadied its ship, launching a range of new drugs and achieving margin growth across all of its three primary business segments.” Piper Sandler downgrades Target to neutral from overweight Piper downgraded the stock following a change in analyst coverage. “We like TGT’s strong omni-channel model and believe the company has exceptionally strong merchandising capabilities. Furthermore, we believe both the 2024 EPS guidance and medium-term EBIT margin target of 6% look reasonable. That said, we don’t see a discernable catalyst to push sales/margin above estimates near-term.” Jefferies reiterates Walmart as a top pick Jefferies said it’s sticking with Walmart as its top idea. “We continue to believe that the company is in the early innings of a $20B+ EBIT growth opportunity and share below some of the latest developments that include a partnership with Fox Robotics and Sam’s Clubs’ new exit arch technology. WMT remains our top pick.” Redburn Atlantic Equities downgrades Spotify to sell from neutral Redburn said the growth outlook is too bullish. “While Spotify’s operating momentum has been impressive, consensus is simply forecasting too much growth. We downgrade to Sell, with 27% downside to our price target of $230. Jefferies reiterates Oracle as buy Jefferies said it’s sticking with its buy rating ahead of earnings later this quarter. “All eyes will be on the Aug Q, and we believe ORCL can continue to track towards $65B rev/45% opm in FY26.” Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as neutral Goldman said it’s standing by its neutral rating on Tesla shares. “We maintain our Neutral rating on the stock, and increase our 12-month price target to $248 from $175, which is now based on 65X applied to our updated Q5-Q8E EPS estimate.” Barclays reiterates Eli Lilly as overweight Barclays raised its price target on the stock to $1,025 from $913. “The combination of step-ups in Mounjaro/Zepbound script trends, continued messaging around further supply coming on-line in 2H, narrative reinforcing clinical catalysts on the horizon, and tangible signs of new momentum across the non-metabolic portfolio should continue to drive LLY shares higher.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Microsoft as overweight Morgan Stanley said it’s sticking with its overweight rating on Microsoft. “Accelerating Growth & AI Leadership Not Priced-In.” Citi upgrades Quest Diagnostics to buy from neutral Citi said it likes the prospects for the lab diagnostics company. “We upgrade … DGX from Neutral to Buy (PT from $145 to $165) on potential upside to numbers.” Bank of America initiates MKS Instruments as buy Bank of America said it sees earnings per share upside for the measuring and controlling device manufacturing company. “Initiate coverage on MKS Instruments with Buy and $160 PO, based on 14x CY25E EV/EBITDA, inline with peers.” Needham upgrades Carvana to buy from hold Needham said it sees “profitable growth ahead” for Carvana shares. “We think CVNA can grow unit sales and industry share by leveraging its digital-first customer experience and under-utilized physical footprint.” BTIG initiates J.Jill as buy BTIG said shares of the clothing retailer are compelling. “We view the JILL story as attractive given the ability to capture share of a large, underserved market where the competitive landscape has become less intense, suggesting opportunity as execution improvements under renewed leadership continue to take hold…” Citi opens a pair trade on Alaska and Southwest Citi said it’s concerned about summertime disruptions for Southwest. “Citi opens a pair trade, favoring Buy-rated Alaska over Neutral-rated Southwest Airlines. TD Cowen reiterates Amazon as buy TD Cowen raised its price target on the stock to $245 per share from $225 ahead of earnings later this month. “We Expect AMZN To Report 2Q24 Results Ahead of Consensus.” TD Cowen reiterates Alphabet as buy TD Cowen raised its price target on Alphabet to $220 per share from $200. “Meanwhile, our survey data suggests YouTube is still gaining share among younger viewers.” TD Cowen reiterates Meta as buy TD Cowen raised its price target on Meta to $600 per share from $530. “Multiple Near Term, AI Supported Growth Drivers at Play.” Bank of America downgrades Visa & Mastercard to neutral from buy Bank of America said it sees “limited upside” for the payment stocks. “While we maintain a favorable view on V / MA’s premier business model and competitive moat, we see limited upside potential to the valuation multiple and estimates.” Bank of America downgrades WK Kellogg to underperform from neutral Bank of America said it sees weakening industry trends for WK Kellogg. “Volume trends in the packaged food industry (and cereal in particular) have yet to show any meaningful improvement despite the hopes that lapping SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) and a more promotional environment would lead to a volume lift. KeyBanc reiterates Netflix as overweight Key raised its price target on the stock to $735 per share from $707. “We believe Netflix’s upcoming 2Q earnings print will reinforce: 1) net adds remain strong into a strong content slate (e.g., NFL, Squid Game, Night Agent, Cobra Kai are all set for 2H24E); and 2) monetization initiatives.” Needham reiterates Apple as buy Needham raised its price target on the stock to $260 per share from $220. “We raise our PT on AAPL o wing to its $110B share repurchase authorization at a time when other big tech companies are spending $50-$100B on GenAI infrastructure instead.” Truist initiates Fluence as buy Truist said the energy storage company is well positioned. “As a leading global market supplier into the still nascent, high-growth battery energy storage space, we see Fluence as well positioned to drive outsized growth via its improving economies of scale/supply chain position & differentiated tech.” Truist reiterates Nvidia as buy Truist said it’s sticking with its buy rating on the stock. “Expect NVDA to become #1-er the old-fashioned way: earnings growth, via organic sales growth.” Nomura downgrades Super Micro to neutral from buy Nomura downgraded Super Micro and says it’s awaiting “better order visibility.” “Likely mixed near- to mid-term outlook: order uncertainties may partially offset its strength in liquid cooling.” Raymond James initiates Bausch & Lomb as outperform Raymond James said it’s bullish on shares of the eye health company. “We’re initiating coverage of Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) with an Outperform rating and $19 price target.” Bank of America initiates Composecure as buy Bank of America said it’s bullish on shares of the metal payment card manufacturer. “We are initiating coverage of leading premium metal card provider Composecure (CMPO) with a Buy rating and a $9 PO.”
