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Bob Iger, CEO, Disney
Stephen Desaulniers | CNBC
Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Thursday:
Credit Suisse upgraded Disney to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’
Credit Suisse said it sees further upside into the company’s Disney+ launch.
“We are upgrading Disney from Neutral to Outperform and increasing our price target $20 to $150/share. We now see less risk to estimates — FY20 consensus EPS has dropped from over $8/share a year ago to ~$6/share today — and while Disney has outperformed the S&P500 by 8% YTD, we see scope for further upside to Disney+ investor sentiment into its U.S. launch. “
Read more about this call here.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Caterpillar to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’
Goldman said in its downgrade of Caterpillar that the U.S.-China trade war is taking its toll on the Construction machinery and equipment company.
“For the first time since we upgraded CAT to Buy in October 2016, we expect EBIT to decline in FY2 driven by meaningful production cuts in North America and China construction equipment, more than offsetting our forecasts for a Resource Industries recovery. As a result, we downgrade CAT to Neutral from Buy. Since being added to the Americas Buy List on October 10, 2016, CAT is +37% vs. our coverage +22% and S&P +33%. “
Read more about this call here.
Barclays initiated Apple as ‘equal-weight’
Barclays said in its Apple initiation that it sees “no recovery” in the company’s iPhone business.
“We are initiating with Equal Weight ratings on AAPL and CSCO. Both companies are losing share in their core market and are at near-high valuations. For AAPL, we see no recovery in the iPhone business and expect growth to slow in the Service business. “
Read more about this call here.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Mondelez to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal-weight’
Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade that it had “increased confidence” in the food manufacturers topline growth.
“Positive strategy changes are already working, and pending reinvestment, as well as MDLZ‘s favorable geographic/category growth footprint, should result in multiple expansion closer to multinational CPG peers than US-centric food peers. “
UBS downgraded Match Group to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’
UBS said that that the momentum of the company’s shares have “upside optionality priced in.”
“Over the past few quarters, MTCH has dispelled the bear narratives on sustainability of user growth, pricing dynamics and product development around the Tinder business model. Along the way, MTCH has clearly become the category winner and has scaled to become a large cap company as a result. “
Stephens upgraded Roku to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal-weight’
Stephens upgraded the stock after the company’s “strong” earnings results.
“ROKU posted strong 2Q19 results with both revenue segments substantially outperforming our expectations. The quarter benefited from the revaluation of multi-element content distribution agreements (called out by management but not quantified), but we believe ROKU’s fundamentals remain sound and that its nexus business model will continue to power solid financial results. “
Morgan Stanley upgraded Foot Locker to ‘equal-weight’ from ‘underweight’
Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock mainly on valuation.
“FL has underperformed the S&P 500 by -40% YTD, and we now see a more balanced risk-reward. We continue to believe revenue and EBIT margin are at risk as consumers increasingly prefer to shop directly with brands, but these risks appear to be priced in at 7.5x 2020 EPS. “
Barclays upgraded Hertz to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’
Barclays upgraded the stock after the company reported a “strong” quarter.
“Strong quarter plus favorable industry dynamics offers a better runway for transformation. HTZ‘s impressive 2Q beat was met with a lackluster market reaction perhaps out of uncertainty around 2H, or the July Manheim modestly slowing from the YTD pace. That said, we view the HTZ turnaround story as incrementally validated given recent events (strong 2Q, refinancing, opex improvements) and view the share weakness as a buying opportunity. We maintain our $19 PT but move to OW, from EW. “
Goldman Sachs upgraded Dollar General to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’
Goldman thinks Dollar General can deliver “consistent 10% EPS growth over the next three years.”
“We upgrade shares of DG to Buy from Neutral with 13% upside to our $152 (from $142), 12-month price target, plus a 1% dividend yield for 14% total return potential. Shares are off their 52-week high amidst broader market volatility, which we view as an opportunity for investors to step into a favorably positioned retailer that we believe can deliver consistent 10% EPS growth over the next three years. “
