Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Wells Fargo reiterates Signature Bank as a top idea Wells Fargo said the commercial bank was one of its “favorite” growth names. “While there is still debate about the ultimate balance sheet size for SBNY (and OW-rated SIVB), both these banks have proven to be among the fastest growing in the nation, and with valuation beaten down through 2022, both stand to benefit most from a broader shift in sentiment.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said iPhone pricing will be closely watched when Apple debut’s a new lineup of products on September 7. “We expect Apple to launch new iPhone models, new Apple Watches, and potentially a new AirPods Pro during next week’s special event. Our analysis shows the early event timing shouldn’t have a material impact to F4Q seasonality, and believe iPhone pricing will be the most important detail to track.” Piper Sandler reiterates Tesla as overweight Piper raised its price target on the automaker to $360 per share from $344 but says investors shouldn’t be caught off guard if shares go lower in the weeks ahead. “Several cross-currents may conspire to drive TSLA shares lower in the coming weeks. These include: 1) shorter wait times; 2) China weakness; 3) geopolitics; 4) rising interest rates.” Read more about this call here. JPMorgan downgrades Dow to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the chemical company that it sees “negative shorter-term earnings momentum.” “Lyondell and Dow are probably not the best places to put new money to work. The direction of shorter-term commodity chemical prices and volumes is decidedly lower.” Read more about this call here. Bank of America reiterates Starbucks as buy Bank of America said it’s bullish on Starbucks announcement of a new CEO. “While Narasimhan lacks the retail/restaurant experience that we might have hoped for, we believe investors.” Daiwa downgrades Nvidia to neutral from outperform Daiwa said in its downgrade of Nvidia that it will take time for the company to return to growth. “Alternatively, besides unexpected very weak results, lower growth potential, China restrictions, our next issue is high valuation, especially in this environment.” Read more about this call here. Atlantic Equities initiates CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks as neutral Atlantic Equities initiated CrowdStrike and Palo Alto as neutral mainly due to valuation. “We initiate on Palo Alto Networks with a Neutral rating and a $495 price target. … .However, given the elevated valuation, we don’t see any upside in the shares, especially considering the relatively high share-based compensation. … . CrowdStrike is a cloud-native disruptor in the endpoint protection market with superior technology and a best-in-class financial profile.” Goldman Sachs reiterates Bed Bath & Beyond as sell Goldman kept its sell rating on the stock after Bed Bath & Beyond held a strategic update earlier this week and says there is still too much uncertainty over the company’s execution plans. “We reiterate our Sell rating with a 12-month price target of $2 given weak 2Q comp trends, along with ongoing inventory issues and negative consumer sentiment.” Bank of America reiterates Exxon as buy Bank of America says it sees “higher cash returns” for Exxon after it announced the sale of its stake in Aera on Thursday. “After $3bn announced in 2021 XOM has picked up the pace of non-core asset sales in 2022, arguably accelerating disposals into a favorable commodity cycle. After the close on 9/1, ExxonMobil and its JV partner Shell, confirmed the sale of its 24 year old Aera partnership in California to IKAV a German based energy acquisition conglomerate.” Guggenheim upgrades Salesforce to neutral from sell Guggenheim upgraded the stock mainly on valuation. “On 8/24, CRM reported F2Q23 total rev slightly above consensus but subscription rev and billings below and lowered FY23 guidance for both total rev by nearly 2% and op. cash flow by 4%.” UBS reiterates Peloton as sell UBS lowered its price target on the fitness company on continuing concerns about execution and profitability. “We are lowering our price target for Peloton to $8, down from $13 previously, driven by lower sales and continued subdued profitability outlook.” Wells Fargo reiterates Chevron as overweight Wells says that Chevron is among the best operated oil and gas companies in the firm’s coverage. “We base this view on its track record of negotiating the extended commodity price volatility since 2014, navigating through the challenging COVID-era while preserving balance sheet strength & making adroit acquisitions, delivering on cash returns to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases…” Stifel reiterates Kraft Heinz as buy Stifel said in a note that it thinks Warren Buffett will use Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Kraft Heinz to consolidate the food industry. “As for large-scale acquisitions, having achieved an Investment Grade credit rating seems to set the company up well to pursue larger-scale transactions, and we continue to believe that Warren Buffett, as a large holder of the stock, likely would favor using Kraft Heinz as a vehicle to consolidate the food industry.”
