(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Monday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Monday’s analyst calls included a price target cut for one of the biggest tech companies in the world and Goldman Sachs getting bullish on an e-commerce giant ahead of earnings. Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Apple to $210 from $220, citing the potential for disappointing fiscal third-quarter guidance. Goldman, meanwhile re, reiterated Amazon as a top pick Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:46 a.m.: Heading into earnings, Goldman favors Amazon as its top e-commerce pick Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan named Amazon its top e-commerce pick, anticipating strong trends in the sector for the first quarter. Sheridan kept his buy rating and $220 price target on Amazon, which is expected to post its earnings results on April 30. That target suggests about 26% potential upside for the stock. Amazon shares have gained nearly 15% this year. The analyst pointed to industry research and third-party data sources that suggested resilient consumer spending in the first quarter, underlining his bullish sentiment on Amazon. He remains cautious on the sector for 2024, however, noting a wide dispersion of expected results from tech companies. Factors behind Sheridan’s Amazon rating include: Consumer demand levels remain strong in retail business AWS revenue should continue to reaccelerate in the first quarter and throughout 2024 on easing optimizations, growing cloud migrations and rising contribution from AI workloads Strong momentum and secular tailwinds should lead to solid advertising revenue growth Expected “residual upside” to Amazon’s North America margins, which should benefit from an increasingly efficient logistics network and operating leverage — Pia Singh 5:46 a.m.: Morgan Stanley cuts Apple price target Apple’s fiscal second quarter report will be good but not stellar, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Erik Woodring reiterated his overweight rating on the tech giant but cut his price target to $210 from $220. The new target implies upside of 27.3% over the next 12 months. “[We] expect AAPL to slightly beat March Q Consensus revs/EPS, driven by stable product demand and Services outperformance,” Woodring said in a note. “However, we expect June Q rev guidance closer to MSe of $80B vs. Consensus at $83.5B (more in-line with buyside at $78.5-81.5B).” “We see a similar earnings setup to 3 months ago, as we anticipate slight March quarter revenue upside but a fairly sizable June quarter guide-down vs. Consensus; a print we believe this market would punish,” he added. Apple, which is slated to report earnings next week, has struggled this year. Shares are down 14% in that time, lagging other major tech names. AAPL YTD mountain AAPL year to date — Fred Imbert
