(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.) A bullish call on Apple and more optimism on Nvidia were among the biggest calls hitting Wall Street on Monday. Loop Capital upgraded Apple to buy from hold and TD Cowen increased its price target on Nvidia to $165 per shares. Morgan Stanley also named Nvidia a top pick. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:43: a.m.: Evercore ISI initiates Datadog at outperform Monitoring and analytics software firm Datadog could be poised for a breakout in the second half of the year, according to Evercore ISI. “After treading water for two years, we believe DDOG has matured to a point (and grown into its valuation) so that it can become a more consistent compounder over the next 12-24 months,” analyst Kirk Materne said. The analyst initiated coverage of Datadog on Monday with an outperform rating, alongside a $150 per share price target. Materne’s forecast implies more than 17% upside from Friday’s $127.80 close. “When taking a view to 2H and beyond, we believe the risk/reward skews to the upside based on the potential for upside to estimates, the continued expansion of DDOG’s TAM [total addressable market], and optionality around its new AI offerings,” Materne said. Datadog shares have climbed 5.2% in 2024. — Brian Evans 6:25 a.m.: Citi downgrades Bank of New York Mellon Citi thinks Bank of New York Mellon’s current valuation accurately reflects the company’s recent second-quarter earnings beat, making it difficult for shares to find further upside. “[Management] has made great strides towards their medium-term targets, and we see stock as fairly valued at 2.5x TBV [tangible book value],” analyst Keith Horowitz wrote on Monday. The analyst downgraded the bank stock to neutral from buy, but stood by his $65 per share price target. Citi’s forecast implies less than 1% upside from Friday’s $64.69 close. Bank of New York Mellon shares have advanced more than 24% in 2024. — Brian Evans 6:01 a.m.: Loop Capital upgrades Apple, predicts iPhone maker to become AI ‘base camp of choice’ Apple’s forthcoming artificial intelligence suite and ensuing integration into future iPhone’s could help the stock surge more than 30%, according to Loop Capital. Analyst John Donovan posits that Apple’s current opportunity is “an opportunity the next few years to solidify itself as consumer’s Gen AI “base camp” of choice, just as it did for social media 15 years ago (with iPhone) and digital content consumption 20 years ago (with iPod).” Donovan upgraded the iPhone maker to buy from hold on Monday, and increased his price target to $300 per share from $180. Apple closed at $230.54 per share on Friday and has climbed about 20% in 2024. “While we see all things ‘Gen AI’ related as the key driver, other contributing dynamics include potential for an accentuated refresh cycle from amplified Covid demand and a new ‘iPhone platform’ in 2025 with the iPhone 17,” Donovan said. — Brian Evans 5:45 a.m.: TD Cowen raises Nvidia price target, forecasts ‘sustained’ Blackwell demand TD Cowen expects demand for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence systems Blackwell and Hopper to remain robust and boost its stock price. “One thing remains the same, fundamental strength at NVIDIA,” analyst Matthew Ramsay said. “In fact, our checks continue to point to upside in datacenter as demand for Hopper/Blackwell-based AI systems continues to exceed supply.” The analyst upped his price target on the AI darling to $165 per share from $140 and reiterated his buy rating. The firm’s forecast calls for about 28% upside from Friday’s $129.24 close. Nvidia has soared 161% in 2024. “Overall we see a product roadmap indicating a relentless pace of innovation across all aspects of the AI compute stack,” the analyst added. Ramsay also called for the company to beat Wall Street’s second-quarter estimates on August 15 and for Nvidia to raise its outlook thanks to strong datacenter demand. — Brian Evans
