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(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A medical device maker and a discount retailer were among the stocks being talked about by analysts. Piper Sandler initiated Abbott Laboratories with an overweight rating. Meanwhile, JPMorgan downgraded Five Below to sell from neutral. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:46 a.m.: JPMorgan says to sell Five Below JPMorgan turned bearish on Five Below , citing challenges that are hard to surmount for the value-focused retailer during a tough year. Analysts Matthew Boss downgraded shares to underweight from neutral. While Boss raised his price target by $6 to $95, that still implies 5.2% downside from Wednesday’s close. Boss pointed to the fact that a basket of Five Below products has seen sales decline year over year for all but one of the last 10 quarters. The retailer also should see headwinds to 2025 margins because of labor costs while it tries to “right” the course of the business, working specifically on things like pricing and product. Boss’ call is unusual on the Street. The majority of analysts polled by LSEG have a buy-equivalent rating, and none before this had one that’s equal to underperform or sell. This downgrade comes amid a rough year for the stock, with shares diving around 53%. If that performance continues, 2024 would mark Five Below’s worst year on record. FIVE YTD mountain FIVE year to date — Alex Harring 5:46 a.m.: Piper Sandler says Abbott Laboratories is a buy There’s an attractive buying opportunity in Abbott Laboratories shares, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Adam Maeder initiated coverage of the medical device maker with an overweight rating. His price target of $131 implies upside of 14%. Abbott shares have lagged the broader market, rising just 4%, while the S & P 500 is up more than 17%. Maeder pointed to headwinds from lawsuits related to baby formula that allegedly caused necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. Still, “with ABT trading at 22.3x consensus 2025 adj. EPS, we see an attractive entry point into what we believe is one of the higher quality large-cap medtech names,” Maeder said. “We see a pathway to durable HSD top-line growth and expect ABT to return to double-digit adj. EPS growth in 2025 (and there forward). We couple this financial profile with a consistent dividend and solid past track record in recessionary environments and, ultimately, we see a versatile large-cap name that’s undervalued,” the analyst said. ABT YTD mountain ABT year to date — Fred Imbert
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