Here are Friday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Goldman Sachs names Microsoft a top 2023 pick Goldman said Microsoft is a top defensive stock in a downturn. “Based on GS Macro’s call for a soft landing and our research, we highlight a group of defensive stocks for a downturn.” Read more about this call here. Goldman Sachs upgrades Jazz Pharmaceuticals to buy from neutral Goldman said it sees “multiple upside levers” for the pharmaceutical company. “We are upgrading JAZZ from Neutral to Buy given our positive outlook on operating margin performance and the potential for multiple upside levers.” Cowen names Costco a top 2023 pick Cowen said Costco is well positioned in a deteriorating macro environment. “COST is well positioned in an inflationary environment as higher income households & existing customers seek bargains.” Read more about this call here. Cowen names Caterpillar a top 2023 pick Cowen said the company is well positioned heading into 2023. “We’ve long held that this cycle’s peak will come in 2024 or later for CAT. We think the Street is just starting to warm up to this view .” Cowen names Analog Devices a top 2023 pick Cowen said it sees an “upside in a favorable backdrop” for the semiconductor manufacturer. “We believe ADI presents one of the best and cleanest capital return stories in semis.” Cowen names Workday a top 2023 pick Cowen said it sees “compelling growth” for Workday heading into 2023. “We name WDAY our Best Idea for 2023. Our checks continue to suggest strong durability in Back Office spending.” Mizuho downgrades Coinbase to underperform from neutral Mizuho said consensus around the crypto exchange is too optimistic. “We expect depressed crypto volumes in 2023-24.” Read more about this call here. Wells Fargo upgrades Netflix to overweight from equal weight Wells said in its upgrade of Netflix that it sees a “positive catalyst path in 2023, led by lower churn and stable subs.” “We think the pull-forward from COVID is now mostly digested, with global connectivity still providing a long-term tailwind of ~+8mm net adds annually.” Read more about this call here. Raymond James initiates SLB as outperform and Halliburton as strong buy Raymond James initiated several oil field stocks and said it sees a “strong macro backdrop.” “After a couple year hiatus, Raymond James is relaunching coverage of the oilfield services sector, focusing on some of the leaders in their respective subsectors: Halliburton Company (HAL) , NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. (NEX), and Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN) at Strong Buy, along with Arch rock, Inc. (AROC), NOV, Inc. (NOV), and Schlumberger Limited (SLB) at Outperform.” Cowen names Netflix a top 2023 pick Cowen said it sees free-cash flow ramping up for Netflix in 2023. “The key drivers for NFLX’s shares in ’23 are (i) New monetization levers, including the new lower price ad tier (which could drive accelerating net member adds) and the paid sharing solution launching globally in ’23; (ii) Revenue re-accelerating in 2H23.” Piper Sandler reiterates Tesla as overweight Piper said Tesla production cuts may be necessary if China sales slow, but that’s it’s sticking with its overweight rating on the stock. “Overnight, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released data regarding vehicle sales in November. Retail sales fell by 9.5% vs. 2021, but notably, sales have now fallen sequentially for two straight months. This is the first time since 2008 that China’s car market has declined m/m in both October and November, which are two of the seasonally strongest months in the year.” William Blair names Alphabet as a top 2023 pick William Blair named Alphabet as a top idea for 2023 and said it sees strength in advertising budgets. “As noted in our digital ad report search advertising spend continued through the Great Financial Crisis. US search spend has grown every year since 2000, while increasing nearly 17% on average per year from 2007 to 2021.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said investors should take advantage of any weakness and buy the dip in shares of Apple. “Net, while we understand why investors are focused on units price and the Dec Q disruption, we believe any stock dislocation on the back of supply-related disruptions presents an opportunity to own one of the highest quality tech platforms featuring a first-rate management team and consistent execution that is trading in-line with its trailing 5 year average P/E.” JPMorgan names Nvidia and Marvel as top 2023 picks JPMorgan named several semi stocks such as Nvidia and Marvel as top ideas for 2023, noting the bad news is already priced in. “At this point, we believe estimates have now been sufficiently de-risked after the 2nd/3rd round of estimate cuts following the October earnings season and stocks have now stopped reacting negatively to bad news/earnings as the market looks through CY23 and starts to discount a better CY24 demand environment.” Morgan Stanley upgrades Vale to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of the mining company that it sees a “cocktail” of positive catalysts for Vale. “Our move is based on iron ore price momentum into 1H23, supported by reduced supply, China exiting its COVID-zero policy, and positive property market policies in the country.” Read more about this call here. Jefferies downgrades MetLife to hold from buy Jefferies says shares of MetLife are too “crowded” heading into 2023. “To us, 2022 will be a tough act to follow for life stocks. We don’t see YTD tailwinds from rising interest rates, lower COVID mortality and low credit losses as drivers of P/E expansion in 2023, yet see some recessionary risks.” Morgan Stanley downgrades NRG Energy to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees a challenging backdrop for the nuclear energy company. “NRG’s announced acquisition of VVNT brings a new more challenging business, more debt and limited FCF initially.” JPMorgan names Live Nation a top 2023 pick JPMorgan said it sees “multiple organic growth drivers” heading into 2023 for the concert company. “Concerts remain a supply driven market, and supply for 2023 looks strong. Conversations with promoters indicate breadth of offerings, including acts that couldn’t or didn’t want to tour in pandemic-impacted 2022. LYV indicators (event-deferred + ticket sales) tracking well.” Loop reiterates McDonald’s as buy Loop said the rollout of McDonald’s Better Burger should bring significant upside. “Our franchisee contacts expect ‘Better Burger’ to be the next big thing for McDonald’s in the US next year.” Deutsche Bank names Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts top 2023 picks Deutsche named several casino stocks as top picks for next year and said it sees a “profitable growth environment.” “We believe WYNN and LVS represent the best opportunities for pure broader equity market alpha within gaming for 2023, given the profitable growth environment that should emerge as China reopens and demand returns to Macau.” Argus downgrades Beyond Meat to sell from hold Argus said in its downgrade of the stock that demand continues to fall. “Demand for Beyond Meat’s plant-based protein has fallen amid weaker economic conditions, and many customers are trading down to cheaper alternatives.” Needham downgrades Carvana to hold from buy Needham said it sees no signs of a turnaround for the stock. “It’s possible the market is implying a near-term bankruptcy filing given the 25% decline in CVNA shares over the past two days (versus a 1% increase in the S & P 500) despite the company’s potential sources of cash.” Bank of America upgrades Credit Suisse to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its downgrade of the global investment bank that the worst appears to be behind it. “We see the rebuild of Credit Suisse (CS) taking time: the outflows in October and early November were a setback to the recovery plan, we think.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Lululemon as overweight Morgan Stanley said the company’s fundamentals remain strong after its earnings report on Thursday. “LULU’s $2.00 3Q EPS came in ~1% ahead of Street expectations & above the high-end of guidance, making for its 10th consecutive quarter surpassing consensus estimates.”
