Here are Friday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley that Apple’s iPhone lead times remain “elevated.” “Lead times in key int’l markets are even longer than in the US, despite Y/Y price increases, a positive surprise amid cont’d demand concerns.” Citi reiterates Meta Platforms as buy Citi said it sees a “compelling” risk/reward outlook for shares of Meta. “While macro challenges persist, we believe improved Reels monetization, newer ad formats, and a greater focus on expenses create a compelling risk/reward in shares and we reiterate our Buy rating and $222 TP.” Needham initiates Unity Software as buy Needham said the video game software company is “best-in-class.” “We initiate coverage on U with a Buy rating and a $50 price target. U’s Create platform is best in class and should benefit from the rising demand for real-time, interactive, 3-D content in gaming and beyond.” Wells Fargo reiterates Exxon as overweight Wells said investor skepticism over Exxon is overdone. “We remain in the minority view among XOM’s sell-side coverage with our Overweight (buy) rating. Despite the company’s pledge to return approximately $30bn via share repurchases and a nearly equivalent amount via dividends in 2022 and 2023, skepticism seems to remain. ” JPMorgan reiterates Chevron as underweight JPMorgan said it’s staying with an underweight rating due to the stock’s valuation. “That said, we think CVX’s valuation fully accounts for the company’s LSD growth potential led by high-margin assets (Permian, Tengiz) and commitment to a long-term return of capital plan that should hold through the cycle, while the company was rewarded at earnings time for its $5B hike to the top end of its buyback guidance.” Oppenheimer initiates Chewy as outperform Oppenheimer said the online pet store company is an attractive long-term play. “Over time, we believe CHWY’s attractive value proposition and expansion into new areas such as healthcare and services should help the company drive share gains and further consolidate pet spend.” Read more about this call here. KBW upgrades Goldman Sachs to outperform from market perform KBW said it sees “visible earnings and higher valuation” for Goldman. “However, a main driver of the stock will likely be the excess capital generated from harvesting on-balance sheet PE assets while simultaneously growing its alternatives asset management business.” Read more about this call here. KeyBanc reiterates Walmart as overweight KeyBanc said Walmart is making market share gains in groceries. “Walmart continues to drive share gains in the grocery category while making investments to continue these gains in the future.” RBC downgrades Lyft to sector perform from outperform RBC said it sees “structural headwinds” for Lyft. “We believe UBER’s structural advantages are driving increased competitive intensity for LYFT where LT profit targets likely limit its ability to maneuver.” Read more about this call here. Jefferies reiterates Tesla as buy Jefferies said Tesla is a “deflationary force.” “We see Tesla as a potential deflationary force in US Autos should the company leverage profitability and vertical integration through higher benefit from IRA regulation.” Baird downgrades Norfolk Southern to neutral from outperform Baird said in its downgrade of the railroad company that it is concerned about a deteriorating macroenvironment. “While we still see significant self-help opportunity at NSC and potential to close the operating ratio gap vs. peers, the timeframe for improvement will likely take longer to materialize in a recession.” JPMorgan downgrades Zoom to neutral from overweight JPMorgan resumed coverage after a period of restriction and downgraded the teleconferencing company noting that shares are “washed out.” “Ultimately, while we believe in Zoom’s platform and long-term vision, this view is balanced by execution risk, a contract renewal cycle that may occur during a time of tightening budgets and evolving competitive landscape in a slowing macroeconomic climate.” Argus upgrades Biogen to buy from hold Argus said in its upgrade of Biogen that it’s bullish on the company’s Alzheimer’s drug, lecanemab. “However recent data from the company’s study of lecanemab, a separate potential treatment for Alzheimer’s, have proven robust, with the drug leading to a 27% reduction in patients’ clinical decline on the global cognitive and functional scale.” Bank of America reiterates Advanced Micro Devices as buy Bank of America said it’s standing by AMD after its sales warning on Thursday, but that it’s also a negative read-through for competitors. “We believe AMD’s warning will have the most negative read-across for PC peer INTC, but also somewhat for NVDA (consumer graphics) and related memory and data center peers.”
