Are you ready to hear some hilarious news about the stock market? Of course, you are! Well, Goldman Sachs has upgraded VF Corp to a buy from a sell, citing the company’s improved profitability. Apparently, VFC’s revenue and earnings trajectory has underperformed the market, but Goldman Sachs thinks the stock is nearing an inflection point. Looks like VF Corp is finally getting its act together!
In other news, Piper Sandler has downgraded electric vehicle company, Rivian, to a neutral from an overweight. Piper still likes the company but thinks it needs more capital to justify its cost structure. Sounds like Rivian is in hot water! So, if you’re thinking about investing in Rivian, you might want to think twice.
Get ready to catch those Z’s because Mizuho has initiated ResMed as a buy. Mizuho described ResMed as the “undisputed king of sleep” because of its medical device, CPAP. Apparently, there’s lingering pent-up demand due to US staffing shortages. Who knew sleeping could be so popular?
UBS has reiterated Amazon as a buy because of the breadth of the company’s ambitions ranging from retail and AWS to content, healthcare, grocery, and more. But UBS came away less optimistic about a game-changing direction around margins and still unsettled by a cloudy outlook at AWS. Amazon might be spreading itself too thin!
Be careful if you’re planning on investing in Harley-Davidson because Citi has opened a negative catalyst watch on the company. Citi said it sees increasing credit loss metrics for Harley-Davidson because of fewer borrowers making monthly payments and lower recovery values once bikes get repossessed. Looks like some Harley-Davidson drivers are failing to pay the rent!
Oppenheimer is still rooting for PulteGroup, as it is considered a top pick because of multiple expansion. Oppenheimer expects the highest return on equity in the market space! Sounds like Oppenheimer is putting all its eggs in one basket.
Cowen is bullish heading into Alphabet earnings later this month, reiterating Alphabet as outperform. Cowen’s 1Q Digital ad expert check call on 4/6 suggests that a resilient US consumer has helped drive GOOG 1Q23 Search spend growth near 4Q levels despite NT macro headwinds. Google seems to be staying ahead of the curve!
Nvidia is still at the top of its AI game! Cowen has reiterated Nvidia as outperform, saying that Nvidia continues to lead from the front across all the most important AI verticals. Expect continued momentum in results. Nvidia can do it all!
JPMorgan has upgraded communications and social search company Hello Group to an overweight from a neutral after seeing a recovery in 2H23 with better social sentiment. If you’re ever in China, don’t forget to say hello to Hello Group!
William Blair is standing by Charles Schwab, reiterating it as an outperform heading into earnings. First-quarter results should indicate that earnings momentum is slowing as cash sorting continues. Sorting is reducing sweep cash, which Schwab is replacing to a degree with higher cost short-term funding. Looks like Charles Schwab is sorting things out one day at a time!
Stifel is going strong, resuming Kraft Heinz, General Mills, and Mondelez as a buy. While investors remain generally cautious on Food stocks after a strong performance in 2022, Stifel believes the margin inflection could be stronger than expected, and elasticity should remain stable and low. Looks like Stifel is hungry for some food stocks!
Despite all the ups and downs of the stock market, Wells Fargo is still keeping its overweight rating on Estee Lauder. Wells Fargo said that China’s cosmetics import data signals a return to growth. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but who can resist Estee Lauder?
Bank of America is sticking to its guns, reiterating PayPal as a buy heading into earnings in early May. Given ongoing macro cross-currents, Bank of America thinks the most likely scenario is for PayPal to continue providing top-line guidance one quarter at a time. Looks like Bank of America is on a roll!
Barclays doesn’t have the most positive news for Disney heading into earnings in early May. Barclays is seeing slowing streaming growth but thinks that both Disney and WBD are in another strategy transition phase and focused on taking out costs from the streaming business. Yikes, sounds like a Disney movie with a bad ending!
Bernstein is still putting its money on Boeing, standing by its outperform rating on the stock after a 737Max parts issue surfaced on Thursday. Yesterday, it was disclosed that Spirit Aerosystems identified a manufacturing process issue with a fitting used to attach the vertical fin of the 737MAX to the fuselage. Looks like Boeing is in need of some repairs!
Lastly, DA Davidson thinks the ag equipment company, Deere, is a “near term buy.” Ethanol usage does seem stable in the near term, and the megatrends are likely to take 20+ years to play out, making Deere’s ag equipment a near-term buy. Looks like Deere is reaping what it sows!
Serious News: cnbc
