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(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) An e-commerce name and a well-known food stock were among the biggest stocks talked about by analysts on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs upgraded Shopify to buy from neutral. Piper Sandler, meanwhile, raised its rating on Kraft Heinz to overweight. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 8:01 a.m.: Jefferies upgrades two insurance stocks to buy The path forward for insurance stocks keeps looking better and better, according to Jefferies. Analyst Suneet Kamath upgraded Prudential and Lincoln National to buy from hold, saying in a note to clients that these companies will benefit from a rebound in annuities sales to retail customers. “We feel the industry is at an inflection point, where annuity segments have the potential to enjoy some of the strongest growth and returns in decades. Assuming long-term interest rates remain broadly in line with current levels, we expect the [return of retail] will be a multi-year investable theme,” the note said. Jefferies has been steadily upgrading insurance stocks over the past 18 months and is now abnormally bullish on the sector, Kamath said. “Currently, ~65% of covered market cap is Buy rated vs ~39% for consensus and ~21% for us back in 12/22, when we were cautious on US Life. Our current ratings skew is the most bullish that we can recall,” the note said. — Jesse Pound 8 a.m.: Morgan Stanley downgrades International Flavors & Fragrances International Flavors & Fragrances shares are now looking fairly valued, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Lisa H. De Neve downgraded the bioscience company to equal-weight from overweight, saying the stock is now nearing her $100 price target. It closed Friday at $97.90 per share, after having climbed more than 20% this year. “Move to Equal-weight as there is now limited upside to our $100 Price Target and we are no longer materially ahead of FY24 Adj EBITDA consensus and guidance,” she wrote to clients on Tuesday. The analyst expects any near-term catalysts are reflected in the stock, though she said she remains positive on the ingredient space. — Sarah Min 7:55 a.m.: Oppenheimer downgrades Generac Holdings, says shares are overheated With backup power generation company Generac now surpassing $145 per share, Oppenheimer is moving to the sidelines. “We believe recent strength in shares now reflects a more reasonable anticipation of business model development prospects and stabilized HSB [home standby] channels, both sound tenets in our view,” analyst Christopher Glynn said. “GNRC shares continue to offer some optionality a few months ahead of the traditional hurricane season.” The firm downgraded Generac stock to perform from outperform, and declined to provide a price target. Generac has climbed more than 19% in 2024. “We are less concerned about Residential standby revenue comparison pressures near-term, given recent resets and increasing signs of fundamental grid power quality challenges,” the analyst added. — Brian Evans 7:19 a.m.: Oppenheimer says Chipotle can rally further Oppenheimer sees more steam ahead for Chipotle shares. Analyst Brian Bittner raised his price target for the fast-casual Mexican chain’s stock to $3,485 from $3,300, while keeping his outperform rating. That new expectation implies shares can advance another 9.8% from Tuesday’s close. Bittner’s call came after an update to the firm’s modeling analysis and pricing study. Though he acknowledged that a 47 price-to-earnings multiple is “lofty,” he said “best-in-class” growth fundamentals and a clear base path to at least $150 in earnings per share by the end of 2030 keeps the stock attractive. “CMG’s relative menu pricing vs. competition has improved since our October-’23 study, highlighting its robust price/value as an ongoing traffic driver,” Bittner told clients. “This, along with throughput catalysts and levers for restaurant margins, underpins our EPS upside bias through 2025E.” That would build on what’s already shaping up to be a strong year, with Chipotle shares surging more than 38% in 2024. — Alex Harring 7 a.m.: BofA downgrades ‘priced to perfection’ Garmin Garmin shares may be running out of juice, Bank of America warned. Analyst Ronald Epstein downgraded the electronics maker to underperform from neutral and slashed $15 off his price target to $150. That target suggests shares can slip 12.1% over the next year from Tuesday’s close. After rallying more than 32% this year, Epstein said the stock — despite being high quality — is “priced to perfection.” Without an aggressive consensus target for earnings per share in 2025, he said valuation of the Swiss company is “too rich” and could lead to downside in the short-term. “In 1Q, Garmin has stood apart from peers demonstrating the strength of their brand, resiliency of their customers, and ignited growth across segment,” Epstein said. Now, however, we worry the momentum is decelerating … which implies the current valuation is unsustainable.” Shares slipped about 1% before the bell on Wednesday. — Alex Harring 6:46 a.m.: Oppenheimer ups Costco price target ahead of earnings Oppenheimer sees more room for Costco to run heading into earnings. Analyst Rupesh Parikh reiterated his outperform rating on the wholesaler, while lifting his price target by $45 to $850. Parikh’s new target reflects 6.1% over Tuesday’s close. Parikh expects a largely in-line earnings report at the end of the month. But he said the stock has a mixed record trading on the back of earnings, so traders should look for opportunities to take profits. Going forward, he said potential catalysts include an increase to membership fees or a stock split. He also noted that Costco has outperformed other retailers and the broad market in 2024 with a gain of more than 21%. COST YTD mountain COST “We believe COST remains well-positioned to continue gaining material market share driven by the company’s superior value proposition and leading merchandising capabilities,” Parikh told clients. “Although not modeled in our current base case, we are optimistic management can unlock even more shareholder value over time through driving alternative revenue streams.” — Alex Harring 6:26 a.m.: Citi sees little opportunity left for Hims & Hers Health shares There may be little upside left for Hims & Hers Health after its GLP-1 announcement, according to Citi. Analyst Daniel Grosslight downgraded to digital pharmacy company to neutral from buy, while keeping his high-risk designation. Grosslight upped his price target by $4 to $20, which suggests upside of 13.9% from Tuesday’s close. Grosslight’s downgrade came after the company’s attention-grabbing announcement that it will offer GLP-1 objects amid the blockbuster weight loss drug craze. While the analyst found everything to be “above-board,” he simply said the stock has already captured most of its room to run from the announcement. “With the stock up 20% since the announcement, HIMS has effectively added ~$760M of enterprise value on limited new information, leaving little room for upside, in our view,” he said in a Tuesday note. Now, Grosslight said he’s awaiting more details on the economics and durability of the offering. Hims & Hers Health shares slipped about 1.7% in Wednesday premarket trading. But the stock has rallied more than 97% in 2024, lifted by a gain of just over 40% in May alone. — Alex Harring 6:06 a.m.: BofA bolsters optimistic outlook on CyberArk exiting conference Bank of America remains bullish on CyberArk following its user conference. Analyst Tal Liani reiterated his buy rating on the software stock and price target of $315. Liani’s target — which appears to be a Street high, per LSEG — reflects the potential for upside of 28.1% from Tuesday’s close. “We remain positive … and believe that newly announced innovations and expansion into complementary identity security end markets support a favorable outlook,” Liani wrote. Liani specifically pointed to the announcement of its CORA AI engine and plans to expand into identity security. He also highlighted more information from the company about its acquisition of Venafi. Liani said it’s become clear that CyberArk is a clear leader in identity security, which he called a “core pillar” of cybersecurity. Broadly speaking, the analyst said the company has a “sound” strategic direction that caters to a large market. Though no financial updates were given at the event, Liani predicted upside on management targets for the 2025 calendar year. It has been a rocky second quarter for the stock with a drop of about 7.5%. Still, shares are higher by more than 12% on the year. CYBR YTD mountain CyberArk year to date — Alex Harring 5:47 a.m.: Morgan Stanley downgrades Box It’s time to move to the sidelines on Box for other software names, per Morgan Stanley. Analyst Josh Baer downgraded shares to equal weight from overweight and shaved $3 off his price target to $32. Still, Baer’s target suggests shares can climb 20.3% from Tuesday’s close. Baer told clients that a dearth of catalysts “take away the urgency to own.” While “optimistic” on Box’s next chapter, Baer said there’s simply more upside potential in other stocks within the coverage area like Docebo and Smartsheet. “We step to the sidelines given lack of near-term catalysts, prolonged macro challenges impacting Box’s seat-based model, continued FX headwinds pressuring growth, and constant competitive overhang,” he wrote in a Wednesday note. This is “all making NT multiple-expansion and positive estimate revisions less likely.” While up less than 4% in 2024, Baer said the stock has outperformed software peers by about 10 percentage points. That follows a significant underperformance from the stock in 2023, however. — Alex Harring 5:41 a.m.: Shopify can rebound nearly 30% after tough year-to-date, Goldman says Investors should pick up beaten-down shares of Shopify , according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Gabriela Borges upgraded the retail software stock to buy from neutral and raised her price target by $7 to $74. With that increase, Borges forecasts shares can surge 29.8% over the next year from Tuesday’s close. Borges said the stock’s “dislocation” creates an entry-point for traders to hold the “leading” software retail stock. Shares are down more than 24% year to date, which the analyst said is primary due to its investment cycle weighing on margin expansion and mixed spending data. However, she sees reasons to believe those investments can lead to growth in areas like business-to-business and international. “Over the long term, Shopify continues to invest in large adjacencies that in our view have the ability to drive step-function changes in addressable market,” she said. “Given Shopify’s significant technology moat in eCommerce software and share gain across eCommerce cycles, we believe these investments will drive more durable revenue growth at scale.” Shares popped more than 2% before the bell on Wednesday. — Alex Harring 5:41 a.m.: Kraft Heinz gets an upgrade from Piper Sandler The underperformance in Kraft Heinz has created a buying opportunity, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Michael Lavery upgraded the maker of ketchup and other condiments to overweight from neutral. He also slapped a $42 price target on the stock, implying upside of nearly 17%. “We may be early to upgrade now, given current volume trends, but with visibility on drivers to accelerate momentum in foodservice, we believe valuation is attractive now,” Lavery wrote, referring to the company’s division that sells goods to restaurants and establishments. “Foodservice (a.k.a. Away From Home) is a growth pillar, and KHC has a right to win there, especially in sauces and condiments.” Shares of Kraft Heinz have lagged this year, losing nearly 3%, while the S & P 500 is up 11.5%. KHC YTD mountain — Fred Imbert
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