Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street Thursday: Bernstein launches Ford as outperform Bernstein said Ford is well positioned for the long term. “The iconic automaker continues to benefit from strong profits in its core markets and a policy-driven investment cycle in the U.S. While electric execution appears important, we see a clear path to leverage. “significant exploitation and, ultimately, profits for the company’s EV unit.” Morgan Stanley downgrades NetEase to equal weight instead of overweight. Morgan Stanley said in its downgrade of NetEase that it saw “too much risk” for the Chinese internet gaming company. “Risks arise from macroeconomic weakness, increased competition and potential regulation, leading to lower revenue and ROI potential for existing and future gaming titles.” Bank of America Reiterates Buy of Nvidia Bank of America raised its price target on the stock to $1,320 per share, up from $1,100 after earnings. “Our positive view of Nvidia is based on its underappreciated transformation from a traditional supplier of PC graphics chips to a supplier to the high-end gaming, enterprise graphics, cloud, accelerated computing and the automobile.” Evercore ISI initiates tactical outperformance on Wendy’s Evercore announced an improvement in same-store sales for Wendy’s. “We are issuing a short-term trading call for tactical outperformance on Wendy’s. We are raising our second-quarter US SSS growth forecast to 1% to 3% (from 2.5%), which forms the basis of our Short-Term Trading Call » Deutsche Bank Initiates Buy of Freshpet Deutsche Bank said it sees “multiple favorable structural factors” for the pet food and health company’s shares. “Despite the strong recent share price performance (~+45% year-to-date, ~+95% over the last 12 months), we still see multiple favorable structural factors that support the bullish scenario of the Long-term FRPT.” Deutsche Bank launches BellRing Brands as part of the takeover. Deutsche Bank said it sees a long runway for growth for the food company. “BRBR has seen considerable growth (up over 60% over the past year and over 120% over the past 24 months), and yet we still anticipate ample headroom for a scenario growth currently constrained in capacity, which is progressing rapidly in diversification and expanding its manufacturing network Wedbush reaffirms that Petco has outperformed Wedbush added the pet store chain to the list of best ideas. best ideas from Wedbush following better-than-expected 1Q24 results, which beat consensus expectations for both top and bottom lines, and 2Q24 sales and EBITDA forecasts above consensus expectations » Jefferies reclassifies International Paper for takeover Jefferies said in its upgrade of the paper company that it sees “multiple ways to unlock shareholder value.” “We are upgrading the IP to a Buy and increasing our PT to $57.” JPMorgan upgrades Hasbro’s overweight to neutral. JPMorgan said in its Hasbro upgrade that it was becoming more constructive toward the toymaker after a series of meetings with management. “At a high level, our estimates remain ahead of the Street as we believe consensus forecasts for profitability and digital gaming remain too low while both are expected to reach 2H24/1H25.” RBC upgrades GoodRx to outperform relative to industry performance. RBC said new initiatives put the telemedicine company in a better long-term position. “With a large portion of the required initial sales and contracts now completed – GDRX has signed five PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) and seven top 10 pharmacies – the increase in these gives it good visibility over a period of 3 years. teens+ EBITDA CAGR.” RBC modernizes Norfolk Southern to outperform industry. RBC said in its railroad modernization the turnaround scenario was “intact.” “Our previous thesis on NSC was based on an operational turnaround successful which we believe was appropriately reflected in the valuation. We continue to expect an operational recovery, but report that shares are down 12% (since 3/13) following the recent proxy fight.” Morgan Stanley Launches GE Vernova with Equal Weighting Morgan Stanley initiated the stock with an equal weighting primarily on valuation “As a leading provider of energy transition equipment and services, GE Vernova is well positioned to benefit from strong long-term tailwinds, while operating efficiencies. expected to result in improved profitability and cash flow UBS upgrades Eastman Chemical to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the chemical business that it was bullish on. of Eastman stock “We expect the stock to rise on earnings and revaluation potential as investments in plastics recycling gain traction.” a performance superior to that of Under Armour. Oppenheimer said the company’s turnaround seemed slower than expected. “We have closely studied trends and developments within the UAA. While we remain optimistic about the long-term potential of Under Amour, particularly now with Kevin back at the helm, we recognize that a positive change within the company will take time.” Bernstein launches SAP as an outperformer Bernstein said the software company had “the right mix of revenue growth and margin improvement.” “We are joining SAP, combining our deep software expertise and knowledge of cloud transitions with our European software and IT services knowledge, to provide a unique perspective on the business and long-term investment opportunities. term. Evercore ISI reiterates Dell’s outperformance. Evercore added tactical outperformance on the stock ahead of next week’s earnings. “We believe Dell is well-positioned to beat Street estimates, with traction in the all-important AI flywheel continuing to gain momentum.” Bank of America upgrades Chubb to neutral from underperform. Bank of America says Berkshire’s stake in the insurer provides “downside support.” “Shares of Chubb rose about 6% (compared to peers up 1-2% and the S&P 500 flat) following last week’s announcement of Berkshire Hathaway’s 7% stake accumulated since 4Q23.” Bank of America upgrades Take-Two to purchase from a neutral supplier. Bank of America said “pipeline momentum (will) increase (the) multiple” for the game maker’s shares. “The release of two immersive sequels, other than GTA 6 (Grand Theft Auto), in FY25 makes TTWO attractive at its current valuation, buying time for an update from Rockstar Games. Stephens launches First Horizon as overweight Stephens said regional bank is well “One year after TD’s dissolution, FHN is well positioned for today’s environment of higher, longer interest rates, given a sensitive balance sheet Oppenheimer said he stands by his performance rating on the automaker, but that battery demand favors Tesla “We expect the forecast to drive additional demand for U.S.-based cells and battery assemblies, likely favoring TSLA in the near term. ” overweight and NextEra Energy Partners to underweight from neutral. JPMorgan downgraded NextEra and Generac primarily due to their valuation. “We also downgrade NEP from neutral to underweight, and GNRC from overweight to neutral, primarily due to the valuation to buy from its neutral position,” Argus said. The casino and hotel company justifies a “higher valuation.” “We believe the prospects for a faster rebound than expected in Macau, the strength of Las Vegas and the strong results of the Encore Boston Harbor justify a higher valuation “as Buy Deutsche said it was optimistic about the biotechnology company’s multiple myeloma drug, Carvykti.” Overview – We are initiating coverage of LEGN with a Buy rating and $60 PT as we believe Carvykti sales should benefit in 2H24 from increased patient numbers and manufacturing capacity increased. Bank of America Reaffirms Buy of Super Micro Computer Bank of America said Nvidia’s earnings report released Wednesday bodes well for companies like Super Micro. “In our view, the biggest takeaway from Nvidia’s Q1 2025 earnings announcement is that demand for accelerated AI computing remains strong and extends beyond service providers cloud to consumer internet companies, enterprises and sovereign AI.”