(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A chipmaker and a beauty stock were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on the Street. KeyBanc put out a bullish earnings preview on Nvidia, noting the Blackwell chip delay would not impact results. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler upgraded Estee Lauder to overweight, citing noting the bear thesis on the stock has likely run its course. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 7:38 a.m.: Williams upgrades Crocs to buy A new sponsorship deal for the HeyDude clothing brand could give parent company Crocs a boost, according to Williams Trading. Analyst Sam Poser said in a note to clients that the brand’s announcement that actress Sydney Sweeney is now a spokesperson could help reverse negative sales trends at HeyDude. “We are confident that CROX’ history of having its long term brand marketing drive shorter term positive results will begin to be manifested at HEYDUDE,” the note said. The marketing boost should coincide with a better product lineup to juice sales, according to Williams. “It’s clear, based on the review spring ’25 product we saw in Atlanta that offerings for both brands are becoming more focused,” the note said. Poser also hiked his price target on the stock to $163 per share from $133. The new target is about 16% above where the stock closed Wednesday. — Jesse Pound 6:52 a.m.: Bernstein calls TJX a ‘hiding place’ in retail Investors looking to play retail defense may want to keep an eye on shares of TJX . “TJX has become the defensive ‘hiding place’ in consumer, amidst a struggling retail sector and slowing sportswear and luxury,” wrote analyst Aneesha Sherman. “We believe TJX can hold onto a premium multiple thanks to its defensiveness in an uncertain macro and slowing consumer environment.” Sherman lifted her price target on the off-price retailer to $127 from $120 a share, reflecting about 6% upside from Wednesday’s close. The target change comes after the discounter posted strong fiscal-second quarter earnings before the bell Wednesday and boosted its full-year guidance. Sherman expects the company to continue gaining share within its Marmaxx and Home Goods businesses even as the retail environment struggles. She also believes that the company can “bend the curve” and accelerate earnings per share from 10% to 14%. Shares have surged more than 28% in 2024. — Samantha Subin 6:28 a.m.: Morgan Stanley names Flutter Entertainment a top gambling pick It’s time for investors to make a bet on Flutter Entertainment , according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Ed Young initiated coverage of the sports betting company with an overweight rating, naming it a top pick in the gambling sector. “Flutter has a compelling global long-term growth story,” he wrote in a Thursday note to clients. “It is the scale leader in online gambling, ~3x larger than its nearest peers by revenue. It has established leading positions in the U.S., U.K. and other global markets.” The FanDuel parent company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year is also improving liquidity and should offer “technical tailwinds,” he added. “The steep inflection of U.S. profitability is transforming the financial profile of the business,” Young wrote.He placed a $247 price target on shares, implying about 18% upside from Wednesday’s close. The stock has rallied more than 17% since the start of the year. — Samantha Subin 6:03 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades SentinelOne SentinelOne is benefitting from the missteps of CrowdStrike, according to Wells Fargo. The bank upgraded the cybersecurity stock to overweight from equal weight. It also raised its price target to $29 from $19 a share, reflecting 18% upside from Wednesday’s close. “We believe SentinelOne is gaining share, recently at the expense of CrowdStrike, which should translate into stronger revenue growth,” wrote analyst Andrew Nowinski. “Moreover, the pipeline looks very strong, which should enable share gains to continue going forward.” The upgrade from Wells Fargo comes about a month after CrowdStrike fueled a global IT outage that shuttered businesses and led to flight cancellations. Underpinning the analyst’s thesis is also a bet that SentinelOne is within two quarters of attaining operating profit break-even, which should benefit its valuation. “Given the improvement in SentinelOne’s overall results and the strong pipeline, we believe they are having a positive impact,” Nowinski wrote. The stock added more than 3% before the bell, with shares down more than 10% year to date. — Samantha Subin 5:43 a.m.: Piper Sandler upgrades Estee Lauder Piper Sandler is turning more bullish on shares of Estee Lauder on the heels of its latest earnings report. Analyst Korinne Wolfmeyer upgraded shares to overweight from neutral, citing confidence in the company’s current valuation. “Mixed with a management change that should be viewed in positive light and valuation that suggests limited downside, we see little reason to suggest the bear thesis could play out much further here,” she wrote. Estee Lauder shares are down nearly 4% this week after the company offered a disappointing outlook due to weakness in China. The company also said its CEO will leave the company in 2025. According to Wolfmeyer, China estimates appear “reasonable” although uncertainties linger. She also highlighted stride in Estee Lauder’s efforts to regain share in Western markets, adding that investors should view the CEO transition as a positive. “Now, we do acknowledge shares could stay largely unchanged until we receive that new CEO announcement and get more visibility into 2H, but with our 12-month view, the downside looks limited, and the risk/reward looks increasingly favorable,” she added. Wolfmeyer upped her price target to $114 from $95 a share, reflecting about 25% upside from Wednesday’s close. Shares rose 2% before the bell but have slumped more than 37% this year. EL YTD mountain EL year to date — Samantha Subin 5:43 a.m.: KeyBanc bullish on Nvidia ahead of earnings KeyBanc isn’t worried about a delay to Nvidia’s Blackwell chips ahead of earnings. “Supply chain feedback is indicating performance issues, and a resulting chip respin with the Blackwell tile is resulting in a one-quarter delay but is not expected to have any impact to near-term results and guidance,” analyst John Vinh wrote. “We believe modest expectations for Blackwell shipments in FQ3 have been backfilled with higher Hopper bookings. We expect NVDA to report beat/raise results, in which upside will be driven by strong demand for Hopper GPUs,” he added. Vinh reiterated his overweight rating on Nvidia and a price target of $180, which implies upside of 40% from Wednesday’s close. Nvidia is set to report earnings Aug. 28. Shares are up nearly 160% in 2024. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Fred Imbert
Thursday’s analyst calls: Bullish ahead of Nvidia earnings, beauty stock upgraded
Aug 22, 2024
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