(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Tuesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A chipmaker and an electric vehicle giant were in focus on Tuesday’s analyst chatter. Bernstein lowered its price target on Tesla, calling for 30% downside. Meanwhile, Mizuho raised its price target on Micron, citing a growing AI opportunity. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:25 a.m.: JPMorgan reiterates Taiwan Semiconductor as overweight, says ‘all roads in AI semis lead here’ JPMorgan said Taiwan Semiconductor could be the main player for the path broader artificial segment. The firm reiterated an overweight rating on the semiconductor stock in a deep dive note on the chipmaker, and stood by a NT$850 price target. JPMorgan’s forecast implies nearly 9% upside going forward. “TSMC’s role as the key enabler for AI semis is becoming more established and we expect it to retain 90+% market share of all AI,” analyst Gokul Hariharan said. “All roads in AI semis lead here.” “TSMC’s moat in AI semis appears wider than in previous product cycles, due to leading process technology, tightly integrated packaging methods, and support from the broadest IP and design service ecosystem in the semi-industry,” the analyst added. TSMC stock has climbed nearly 32% this year. — Brian Evans 6:11 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Seagate Technology on growing earnings power Morgan Stanley thinks Seagate Technology’s earnings story presents investors with a buying opportunity. The firm upgraded the data storage stock to overweight from equal weight on Tuesday, increasing its price target to $115 per share from $73. Morgan Stanley’s forecast implies more than 30% upside from Monday’s close. “A cyclical recovery, tech leadership (HAMR), and the potential for Gen AI-related demand means STX is entering a period of structurally stronger gross margins, with our new bottom-up analysis showing earnings power 25-30% greater than previously estimated,” analyst Erik Woodring said. “We also believe Gen AI will be a longer-term ‘rising tides lifts all boats’ tailwind for storage, causing us to raise our FY26-27 HDD [hard drive disk] exabyte forecast by 4%,” the analyst added. Seagate Technology stock has ticked up more than 3% in 2024. — Brian Evans 5:53 a.m.: Mizuho ups Micron price target, expects stronger AI opportunity Mizuho Securities said Micron Technology’s artificial intelligence opportunity thanks to stronger High Bandwidth Memory 3E (HBM3E) pricing that could lead to better-than-expected sales in late 2024 into 2025. The firm reiterated a buy rating on the computer storage and memory stock on Monday and raised its price target to $130 per share from $124. Mizuho’s forecast implies nearly 11% upside from Monday’s close. Analyst Jason Getz sees HBM sales of about $9 billion and $13 billion for 2024 and 2025, respectively, with the possibility of expanding by 65% over three years on a compounded annual growth rate basis. “With 2023E headwinds mostly behind with inventories normalizing, pricing stabilizing and demand recovery, we see 2024E setting up much stronger with better pricing, industry supply discipline, and DC/PC unit growth with increasing content,” he said. Micron has climbed more than 37% this year. Shares were up more than 1% in the premarket. — Brian Evans 5:53 a.m.: Bernstein cuts Tesla price target Longtime Tesla bear Toni Sacconaghi lowered his price target on the EV maker to $120 from $150, citing growing demand constraints. The new forecast implies downside of 30% over the next 12 months. “Quarter to date, Tesla has experienced soft China/Europe demand and constrained US Model 3 production,” the Bernstein analyst wrote, reiterating his underperform rating and lowering his first-quarter and full-year deliveries estimates. “Despite the stock’s underperformance YTD, we struggle to see a catalyst for TSLA. We expect tepid growth in 2024, as well as 2025, bringing into question the company’s growth narrative,” Sacconaghi wrote. Tesla has lost 30.5% in 2024, making it the worst-performing S & P 500 stock. To be sure, shares were up more than 3% in the premarket. TSLA YTD mountain TSLA ytd — Fred Imbert
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