(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Friday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) With the earnings season about to kick into higher gear, analysts are taking hard looks at their models and adjusting ratings. UBS said Friday that Tesla’s stock, which has been on a strong run, has climbed too far, too fast and downgrades shares to sell from neutral. But Mizuho expects things will play out differently, and instead raises its price target on the electric vehicle maker, citing challenges with its robotaxis. Morgan Stanley stands by Starbucks, keeping it at an overweight, but lowering its price target. JPMorgan likes Netflix heading into its latest report. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times are ET. 6:35 a.m. Citi lifts Chipotle price target with earnings on horizon Citi sees a positive trajectory for Chipotle shares heading into the chain’s earnings report later this month. Analyst Jon Tower, who has a buy rating, added a short-term upside prediction on the stock within the next month tied to earnings. Tower raised also his price target to $71 from $67.38, which now reflects the potential for shares to climb 23.4% from Thursday’s close. “After our meeting with management in May, we would be surprised if investors emerge from the quarter with any real holes to poke in the story … or anything to drive LT investors away from the name,” Tower wrote in a Thursday note to clients. “A clear path for SSS drivers, [high single-digit] unit growth, and a 20%-plus EPS algo should continue to justify a marginal multiple premium vs history.” Tower said to expect another top-line beat and positive commentary on momentum through the quarter. He also said it’s reasonable to assume same-store sales should be higher, while longer-term cost metrics decrease. The analyst also said that the online buzz around if Chipotle has portioning control issues doesn’t have legs. Chipotle shares rose slightly in Friday’s premarket. The stock has jumped more than 25% in 2024, outperforming the broader market. â Alex Harring 6:16 a.m. Buy surging Carvana shares, BTIG says BTIG opened coverage of Carvana on Friday with a bullish outlook, saying the stock is in a uniquely well-off position. Analyst Marvin Fong initiated the used car selling platform at a buy rating. Fong’s $155 price target suggests shares can jump another 19.3% over Thursday’s closing level, building on a year of monster gains. “There’s no way around the fact Carvana trades at a premium to most e-commerce and auto-related stocks,” Fong wrote to clients. But “we believe CVNA’s vertically-integrated and in-sourced business model is simply a better mousetrap in an enormous [total addressable market] that investors shouldn’t overlook.” CVNA YTD mountain Carvana shares year to date. Fong said it’s impressive that Carvana has achieved industry-leading EBITDA margins with just 1% of the total used car market share. He noted that number rises to around 6% for the more specific, digital-focused total addressable market for used cars. Compared against competitor CarMax, Fong said Carvana has stronger front-end margins and more than two times the EBITDA per unit. And that’s despite selling around half the number of cars, he added. “In our experience, most high-growth companies have to suffer making less money than mature peers to gain share, but CVNA looks to be the one in the catbird seat, able to grow share and profits simultaneously,” he said. “We believe this is a rare set-up in e-commerce and is a hallmark of companies that eventually lead, if not outright dominate, their sectors.” Carvana shares advanced more than 1% in Friday’s premarket trading. The stock has soared more than 145% so far in 2024. â Alex Harring 6:06 a.m. JPMorgan says Netflix shares can hit $750 JPMorgan sees more room for Netflix to run heading into the streamer’s earnings report next week. Analyst Doug Anmuth hiked the mega-cap technology stock’s price target by $100 to $750, now implying 14.9% upside from Thursday’s close. Anmuth has an overweight rating. “We remain positive on Netflix shares heading into 2Q earnings … while also recognizing high expectations,” Anmuth told clients in a Friday note. Anmuth said he was raising some estimates for the quarter, citing benefits from paid sharing, the advertising tier, core subscriber growth and strong content. While he increased his expectations for net adds in the second quarter by 1 million to 6 million, Anmuth noted that’s below expectations from some investors or 8 million or more. Looking at the full year, he said the company’s outlook for revenue growth, operating income margin and free cash flow could have upside. That’s due to strength from price increases, subscriber growth and cost discipline, the analyst said. On the content front, Anmuth said to expect more of a push into live sports over time. Netflix shares rose marginally before the bell on Friday. Anmuth’s call comes amid a strong period for shares, with the stock surging more than 34% in 2024. â Alex Harring 6:06 a.m. Morgan Stanley keeps Starbucks at an Overweight rating, but trims price target Starbucks shares have fallen nearly 14% over the past three months, and that’s taken the risk out of the stock heading into the next earnings season, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Briann Harbour is keeping the stock’s rating at an overweight, but trims his price target by 5% to $98. Harbour expects the coffee chain can hit U.S. estimates as there has been some “encouraging signs in app usage.” However, he’s still concerned about trends in China. “After last quarter’s big cut, there is much going on to try to turn around the business, but we think most would endorse the company’s comments that, at best, this will take time, clouding the near-term investment case,” he wrote in a note to clients. Still, he’s hopeful that sales and earnings growth visibility will begin to show next year, but it will take time for its valuation to pick up, he said. âChristina Cheddar Berk 6:06 a.m. Wall Street reacts to report of Tesla’s robotaxi event delay A pair of analysts see downside ahead for Tesla . Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh maintained his neutral rating in a Thursday note to clients while raising his price target by $50 to $230. Still, that target implies 4.6% downside from Thursday’s close. In his note, Rakesh cited cited challenges with robotaxis. That comes after the electric vehicle maker’s stock tumbled more than 8% on Thursday , a sell-off on the back of a Bloomberg News report saying that its robotaxi event was delayed to October from August . Citing sources familiar, Bloomberg reported that the push was made to allow employees more time to build vehicle prototypes. With the robotaxi event later, Rakesh said near-term focus is on the earnings report later this month. But he cautioned that could show slowing sales and troubles with profits. UBS analyst Joseph Spak went so far as to downgrade shares to sell from neutral. While he upped his price target by $50 to $197, that fresh target reflects a drop of 18.3%. “While TSLA is investing heavily in AI and the tech is making progress, investment is costly, pace of improvement may slow and the payoff is long dated,” he told clients in a Friday note. “If market enthusiasm for AI diminishes, this may impact TSLA’s multiple.” The analyst said investors are leaning negative into the now-delayed robotaxi event. While Spak said it appears the company is making progress on the technology, he noted the big challenge around it and said there could be operational hiccups. Tesla shares slipped more than 1% before the bell on Friday. The stock is down 3% on the year, notably helped by a rally last week. â Alex Harring
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