(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.) Trading platform Robinhood, steelmaker Nucor and drive-through beverage company Dutch Bros were in focus for analysts Thursday who see room for growth in both stocks. Rising steel prices should benefit Nucor, while Dutch Bros has strong growth potential despite worries from investors, analysts said in calls on the two beaten-down stocks. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 7:31 a.m.: JPMorgan becomes bullish on Sea Southeast Asia tech giant Sea is excelling across all its major business segments, JPMorgan says. Analyst Ranjan Sharma upgraded shares to overweight from neutral. He also raised his price target to $90 from $66, implying 17.2% upside potential from Wednesday’s close. Sea’s primary businesses are e-commerce (Shopee), gaming (Garena) and financial services (SeaMoney). Sharma anticipates all three businesses driving positive earnings changes. “We especially anticipate material improvement in ecommerce profitability as SE capitalizes on its leading market share and stable competition to increase take rates, improve S & M spend efficiency, and benefit from higher growth,” the analyst wrote in a Wednesday note. Gaming revenues are also growing at a faster pace, Sharma added. Shares have surged nearly 90% in 2024. â Hakyung Kim 6:59 a.m.: Bank of America upgrades PNC to buy, says risk-reward appears attractive PNC is an “all-weather stock,” according to Bank of America. Analyst Ebrahim Poonawala upgraded the financial name to buy from neutral and raised his 12-month price target by $15 to $200. That implies roughly 18.8% potential upside for the stock, which is up 8.7% this year. Poonawala said PNC shares have an attractive risk-reward profile. “PNC belongs to the small group of “sleep at night” stocks owing to its EPS/ROTCE defensibility,” the analyst said, referring to the firm’s expected 14% annual earnings growth estimates and 15% rate of return on the stock’s tangible common equity. “Rapid rate-cuts that could weigh on EPS outlooks of asset sensitive peers (including certain money center banks), could drive a further rotation into the stock.” â Pia Singh 6:35 a.m.: Deutsche Bank upgrades beaten-down Robinhood stock to buy The recent market sell-off, coupled with positive earnings revisions, makes Robinhood an attractive investment now, according to Deutsche Bank. Analyst Brian Bedell upgraded Robinhood from hold to buy and lifted his price target by $3 to $24, implying 28% potential upside. This year, shares are up more than 46%. The stock fell about 22% over the past month. HOOD YTD line Robinhood shares this year “With the recent market sell-off & potentially volatile conditions into the upcoming U.S. elections, we find the e-brokers as screening most attractively valued for the next 12 months, but also possessing near-term positive catalysts,” Bedell said in a Thursday note, adding that he sees the group as best positioned given their defensive earnings characteristics. Bedell says he sees “momentum building nicely for long-term earnings power at Robinhood,” along with improving business diversification, a variety of strong growth initiatives, proven cost control and a willingness to more appropriately price new products and initiatives. The company also has ample capacity for capital return via share buybacks or acquisitions, he added. â Pia Singh 6:23 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Nucor to overweight, sees strong earnings growth ahead Nucor shares could see a comeback as steel prices slip, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Carlos De Alba upgraded Nucor to overweight from equal weight, but lowered his price target for the steelmaker by $11 to $176, which still implies roughly 24.6% potential upside for the stock. This year, shares are down more than 18%. “The stock has de-rated vs. its peers despite the strong earnings growth and robust cash generation we expect in 2025 and 2026,” the analyst said in a Thursday note to clients. NUE YTD line Nucor shares this year The recent resurgence in the Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of nonresidential building projects in the planning process, also suggests that more projects are entering the construction pipeline, which should benefit Nucor given its high exposure to nonresidential construction, De Alba said. He noted that steel prices have fallen about 40% from their peak to trough levels, following an increase of imported material beginning this year. “We think steel prices have bottomed given the tighter import spread, but don’t expect prices to rally much,” De Alba added. “That said, we see limited upside to flat steel prices given our forecast of muted demand in 2H24..⦠but we think structural changes in the US steel market will support higher prices ahead vs. the 2010’s.” â Pia Singh 6:17 a.m.: Dutch Bros shares could jump almost 30% as concerns look ‘overblown’, according to UBS UBS thinks investors should buy the dip in drive-through coffee chain company Dutch Bros as the company has “energizing growth potential.” Analyst Dennis Geiger upgraded shares from neutral to buy and kept his $39 price target, which implies roughly 29% potential upside. Dutch Bros shares have lost about 4.5% this year and more than 28% over the past month after the company guided fiscal year 2024 revenue and same-store sales below expectations. Geiger said his upgrade is driven by four primary catalysts: Concerns over the company’s slowing growth appear “overblown” Catalysts to accelerate same store sales into 2025 Should be able to maintain its total addressable market, or TAM, of 4,000 stores â allowing for at least mid-teens level store growth over the next three to five years The stock’s risk/reward ratio “looks attractive” and presents a buying opportunity for investors “Improving [same-store sales] momentum into ’25 reflects impactful drivers, including: the launch of mobile order & pay, menu innovation, digital & loyalty gains, and marketing & promotions,” the analyst said, adding that he’s “encouraged by benefits BROS is seeing to improving new store productivity from adjustments to real estate & development strategy and marketing investment.” â Pia Singh
Source Agencies
