Analyst Review – 01/04/24

Upgrades

$AXP – American Express Company
Recent News
JP Morgan considers American Express a “safe haven” amidst financial pressures on lower and middle-income borrowers due to decreased pandemic savings and persistent high inflation. They expect American Express to provide investors protection against these challenges and have named it their top pick for 2024. However, for Rocket Companies, the analyst believes the stock fully reflects potential growth in 2024/25. Despite viewing Rocket as a long-term leader in the mortgage sector likely to benefit from lower rates, they note that its current valuation already accounts for optimistic scenarios in market share and margins.

Brokerage Firm: JP Morgan
Rating Change: Neutral >> Overweight
Price Target: $167>>$205

$HD – Home Depot, Inc.
Recent News
Barclays analyst Seth Sigman upgraded The Home Depot Inc from “Equal-Weight” to “Overweight” and raised the price target from $325 to $372, citing optimism about the company’s potential growth in housing and home prices as interest rates change. He expects The Home Depot to stabilize sales and return to normal growth by 2025, positively influencing the stock. Sigman forecasts a slight decrease in earnings per share (EPS) for fiscal year 2024 at $15.47, just below the consensus of $15.62, but slightly raised the 2025 EPS estimate to $16.61. He anticipates weak but stabilizing sales in the near term and steady gross margins, along with benefits from reduced administrative costs.

Brokerage Firm: Barclays
Rating Change: Equal Weight >> Overweight
Price Target: $325>>$372

$MU – Micron Technology, Inc.
Recent News
Piper Sandler upgraded Micron Technology from a “neutral” to an “overweight” rating, raising their price target from $70.00 to $95.00, indicating a 15.49% potential increase from its previous close. This is part of a broader positive trend among various brokerages. Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, and TD Cowen all raised their price targets for Micron, maintaining a “buy” rating, while Rosenblatt Securities reiterated their “buy” rating. Despite some analysts giving the stock “sell” or “hold” ratings, the overall consensus among twenty-one analysts is a “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $93.70.

Brokerage Firm: Piper Sandler
Rating Change: Neutral >> Overweight
Price Target: $70>>$95

Downgrades

$AAPL – Apple Inc.
Recent News
Piper Sandler’s Harsh Kumar downgraded Apple stock from “overweight” to “neutral,” the second recent Wall Street downgrade. He also lowered ratings for five semiconductor companies, citing a cautious outlook for early 2024 in related markets. Kumar’s main concerns for Apple are weak smartphone sales and economic challenges, leading him to reduce the Apple stock price target from $220 to $205. Consequently, Apple stock fell by 1.3%. Earlier, Barclays’ Tim Long downgraded Apple to “underweight” due to lackluster iPhone and hardware sales and slowing service revenue growth.

Brokerage Firm: Piper Sandler
Rating Change: Overweight >> Neutral
Price Target: $220>>$205

$ADI – Analog Devices, Inc.
Recent News
Analog Devices was downgraded by Bernstein analysts from “Outperform” to “Market-Perform,” setting a price target of $200 per share. The analysts believe that Analog Devices needs time to justify its high valuation. They noted that despite expectations of growth in the overall semiconductor market in 2024, the industrial and automotive semiconductor sectors, key areas for Analog Devices, are just starting their market corrections and are unlikely to significantly improve soon. Bernstein highlighted that Analog Devices has experienced the largest downward revision in forward earnings estimates among their covered companies, a third lower from their peak in calendar year 2023. They acknowledged Analog Devices as a high-quality company usually commanding a premium, but indicated that its current valuation in the high twenties is relatively high.

Brokerage Firm: Bernstein
Rating Change: Outperform >> Mkt Perform
Price Target: $200

DailyBubble’s Disclaimer
This article provided by the DailyBubble team should only be considered as informational and/or entertainment by the reader. DailyBubble makes no representation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument within the article. Readers seeking investment advice should seek independent financial advice from a professional, and independently research and verify. The DailyBubble team wrote this article and may express its own opinions therein.