Here are Tuesday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Loop initiates AppLovin as buy Loop said the software publisher is an “indispensable infrastructure for the mobile gaming industry.” “We are initiating coverage of AppLovin with a Buy rating and $181 PT.” Bernstein initiates Costco as outperform Bernstein said the company is the “highest quality” in the firm’s coverage. “Despite COST trading at an expensive valuation (~50x P/FE), we believe that the longevity of its consistent earnings power and growth runway is underappreciated.” Bernstein initiates Walmart as outperform The firm said the big box retailer is best positioned. ” WMT is our top pick (Outperform, $95.00 TP) as we expect the company to leverage its scale to offer great value to consumers and to grow e-commerce profitably. As WMT’s investments in omni-channel start to pay off, we expect EBIT growth to meaningfully outpace sales growth.” Citi upgrades First Solar to buy from neutral Citi said the solar company is a winner no matter who wins the election. “We expect FSLR to benefit from either candidate winning the presidential election. A Democratic win may drive sharpest recovery in FSLR shares in the sector while a Republican win will likely drive higher tariffs resulting in a longer-term recovery.” Read more about this call here. Mizuho initiates Cadence and Synopsys as outperform Mizuho said it’s bullish on both software companies. “We are initiating coverage on the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software industry with Outperform ratings on both Synopsys (SNPS) and Cadence (CDNS).” Jefferies reiterates Tesla as hold Jefferies raised its price target on the stock to $195 per share from $165. ” Tesla remains a fascinating business in terms of innovation and drive but, more than ever, looks like an imbalanced VC portfolio solely funded by an auto business under pressure.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as a top pick Morgan Stanley said it’s standing by top pick Apple heading into earnings next week. “LT [long term] AI upgrade cycle thesis intact, NT [near term] setup more challenging.” Loop reiterates Microsoft as buy The firm said it’s bullish heading into Microsoft earnings next week. “Overall, we are expecting solid F1Q (September) results with many of the key growth drivers showing at least modest acceleration in the quarter and likely to continue to accelerate into the end of the CY.” Bank of America reiterates Meta as buy Bank of America said Meta is well positioned for AI ahead of earnings next week. ” Meta stock is up 63% YTD and remains top AI pick in our coverage given: 1) Data points suggesting AI driving strong core ad growth, 2) multi-year usage growth opportunities in Gen-AI, 3) growing core app usage for younger users addressing terminal value risk…” Redburn Atlantic Equities initiates Mondelez as buy Redburn said the food products company is a new top idea at the firm. ” Mondelēz is our top pick. It is best positioned to capitalise on attractive opportunities in emerging markets and the growing snacking trend, offering both top-line growth and margin expansion potential.” KeyBanc initiates Zeta Global as overweight KeyBanc said the marketing software company has an attractive platform. “We are initiating coverage of Zeta Global (ZETA) with an OW rating and $40 PT.” Stifel initiates Braze as buy Stifel said the software company is best positioned. “We see Braze as well-positioned to capture share in the customer engagement software space, and believe the company has built a leading-edge multi-channel marketing platform that is difficult to replicate.” Stifel initiates Klaviyo as buy Stifel said it’s bullish on the software company. “We are initiating coverage on shares of KVYO with a Buy rating and $45 target price. Morgan Stanley reiterates Disney as overweight Morgan Stanley said it sees more upside in Disney shares. “We see a positive risk/reward here in shares. The current muted growth and elevated investment spend at Parks looks reflected in consensus and sets Disney up for accelerating growth in ’26.” Citi upgrades Fluor to buy from neutral Citi said the engineering and construction company has “nuclear upside.” “Ultimately, we think FLR’s outlook/execution continues to evolve positively, and while we think improvement has been and will continue to be somewhat slow, we can’t ignore FLR’s increased backlog over the last several quarters (up mid 20% y/y as of 2Q24) nor its improved overall execution.” JPMorgan downgrades Hertz to underweight from neutral The firm said “financial leverage is high” for the auto rental company. “Downgrade shares of Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) to Underweight from Neutral and remove price target as we lower estimates to account for softer travel trends and possible faster churn of vehicle fleet…” BTIG downgrades Deckers to neutral from buy BTIG downgraded the shoe company as growth moderates. “We move to the sidelines on DECK shares, as we now see risk/reward as more balanced as our checks pick up: a slower start to holiday for UGG, and likelihood that any upside stems more from wholesale than DTC, which we see as unlikely to be rewarded by investors at current valuation levels…” Jefferies upgrades Paylocity to buy from hold Jefferies said the payroll systems company is well positioned. “Why Upgrade PCTY Now? With expectations reset for FY25, we see a path for organic outperformance.” Guggenheim names Itron a top idea The firm said the water tech solutions company is now a best idea at the firm. “We are reiterating our Buy recommendation and $128 price target for Itron , and we are confident that bookings strength in the second half of 2024 should materialize.” KeyBanc initiates Flex as overweight The firm said the multinational manufacturing company is well positioned. “FLEX is increasing exposure to large, diverse, higher value end markets to improve its resiliency and profitability.”
