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Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls this week

Wall Street experts reveal the five stocks to buy, five stocks to sell this week

What has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 Buy calls and the top 5 Sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the week of March 6-March 10.
 
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Top 5 Buy Calls:

Goldman starts coverage of Apple with Buy rating, $199 price target

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Apple (AAPL) with a Buy rating and $199 price target. The firm says Apple’s success in hardware design and brand loyalty has led to a growing installed base of users that provide visibility into revenue growth. The company’s installed base growth, secular growth in services, and new product innovation should more than offset cyclical headwinds to product revenue, Goldman tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Apple’s valuation is attractive relative to its historical multiple and to peers.

Argus upgrades Nordstrom to Buy, expects stronger results ahead

Argus upgraded Nordstrom (JWN) to Buy from Hold with a $23 price target. Nordstrom has divested unprofitable businesses and reduced unwanted inventory through discounts and promotions, and it has also strengthened its supply chain, lowering SG&A expense as a percentage of sales, the firm tells investors in a research note. The company benefits from strong brand recognition as well as from online partnerships, and Argus expects stronger results in the coming quarters and believes that Nordstrom shares offer a buying opportunity.

Monster Beverage upgraded to Buy at Redburn on near-term upside

Redburn upgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Buy from Neutral with a $120 price target. The firm sees upside to near-term margin and longer-term sales consensus estimates. Monster shares offer an attractive entry point given the scope for estimate increases and the company’s potentially "enormous international growth story," Redburn tells investors in a research note.

Northcoast upgrades Costco on share gains, special dividend potential

Northcoast upgraded Costco (COST) to Buy from Neutral with a $560 price target. The company’s fiscal Q2 performance exceeded expectations and set the stage for a strong second half of fiscal 2023 despite the challenges of high inflation and the reluctance of many consumers to purchase discretionary merchandise, the firm tells investors in a research note. Northcoast says Costco’s strong value proposition in consumables to household supplies to gasoline "not only allows it to retain its many loyal members, but attract new ones." It believes 2023 will set the company up for "another stage of overall market share gains." Further, an "impeccable balance sheet" makes a special dividend of at least $10 per share as well as more, share repurchases likely during the next 12-24 months, the firm says.

Argus confident on DraftKings long-term growth, upgrades to Buy

Argus upgraded DraftKings (DKNG) to Buy from Hold with a $22 price target. The firm expects DraftKings’ revenue to increase to $3.1B in 2023 from $323M in 2019 as more states legalize online sports betting and consumers allocate more of their income to wagers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Argus is confident in DraftKings’ long-term growth prospects given its declining customer acquisition costs and ability to grow at 20% or higher over the next several years.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

Etsy double downgraded to Underperform at Jefferies

Jefferies double downgraded Etsy (ETSY) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $85, down from $150. Buyers are churning faster and spending less on Etsy, forcing the company’s marketing higher and putting pressure on EBITDA, the firm tells investors in a research note. With more limited take rate upside and deteriorating buyer trends, there is downside to consensus estimates from slowing sales and moderating margin expansion, Jefferies says. Further, the firm sees Etsy’s 70% valuation premium to internet peers as looking unsustainable given the company’s below average EBITDA growth.

Benchmark downgrades Trade Desk to Sell, says shares ‘priced to perfection’

Benchmark downgraded Trade Desk (TTD) to Sell from Hold with a $38 price target. The firm sees "untenable" buyside expectations for FY23, arguing that the shares are "priced to perfection in an imperfect market." Benchmark also sees "unhealthy non-CTV growth," stating that its recent checks indicate 2023 U.S. digital ad spend being flat to down 5%. The firm additionally has concerns about data/signal loss risk over the next 18 months from Apple and Google (GOOGL) decisioning and no reprieve from UID2 and a declining investor appetite for high multiple, high beta and highly U.S.-dependent stocks.

Craig-Hallum downgrades WW to Sell, sees stock outperformance as overreaction

Craig-Hallum downgraded WW (WW) to Sell from Hold with a $4 price target. The firm notes that while a believer in WW’s product and mission, it is hard to justify Tuesday’s 79% move in the stock, which appears to have been driven by excitement about the company’s recently announced plan to acquire a telehealth business that offers prescription medicines like Wegovy and Ozempic. While Craig-Hallum thinks the acquisition is a smart move to protect market share as Big Pharma enters the weight loss category, the M&A news was accompanied by Q1 guidance that calls for a 21% year-over-year decline in sales and a $20M year-over-year decline in EBITDA. WW’s core business is declining double-digits for the third year in a row, and profitability has eroded to the point that the firm no longer expects the company to generate positive free cash flow this year.

Caterpillar downgraded to Sell at UBS

UBS downgraded Caterpillar (CAT) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $225, down from $230. The company’s "downshift in growth" is underappreciated at current share levels, the analyst tells investors. The firm does not think there is enough cyclical momentum to justify the stock’s current valuation. The cycle is not over, but Caterpillar is unlikely to post substantial earnings growth in 2024 and 2025, contends UBS. It notes Caterpillar’s backlog growth has been softening, which creates a negative share catalyst.

Apple cut to Sell at LightShed on more conservative iPhone outlook

LightShed Partners downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Sell from Neutral with a $120 price target, citing below consensus estimates given the firm’s more conservative outlook for iPhone sales and moderating growth expectations in Services revenue. The lengthening of the smartphone replacement cycle will persist into calendar 2024, contends the firm, which also sees increased risk to iPhone sales in China due to retaliation related to a worsening relationship between the U.S. and Chinese governments.

Keywords: Wall Street, Buy, Sell, stocks, analyst, analyst calls, upgrades, downgrades, initiations, research

Published first on TheFly

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