Monday’s analyst calls: Chip stock gets big price target increase, airline to rally 75%?
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(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Monday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A major airline and a semiconductor stock were among the biggest calls to start the week. Morgan Stanley named Delta Air Lines a top pick, calling for more than 75% upside going forward. Meanwhile, Micron got a price target increase from Bank of America, which sees the chipmaker surging more than 20%. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:55 a.m.: Alphabet, Spotify among BofA’s top picks for Q2 Big tech laggard Alphabet is one of Bank of America’s top 10 picks for the new quarter. The stock added just 8% in the first quarter of 2024 as a series of AI-related blunders bruised investor sentiment. By comparison, Microsoft and Meta Platforms gained 12% and 37%, respectively, during the quarter. Alphabet’s upcoming Cloud Next Conference and I/O event are potential near-term catalysts for the stock, per strategist Anthony Cassamassino. A relaunch of its controversial Gemini image generation program would also improve sentiment, he added. “While not necessarily expected in 2Q, there is also opportunity for “self-help” which could include announcements of a new CFO, more cost cutting actions, or a dividend,” said the strategist. Other names on the list include Spotify and Citigroup, which are both jumped more than 40% and 20% during the first quarter. — Hakyung Kim 5:50 a.m.: Bank of America raises Micron price target The “rising tide” for the semiconductor accelerator market could mean more upside ahead for Micron , according to Bank of America. Analyst Vivek Arya raised his price target on Micron to $144 from $120. The new forecast suggests shares could gain around 22% from Thursday’s close. Arya kept his buy rating on the stock. Demand for high-bandwidth memory technology is expected to grow to more than $20 billion by 2027 — and Micron will increase its market share to the mid 20% range from its level under 5%, per Arya. “The adoption of accelerated/AI servers is a generational shift with NVDA and AVGO the leaders. … However, we believe the rising tide – accelerator market ~2xing to $200bn over next 3 years – could create volatile but fruitful opportunities among the #2 vendors,” Arya wrote in a Sunday note, referring to Micron, Marvell and Advanced Micro Devices. He referred to the three stocks as “junior samurAI.” “Each ‘junior samurAI’ trades interestingly at a valuation premium to its respective leader, so greater stock volatility is to be expected. However, as the leader expands the market TAM, the junior can likely continue to carve a profitable niche,” said Arya. — Hakyung Kim 5:50 a.m.: Morgan Stanley names Delta Air Lines a top pick Delta Air Lines kicked off 2024 with a bang, and Morgan Stanley thinks those gain will grow from here. The bank named the airline at top pick, reiterating its overweight rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target of $85, up from $77, implies upside of 77.5% from Thursday’s close. “We believe DAL’s push into Premium will not just allow them to outperform the rising tide of Airlines demand growth, but will also be rewarded by investors in much the same way that Abercrombie & Fitch’s (ANF) recent reinvention as a more premium and relevant specialty retailer has been rewarded by investors,” Morgan Stanley wrote. The bank also revised its bull case price target to $110 from $90, implying upside of nearly 130%. DAL YTD mountain DAL year to date “We believe Delta (and most of the industry) exited the pandemic as a stronger business given both structural industry changes as well as internal business changes/execution,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote. “However, the stock is still trading well below its 2014 peak P/E of ~12x, even as revenues are well above pre-pandemic levels and EBIT is effectively back to pre-pandemic.” Shares were up more than 1% in the premarket. Year to date, they have popped 19%. — Fred Imbert
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