U.S. stocks were experiencing an uncomfortable plunge on Monday morning after Japan fell more than 12% and European stocks were down over 3%. Some of this is a continuation of Friday’s weak U.S. employment selling, but much of the immediate drop is following overseas stock selling and continued earnings and valuation concerns when so many companies are issuing light guidance. The flow of daily analyst upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street often contain new ideas for investors to consider in stocks, sectors and the markets.
Rather than sitting around in a panic, Oggonomics is continually looking for new ideas and areas of protection whether the market is going up or down. Investors with a long-term horizon have to look for opportunities in good times and when there are bargains due to a sell-off.
These daily analyst calls often have many new Buy and Sell reports for investors to consider. Oggonomics always issues a reminder to its readers that no single analyst report should be used as a sole decision to buy or sell a stock. After all, some analysts can simply get too carried away or their thesis just turns out to be wrong.
These are some of the most substantial analyst calls seen on Monday, August 5, 2024.
STOCK SPECIFIC CALLS
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) was maintained as Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets, but the firm did lower its price target to $132 from $151 while the firm is adjusting operations and balance sheet with caution in the lithium sector.
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) was maintained as Outperform but the price target was cut to $207 from $222 at Bernstein. The post-earnings call had shares at $169.95 as of Friday’s close but the stock was down 2% at $166.00 after the call. and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares following quarterly results.
CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ: CBOE) was raised to Neutral from Underweight and its price target was raised to $195 from $168 at JPMorgan.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) was maintained as Hold while its target price was trimmed to $154 from $156 at Truist Securities. Chevron closed at $148.55 ahead of the call and was indicated down 2% at $145.50 after the call.
DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was down well over 10% on Friday but was trying to stabilize on Monday. Barclays maintained its Overweight rating but cut its target to $43 from $53. DraftKings was maintained as Buy but its target was cut to $48 from $50 at Stifel. Wells Fargo maintained its Overweight rating but lowered its target to $47 from $53. Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating and lowered its target to $54 from $60.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) was maintained as Overweight but its target price was trimmed down to $135 from $139 at Wells Fargo. Exxon Mobil closed at $116.88 ahead of the call and was down over 1.5% at $114.00 on Monday.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform and its price target was raised to $600 from $500 at RBC Capital Markets.
Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets, and the firm slashed its price target to $90 from $125. Despite long-term gains coming from many potential vaccines, Moderna faces material headwinds for RSV and COVID vaccines with sales stuck in a range.
Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLY) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and its price target was slashed down to $17 from $35 at Daiwa Securities. Mobileye closed at $15.96 ahead of the call and was down over 1% at $15.75 after the call.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) was last seen down 11% at $96.00 after reports of new AI chip delays. BofA maintained its Buy rating and $150 price objective by noting that the next-generation Blackwell chip sales estimates are not in the firm’s own estimates until its fiscal/Q4 as is. Goldman Sachs, despite a cautious AI view in July, also maintained its Buy rating and its $135 price target as the firm sees little or no impact on 2025 earnings and no real harm to its long-term competitive position over peers.
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Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE: PB) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and its price target was raised to $86 from $75 at Morgan Stanley, noting it is at industry discounts versus midcap banks.
Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Citigroup maintained positive ratings on semiconductor cap-ex stocks but did lower price targets following Intel’s weak cap-ex spending: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was maintained as Buy and its target was cut to $240 from $250. KLA Corporation (NASAQ: KLAC) was maintained as Buy but its target was cut to $960 from $990 at Citi. Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was kept as Buy but its target was cut to $990 from $1,025.
STORAGE
More trouble in storage sector stocks — BofA downgraded Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) to Neutral from Buy with the same $318 price objective, and Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) to Underperform from Neutral while cutting its price objective to $155 from $172. RBC Capital downgraded Prologis (NYSE: PLD) to Sector Perform from Outperform but marginally raised its price target to $127 from $124 in that call.
HOME IMPROVEMENT
JPMorgan is positive on home improvement super-centers ahead of earnings despite consumer concerns. The firm reiterated its Overweight rating on The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) and raised its target to $400 from $377. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) was also reiterated as Overweight and its target was raised to $272 from $268.
