Thursday’s Biggest Analyst Calls: NVIDIA, Apple, Tesla, Marriott, Crowdstrike, Broadcom, Foot Locker, Dell & More

Here’s a summary of the key Wall Street calls for Thursday:

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Morgan Stanley Maintains Overweight on Salesforce
Morgan Stanley has reaffirmed its overweight rating for Salesforce, emphasizing the company’s potential for sustained growth. They anticipate that Generative AI (GenAI) will provide significant benefits, expected to materialize in calendar year 2025. However, at current stock levels, GenAI represents more of an option than a sure thing.

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Bank of America Sticks with Buy Rating on Nvidia
Bank of America continues to endorse Nvidia following its earnings report. The firm highlights Nvidia’s remarkable shift from a traditional PC graphics chip supplier to a major player across various high-growth sectors, including gaming, enterprise graphics, cloud computing, and automotive markets.

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Barclays Upgrades Foot Locker to Overweight
Barclays has upgraded Foot Locker to overweight from equal weight, noting a positive turnaround for the retailer. This upgrade follows a strong second-quarter performance characterized by sustainable positive comparable sales, improved merchandise margins, a better sales-to-inventory spread, and increased full-price sales in the U.S.

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Bank of America Reaffirms Buy Rating on CrowdStrike
Bank of America remains bullish on CrowdStrike, citing better-than-expected impacts from a global IT outage on the company’s recent earnings. They favor CrowdStrike’s strong subscription growth and net retention rates, predicting continued robust performance driven by its Software as a Service (SaaS) model and new offerings.

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Barclays Initiates Coverage on Nuvalent with Overweight Rating
Barclays has initiated coverage of Nuvalent with an overweight rating, anticipating significant value-driving data readouts in the latter half of 2024 and into 2025.

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Citi Reaffirms Buy on Broadcom
Citi remains positive on Broadcom, expecting the company to surpass earnings expectations due to strength in AI and contributions from VMware. They are optimistic about Broadcom’s future performance.

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Morgan Stanley Downgrades Cava to Equal Weight
Morgan Stanley has downgraded Cava to equal weight from overweight, despite raising its price target from $90 to $110 per share. They cite valuation concerns as the primary reason for the downgrade, noting that anticipated upward estimate revisions are now factored into the current valuation.

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JPMorgan Adds Abercrombie & Fitch to Focus List
JPMorgan has added Abercrombie & Fitch to its focus list following its earnings report. They anticipate continued outperformance, despite expected moderation in same-store sales in the second half of the year, due to sustained momentum across brands and geographies.

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Bernstein Upgrades Marriott to Outperform
Bernstein has upgraded Marriott to outperform from market perform, citing compelling valuation and expected positive developments in the second half of the year. They also highlight growth catalysts, including expansion in midscale segments and technological advancements.

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Citi Names Apple a Top Pick for 2025
Citi has designated Apple as a top pick, surpassing Nvidia and Arista. They expect the upcoming iPhone 16 launch to emphasize AI capabilities, aligning Apple as a leading choice in their AI investment framework.

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William Blair Initiates Outperform Rating on Tesla
William Blair has initiated coverage on Tesla with an outperform rating, driven by the company's underappreciated energy sector opportunities. They foresee a shift in focus towards Tesla’s energy storage business as short-term EV expectations temper.

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William Blair Initiates Outperform on GE Vernova
William Blair has given GE Vernova an outperform rating, predicting it will benefit significantly from a shift back to natural gas. They believe GE Vernova is well-positioned to capitalize on a more pragmatic energy sector approach.

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Redburn Atlantic Equities Initiates Buy on Take-Two
Redburn Atlantic Equities has initiated coverage of Take-Two with a buy rating. They are optimistic about the company’s prospects, particularly with the anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is expected to enhance Take-Two’s position in the video game industry.

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Jefferies Initiates Buy Rating on Reynolds
Jefferies has started coverage of Reynolds with a buy rating, noting the company’s leading market position and competitive advantage due to its high market share and vertical integration.

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Morgan Stanley Upgrades Eni to Overweight
Morgan Stanley has upgraded Eni to overweight from equal weight, citing improvements in the company’s balance sheet and its new status as a top pick.

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Bank of America Downgrades Okta to Underperform
Bank of America has downgraded Okta to underperform from buy, reflecting concerns over ongoing growth challenges, including customer cost optimization and weakness in small to midsize business segments.

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JPMorgan Downgrades Kohl’s to Underweight
JPMorgan has downgraded Kohl’s to underweight from neutral, citing a series of negative catalysts and unsuccessful attempts to reinvigorate the brand over the past decade.

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Citi Places Positive Catalyst Watch on JetBlue
Citi has placed JetBlue on a positive catalyst watch, anticipating potential benefits from lower interest rates despite maintaining a long-term neutral rating. They highlight potential refinancing opportunities in the near term.

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Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Overweight on Dell
Morgan Stanley has reaffirmed its overweight rating on Dell, although it has reduced its price target from $142 to $136 per share. They report some delays in AI server projects but do not foresee significant cuts or share losses.

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This summary captures the essential points of the latest Wall Street analyst calls, providing an overview of the most notable stock ratings and outlooks for various companies.

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