(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street talks. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to see the latest posts.) A semiconductor maker and a tech giant were among the stocks to which were discussed by analysts on Thursday. Analysts reacted to Broadcom’s latest quarterly results, which sent shares higher. Meanwhile, Jefferies called Microsoft a good pick, looking for around 25% upside. Check out the latest calls and chat below. All ET times. 6:41 a.m.: Oppenheimer calls Ulta a good pick, thinks struggling beauty stock has strong upside. Analyst Rupesh Parikh re-upped Ulta to a “first pick status” and maintained his outperform rating on the stock. Its 12-18 month price target of $475 implies the stock could gain 21.8%. This year, the stock has lost more than 20%. “We generally see a very compelling risk/reward scenario,” Parikh wrote. “We believe management’s updated FY24 guidance is now more realistic and are optimistic that new efforts on the innovation front coupled with lean benchmarks could help drive an acceleration as the year progresses.” He continues to have a favorable view of Ulta’s long-term prospects for several reasons, including: “Differentiated retailer offering and unique value proposition” Ulta’s “superior retailers” that have a strong history of innovation Relative category attractions beauty Continued market share Possible comments from Ulta’s management at the firm’s consumer conference left analysts with a positive sentiment on the stock, as the company is pleased with its brand launches and optimistic about its innovation pipeline for the half second of the year, added Parikh. Pia Singh 6:01 am: Morgan Stanley downgrades Corning, sees reward more balanced against risk Shares of Corning will have a tougher time moving up after their start this year, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Meta Marshall downgraded the company, which is known for producing glass and specialty materials, to equal weight with an improved demand picture. It maintained its price target of $38, which means the stock could fall slightly from its last close. This year, the stock has significantly outperformed the broader market, gaining about 24.9%. “We like GLW’s positioning to participate in many mega trends in the coming years, but we think the current valuation captures most of the NT expected for valuations and we are moving away from our OW given our view of a more balanced risk reward,” Marshall said. in a note on Tuesday, adding that it still sees upside through 2024. The stock’s valuation now accounts for expected improvements in service provider spending and partial de-risking of 2025 valuations for a more yen weak. It also includes some upside from the demand for fiber connected to the AI data center, Marshall said. Pia Singh 05:45: What analysts say about Broadcom’s earnings Semiconductor maker Broadcom beat analysts’ expectations for its fiscal second quarter, sending shares up 13% in premarket trading. The stock was already up nearly 34% this year. Here’s what analysts said about the company after its results: Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley reiterated his overweight rating and raised his price target by $500 to $2,000, implying 33.7% upside potential. Broadcom’s earnings reinforced its position as one of AI’s biggest beneficiaries, O’Malley said, expecting its fiscal 2024 AI revenue to top $11 billion as a more likely scenario. base. “AVGO continues to efficiently integrate VMware and in our view remains one of the best ways to play AI,” he said. JPMorgan’s Harlan Sur similarly maintained his overweight rating and raised his price target by $300 to $2,000. He shied away from increasing print on Broadcom’s future AI revenue, which he thinks is currently conservative, and noted that Google and Meta are among its AI network shipping customers. The stock remains his top pick in semiconductors, Sur said. UBS was slightly less bullish by comparison, with analyst Timothy Arcuri maintaining his buy rating and raising his price target by $125 to $1,735. However, this suggests about 16% upside potential. “From here, the numbers still leave room to continue moving higher, especially considering the large scale of GPU demand and the typical degree of ‘attachment’ for network solutions,” he wrote in a note to on Thursday. Pia Singh names Microsoft a top pick Microsoft is “pursuing the art of AI,” according to Jefferies The investment bank named the tech giant a top pick.Target its price of $550 implies a gain of about 25%. Microsoft shares are up more than 17% this year, building on their 56.8% gain from 2023. MSFT YTD MSFT from year-to-date Analyst Brent Thill said Jefferies hosted meetings with Microsoft executives recently. 2) Core Azure continues to be healthy, boosted by the AI halo; 3) M365 Copilot is on track, expect gains in F2H25; 4) recently [year over year] Operating leverage is impressive given AI’s significant investments.” – Fred Imbert
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