Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Alphabet as overweight In a note to clients, the firm outlined four areas the company can work on to improve its multiple. “A) Improved GenAI disclosure B) Rev, opex and capex guidance with upward revisions C) More complete segment disclosure D) More emphasis of GOOGL’s positive societal impacts.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight The firm said iPhone 16 demand may not be as bad as feared after comments from the T-Mobile CEO. “However today’s comments from TMUS’ CEO that iPhone 16 family sales are vibrant and up Y/Y — even before Apple Intelligence is released — with greater potential longevity to the cycle, suggests that demand might not be as bad as feared.” JPMorgan downgrades Five Below to underweight from equal weight JPMorgan said it sees “margin constraints” for the discount retailer. “Specifically on cadence – our work points to August comps down low-single-digits with sequential improvement in 1H September.” Piper Sandler reiterates Robinhood as overweight Piper Sandler said the “opportunity knocks for [an] expanded crypto offering” for the stock trading company. “Bottom line, we estimate ~10%-12% EPS upside to HOOD earnings if the company were to expand its crypto offering to something comparable to crypto native peers.” KeyBanc reiterates Nvidia as overweight KeyBanc said it is sticking with its overweight rating on the stock. “We see NVDA as remaining uniquely positioned to benefit from AI/ML secular data center growth within the industry.” Redburn Atlantic Equities initiates Kodiak Gas Services as buy Redburn said the natural gas company is “attractive.” ” Kodiak Gas Services (KGS), a leading contract compression provider, offers investors an attractive way to gain exposure to structural growth in US natural gas demand.” Mizuho initiates Talos Energy as buy Mizuho said the energy company offers a “compelling investment opportunity.” “We believe TALO’s strategic focus on balancing asset optimization, low risk development/exploitation, and targeted high-impact exploration projects can provide modest but steady volume growth that, combined with the high oil mix and above-average EBITDA margin, result in a cash generation outlook that is underappreciated at current price levels.” Mizuho initiates Northern Oil and Gas as buy Mizuho said the oil and gas company is well positioned. “There are pros and cons of being a non-operator, but on balance we believe NOG’ s combination of scale, lower operational risk, superior cash operating margins, a strong M & A track record, and attractive cash return make for a compelling investment case that stacks up against operator E & Ps.” Raymond James upgrades Safehold to outperform from market perform Raymond James said the real estate investment trust is a beneficiary of lower rates. ” Safehold (SAFE): Upgrading to Outperform from Market Perform, increasing 2025 estimates, and establishing price target of $34 per share.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Nio as overweight Morgan Stanley said it is bullish on the electric vehicle company as Nio unveils its latest midsize family model, the L60. ” NIO’s unproven execution remains the key culprit, on which bulls and bears can argue their respective cases. Market conviction, supply chain commitment and corporate (operating & financing) cash flow will all hinge heavily on the success of the L60.” TD Cowen reiterates Micron as buy TD Cowen cut its price target on the stock to $115 per share from $160 but said it is standing by its buy rating ahead of Micron earnings next week. “As for the upside, we expect a very similar setup, at least directionally, to that of 2H:21, where shares recovered by nearly +40% over a 3-month period (Sep.21 through Jan.22), presenting an attractive risk reward.” Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said it is concerned about the company’s robotaxi event but that it is standing by the stock. “Heading into Tesla’s ’10/10′ robotaxi event we are, frankly, struggling to see how the day can live up to investors’ high expectations.” Barclays initiates Hertz as underweight Barclays said it sees too many negative catalysts for the auto rental company. “Launching on HTZ with UW rating — liquidity questions amid fleet overhaul.” Piper Sandler initiates Abbot Laboratories as overweight Piper Sandler said the medical device company has an attractive valuation. “We are initiating coverage of Abbott Laboratories with an Overweight rating and $131 PT.” Wells Fargo initiates Outfront Media as overweight Wells Fargo said it is bullish on shares of the outdoor ad company. “We’re initiating coverage on OUT with an Overweight rating and $22 PT.” Morgan Stanley downgrades Elanco to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said it “lacks conviction” in shares of the pet biopharma company. “While ELAN’s pipeline progress will offer line of sight to more consistent topline growth & share gains w/ tangible launch catalysts in 4Q/2025, we lack conviction in the near-to-medium term pathway, on the lack of clear superior differentiation in an evolving competitive landscape for key products.” BTIG upgrades DoorDash to buy from neutral The firm said rideshare is a “a scarce pocket of secular growth.” “Checks point to ongoing near-term strength and we see under-appreciated longer-term drivers, leading us to raise estimates (again); DASH is hitting important milestones with positive EBIT and net income expected in 2H.” Bank of America initiates Coursera as buy The firm said it is bullish on shares of the online learning platform company. “We are initiating on Coursera (COUR) with a Buy rating and a PO of $11 (44% upside potential).”
