(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Friday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Microsoft and Lyft were among the stocks being discussed by analysts on Friday. Oppenheimer raised its price target on Microsoft to $500 on the potential of increasing AI adoption. Lyft, meanwhile, was upgraded to buy at Loop Capital. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:56 a.m.: PVH shares can rally more than 40%, UBS says PVH can surge with more strong earnings in its future, according to UBS. Analyst Jay Sole upped his price target on the clothing maker by $14 to $174, now suggesting upside of 43.4%. Sole has a buy rating on the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger parent. Earlier this week, PVH posted a first-quarter financial report that beat analyst expectations on both lines. In addition, the company shared solid guidance for earnings per share in the current quarter and full year. After the earnings report, Sole said he believes the sales growth rate should continue accelerating and gross margins should reach new heights. He also told clients to expect more quarters with earnings beat and expectations for future results increased. “We think PVH has the brand strength and balance sheet to drive earnings growth over the long term,” he said. “Importantly, we anticipate more beat and raise quarters over the NTM.” PVH has slipped about 0.7% in 2024, bucking the broader market’s ascent. — Alex Harring 6:45 a.m.: Morgan Stanley says Colgate-Palmolive is still a smart investing idea Colgate-Palmolive remains a top pick of Morgan Stanley given its defensiveness and likelihood of sustained outperformance. Analyst Dara Mohsenian reiterated her overweight rating and top pick distinction within the household and personal care space. Mohsenian’s $103 price target reflects a 9.6% upside over Thursday’s close. He said organic sales growth should be above peers and market expectations through the long term. Looking through the end of this year, he said there’s upside potential on organic sales growth and earnings per share. “We see a sustained OSG inflection above peers/consensus/what the market is pricing in and clear NT EPS upside,” Mohsenian told clients. The analyst also called the stock more defensive than peers, and said balanced results show it can likely continue posting outsized gains. Mohsenian’s call comes amid a solid year for the stock, with shares advancing nearly 18% in 2024. — Alex Harring 6:44 a.m.: Best Buy shares can return to $100, Loop says Loop Capital sees more room for Best Buy to run. Managing Director Anthony Chukumba upped his price target for the electronics retailer by $7 to $100, now implying a 13.4% rise from Thursday’s close. Chukumba maintained his buy rating on the stock. Chukumba pointed to Best Buy prices inching closer to Amazon’s and computer sales as reason for optimism on share performance. “Best Buy’s price gap with Amazon narrowed from our last pricing study, with Best Buy at virtual price parity in three of the five categories we surveyed,” he told clients. “We are also encouraged by Loop Capital Markets’ technology analysts’ latest PC channel checks, which are consistent with Best Buy’s recent PC sales trends and upbeat commentary.” Shares have already climbed about 12.6% in 2024, slightly outperforming the S & P 500 after sliding the prior two years. If Chukumba’s price target is reached, it would mark the first time shares have touched the $100 level in over a year. — Alex Harring 6:13 a.m.: UBS shaves $10 off Boeing price target as signs point to weak deliveries UBS sees less room for Boeing shares to bounce as delivery numbers now appear softer than previously estimated. Analyst Gavin Parsons cut $10 off his price target to $240, which still reflects upside of 25.4%. He has a buy rating on the aircraft maker. Parsons said Boeing should be able to deliver 400 MAXs this year, lower than the earlier forecast of 425. In the same vein, it should send off 70 of the 787s, also down from the 85 figure previously anticipated. The analyst said Boeing should now see a loss of $1.7 billion in free cash flow in 2024. He previously expected the company to finish the year with a gain of $900 million. Parsons’ outlook comes as the company grapples with a reputational crisis. Shares have fallen more than 26% this year. BA YTD mountain BA in 2024 — Alex Harring 5:59 a.m.: Buy United Rentals as scale propels growth and returns, JPMorgan says Investors should snap up United Rentals shares as it leads the rental equipment industry in growth, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Tami Zakaria initiated coverage at an overweight rating. Zakaria’s $780 price target implies as 23.7% upside from Thursday’s close. “The equipment rental industry is expected to be a key beneficiary of multi-year non-residential and infrastructure projects in the US,” she wrote to clients Friday. “URI’s scale should drive above industry-average growth and returns.” United Rentals has identified five demand tailwinds that collectively account for over $2 trillion in spending over the long term, Zakaria said. She also said that scale makes the company’s per-unit economics more attractive than peers. Shares have added about 10% in 2024, modestly lagging the broad S & P 500’s gain of more than 12%. Zakaria also initiated Herc Holdings at neutral, noting slower growth. Still, her $155 price target suggests shares can rally 15.4% from Thursday’s close. — Alex Harring 5:45 a.m.: Wall Street analysts react to Nio earnings Nio reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. U.S. shares of the Chinese electric vehicle maker tumbled nearly 7% in the session following the report, bringing its 2024 loss to more than 45%. Here’s some of the biggest takeaways from analysts on how the stock has done and what could come next: Morgan Stanley’s Tim Hsiao (overweight rating, $10 price target implying 103.7% upside) : “We think the sell-off is overdone and look for the NIO’s shares to regain the lost ground in the coming days, while more meaningful stock re-rating would hinge on sales momentum into 3Q and, to a greater extent, ONVO’s order conversion.” Bernstein’s Eunice Lee (market perform rating, $5.50 price target suggesting 12% upside): “Our recent channel check suggests robust order intake from May carried on through to early June primarily due to BaaS monthly subscription fee being lowered to c. RMB 500/month after discounts & promotions, vs. RMB 980/month at the beginning of 2024. In addition, a portion of Xiaomi SU7 prospects have turned to NIO ET5/T as the waiting time was too long.” Bank of America’s Ming Hsun Lee (neutral rating, $6 price target reflecting 22.2% upside) : “NIO commented that its orders in May exceeded its maximum production capacity of 20k units per month. In the coming few months it expects up to 20k units of monthly delivery (excl. ONVO). With higher sales volume, better product mix, and procurement cost reduction, we assume NIO’s vehicle margin to improve sequentially in 2Q24/2H24. On the other hand, NIO sees R & D expenses for 2024 to stay flattish YoY versus 2023 and SG & A expenses growth < 20%.” — Alex Harring 5:42 a.m.: Oppenheimer raises Microsoft price target Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI and the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence-related tools could spark another strong period for the tech giant, according to Oppenheimer. Analyst Timothy Horan raised his price target to $500 from $450, reiterating his outperform rating. Horan’s new forecast implies upside of 17% from Thursday’s close. Microsoft shares are up more than 12% year to date. MSFT YTD mountain MSFT year to date “Microsoft will regain a dominant platform role like its PC-era influence in a larger AI-driven market, and expand its multiple,” the analyst said. “A majority of new AI applications are built on this partnership because of the strength of OpenAI’s LLMs, Microsoft’s great enterprise relationships, infrastructure optimized for OpenAI, training data, a complete IT bundle, and the AI flywheel of learning from Copilot usage,” Horan added. “Microsoft’s platform supports on-prem (hybrid cloud) and is the best at data privacy, both key issues for enterprises. Combined, Microsoft has unsurpassed network effects, the true barrier to entry of any technology company.” — Fred Imbert 5:42 a.m.: Buy Lyft as targets look ‘highly achievable,’ Loop says Loop Capital has moved off the sidelines on Lyft amid what could be a “successful turnaround.” Analyst Rob Sanderson upgraded the rideshare platform to buy from hold. Sanderson’s $20 price target implies a 27.5% upside from Thursday’s close. Sanderson pointed to Lyft’s targets of a 15% compounded growth rate in gross bookings through 2027 and margin expansion of approximately 4% of those bookings as reasons for optimism. He also called these benchmarks “highly achievable.” Paired with expectations for compound annual growth in adjusted EBITDA of 40% or more through 2027, Sanderson said the stock can “easily” support a multiple of 15-times 2025 estimates. “We are more confident that the new management team … is on track in repositioning the company and has a firm handle on the levers for executing a successful turnaround’,” Sanderson wrote to clients in a Thursday note. Lyft shares popped 1.7% before the bell on Friday. The stock has added more than 4% in 2024, underperforming the broader market. LYFT YTD mountain LYFT year to date — Alex Harring
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