My top 10 things to watch Friday, June 21
- Stocks are indicated for a slightly lower open Friday following declines for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Thursday. After reaching fresh intraday highs to start the day, the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq finished lower by 0.25% and 0.79%, respectively. The Dow bucked the trend, climbing 0.77%.
- A key culprit for the roll over Thursday was the ugly reversal in Club name Nvidia as profits were taken in AI winners and momentum briefly lost steam. Meanwhile, Melius Research upped its price target on the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker to $160 a share from $125.
- Nike was upgraded to a buy-equivalent rating at Oppenheimer. The firm also increased its PT on the stock to $120 a share from $110, implying more than 25% upside from Thursday’s close. Analysts think a lot of the footwear and apparel giant’s challenges and expectations are now baked into shares, and the stock could rally gradually.
- Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi raised his price target on Club holding Apple to $240 a share from $195 on AI monetization opportunities, implying more than 14% upside from Thursday’s close. It’s another notable call from an analyst who turned heads in late April when he upgraded the iPhone maker to a buy-equivalent rating after having a market perform designation on the stock since 2018.
- Northrop Grumman downgraded to a hold-equivalent rating at Bernstein. Analysts said the key catalysts that informed their optimism on the defense stock are taking longer than expected to play out, prompting them to recalibrate their outlook for shares. Their new price target is $477 a share, down from $535.
- DA Davidson started coverage of Club name Palo Alto Networks with a buy rating and price target of $380 a share. The firm also added the cybersecurity stock to its “Best of Breed Bison” list. Analysts argued Palo Alto’s platformization strategy is working and leading to larger deals. They are focusing more on cRPO and ARR growth and not billings â echoing an argument we made last month.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to a buy-equivalent rating, saying that expectations for higher copper and gold prices will benefit the miner. The firm also upgraded Alcoa to a buy-equivalent rating on aluminum pricing.
- Snowflake‘s price target at Wells Fargo was lowered to $200 a share from $225, though analysts kept their buy rating on the data-analytics stock. It’s been tough sledding for the stock since February, when then-CEO Frank Slootman announced his retirement alongside weaker-than-expected guidance.
- CarMax shares edged higher Friday after the company reported a slight earnings beat on softer revenues. CarMax’s quarterly profit was 33% lower than a year ago, reflecting the challenges facing used-vehicle retailers.
- JPMorgan lowered its price target on Kroger shares to $58 each from $60, but analysts maintained their overweight rating on the grocer, arguing that its second-quarter guidance is conservative.
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