Nvidia, Amazon Lead Analyst Picks; Shopify Upgraded

Key Takeaway

• Nvidia remains Oppenheimer's top pick, reflecting confidence in its growth prospects alongside MPWR, MRVL, and AVGO.
• Amazon named a top pick by Mizuho ahead of earnings, highlighting positive e-commerce trends and AWS growth.
• Morgan Stanley upgrades Shopify to overweight, citing market share gains and potential for increased operating leverage.

Analyst Insights on Tech Giants

Oppenheimer maintains Nvidia as a top pick, emphasizing the company's position as a best investment idea. The firm highlights Nvidia's potential for long-term structural growth and includes it among its top picks alongside MPWR, MRVL, and AVGO. This endorsement reflects confidence in Nvidia's market position and growth prospects.

Morgan Stanley reiterates its overweight rating on Ford and General Motors, citing optimism for both automakers. The firm believes that significant improvement in the return on incremental invested capital (ROIIC) could unlock upside potential for the companies' share prices, especially as the industry navigates through the electric vehicle (EV) recession.

E-Commerce and Streaming Platforms in Focus

Mizuho names Amazon as a top pick ahead of its earnings on April 30, driven by positive e-commerce checks and accelerating Amazon Web Services trends. This bullish stance underscores the firm's confidence in Amazon's continued growth and market dominance.

Canaccord downgrades Netflix to hold from buy, suggesting limited growth catalysts in the near term despite solid results and outlook. The firm advises investors to seek better value elsewhere, noting Netflix's significant stock performance over the past year.

Bank of America reiterates its buy rating on Netflix, raising its price objective to $700 from $650. This continued support follows Netflix's earnings, highlighting the firm's optimism about the streaming giant's future performance.

Solar Sector and Consumer Goods Adjustments

Wells Fargo upgrades First Solar to overweight from equal weight, citing the company's relative stability and potential catalysts in a challenging solar market. Conversely, Sunnova is downgraded to equal weight as higher interest rates may persist longer than anticipated.

Edward Jones downgrades Hershey to hold from buy, pointing to headwinds from record-high cocoa prices that could limit near-term earnings growth. Despite Hershey's strong brand presence, the firm anticipates challenges in offsetting higher cocoa costs.

Retail and Technology Sector Movements

Jefferies downgrades Ulta Beauty to hold from buy due to increasing competition and challenges in the prestige makeup segment. The firm's concerns about market share and promotional pressures contribute to a more cautious outlook on Ulta's stock.

Morgan Stanley upgrades Shopify to overweight from equal weight, citing market share gains and the potential for further operating leverage. This upgrade reflects confidence in Shopify's growth trajectory and operational efficiency.

Street Views

• Oppenheimer (Bullish on Nvidia):

  "We continue to favor structural growth for long term outperformance, but believe investors are beginning to revisit diversified analog names that have lagged YTD. Our top picks are NVDA, MPWR, MRVL and AVGO."

• Morgan Stanley (Bullish on Ford and General Motors):

  "We are bullish on F and GM. In our opinion, the key to unlocking upside potential for both Ford’s and GM’s share prices is showing significant improvement in the return on incremental invested capital (ROIIC), where we see multiple paths of improvement as we pass through the EV recession."

• Mizuho (Bullish on Amazon):

  "Into the print, Amazon is our top pick due to the positive e-commerce checks and accelerating [Amazon Web Services] trends."

• Canaccord (Neutral on Netflix):

  "Despite these mostly solid results and outlook, we see limited growth catalysts for the next few quarters and with the stock up ~90% over the last 12 months and up ~25% YTD, we think investors may be well served to look elsewhere for upside and are downgrading the stock to HOLD."

• Loop (Bullish on DoorDash):

  "We are initiating coverage of DoorDash with a Buy rating and $170 price target. We think that years of debate over viability and earnings potential of on-demand gig platforms has been settled."

• Bank of America (Bullish on Netflix):

  "We reiterate Buy and raise our price objective to $700 (from $650)."

• Loop (Bullish on Instacart):

  "Instacart is the leader in grocery delivery in the U.S. by a wide margin and has been gaining share."

• Jefferies (Neutral on Ulta Beauty): > "The prestige makeup composition at ULTA is heavily weighted towards legacy brands (e.g Clinique, Estee, even MAC, etc), which while they’ve been gradually losing share for years (ex. 3), diversification efforts have been unsuccessful.”

• B Riley(** Bullish **on Lam Research): > "Inthe past month ,we've become much more confidenton Memory's2H24-through -2026 fundamentals,andwiththat,LRCX's revenue ramp potential .”

• Wells Fargo(** Neutral on Sunnova, Bullis h **on First Solar): > "As th esolar sector continues t ostruggle dueto several headwinds ,we're getting more defensive withour ratings.UpgradingFSLRto OWduetorelativestability&severalpotentialcatalysts.DowngradingNOVAtoEWasratesmaystayhigherforlonger.”

Edward Jones(** Neutral **on Hershey): > "Hersheyisfacingheadwindsfromrecord-highcoc oaprices ,whichweexpecttolimitnear-termearningsgrowth.Hersheyhashighlyrecognizablebrandsandaleadingpositionin theattractiveandfast-growingconfectionerycategory.”

BankofAmerica(** Bulli sh **on Meta) : >"Weremainpositiveo nMetaandreiterat eourthesisthatReels,Messaging,andAI-drivenadimprovementsarestillearly,andcouldleadtopositiveproductsurprises&revenuemomentumin2024.”

JPMorgan(**> B ulli sh * *o nCoca-Cola ) :" FavorableSetUpfor2024,A lthoughMoreCautiousonVolumesin1Qvs.Street;NotExpectingGuidanceRaise.”

Wolfe(**> B ulli sh* *o nBankofAmerica ): “ BAC:Upgrade t oOP–UnderearningFirmsShouldn’tTradeataDiscount.”

RaymondJames(**> N eutral* *o nPureStorage ): “ Puregeneratesnearlyhalfitssalesfromsubscriptions/re