Notable analyst calls this week: Nvidia, Coca-Cola and AMD stocks among top picks
Feb. 01, 2025 9:37 AM ET
By: Tiyashi Datta, SA News Editor
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The S&P500 ( SP500) closed in the red on Friday, after the week saw a massive sell-off of AI-related stocks sparked by worries around Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek, as well as earnings reports from mega companies including Apple, Microsoft and Meta.
For the week, Nasdaq ( COMP:IND) gained 1.8%, while Dow ( DJI) rose 0.4%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
AMD downgraded by Melius over Nvidia competition concern
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Melius Research, due to a lowered outlook for x86 servers and PCs for AMD.
The research and investment firm believes Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) will slice into AMD's market share in these two areas. Melius also slashed its PT on AMD to $129 from $160.
"We think Nvidia is going to increasingly 'come for them' in both markets with their Arm-based CPUs that are optimized for accelerated PCs," said Melius analyst Ben Reitzes.
Nvidia upgraded after DeepSeek rout wipes off billions
Nvidia ( NVDA) was upgraded by Tigress Financial from Buy to Strong Buy, after the Jensen Huang-led company experienced a rout in its stock related to Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek that wiped off nearly $600B in market cap.
The brokerage argued that Nvidia continues to be a core holding in the powerful AI investing theme and the industry-leading beneficiary of the significant capital investment in AI development. The brokerage increases its 12-month PT to $220 on the stock.
Analysts remains bullish on Meta following quarterly report
Benchmark upgraded Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) to Buy from Hold following its quarterly results and said it was encouraged by its core business outlook.
"We are intrigued with the beginning development of AI engineering agents that can code and problem-solve like “a good mid-level engineer,” Benchmark said and set a PT of $820 on the stock.
Similarly, most of the Wall Street brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, RBC and Barclays appreciated Meta’s earnings report and maintained their bullish stance on the company.
Moderna downgraded on lack of sales outlook clarity
Goldman Sachs downgraded Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) to Neutral from Buy, citing a lack of clarity over its revenue outlook.
The COVID-19 vaccine maker slashed its 2025 revenue guidance, citing low demand for its respiratory vaccines targeted at COVID and respiratory syncytial virus.
While the revised outlook appears feasible, it "leads us to believe MRNA has limited visibility on the revenue stream for the respiratory vaccine business," analyst Salveen Richter wrote, slashing her PT on the stock to $51 from $99 per share.
Kinross Gold double-upgraded at BofA ahead of Q4 results
Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC) is raised to Buy from Underperform by BofA ahead of its fourth quarter results.
BofA analysts led by Lawson Winder see Kinross Gold ( KGC) as well-positioned into Q4 2024 results with potential catalysts in 2025, and materially increases their outlooks for 2026 earnings per share and production to 2M gold equivalent oz.
Meanwhile, the brokerage downgrades Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) to Neutral with an $18 PT, citing increased risk around guidance, particularly relating to the Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali.
Jefferies sees Coca-Cola's business in 'great shape', upgrades to Buy
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was upgraded by Jefferies to Buy from Neutral, ahead of earnings. Analyst Kaumil Gajrawala’s said the company’s business is in great shape.
While the recent strength in the U.S. dollar is seen leading to 2025 earnings numbers being revised lower, Gajrawala and his team think that expectation is already priced into valuation.
Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Stifel, citing revenue growth and margin headwind over the course of FY25. The firm also lowered its PT to $140 from $165.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Twilio's (NYSE: TWLO) rating to Buy from Neutral and raised PT to $185 from $77, with analyst Kash Rangan saying that after several years of growth compression and several strategic actions, Twilio is now hitting an inflection point both in terms of narrative and fundamentals.
Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Compass Point. The brokerage said, "the flywheel benefit of multiple quarters of higher growth and the potential to continue that trend in the near-term should drive material expense leverage and push AFRM towards GAAP profitability in FY25, potentially as soon as 3Q25." |
