Notable analyst calls this week: AMD, Skyworks and Nike stocks among top picks
Feb. 08, 2025 9:35 AM ET
By: Tiyashi Datta, SA News Editor
The S&P500 ( SP500) closed in the red on Friday, after investors digested another wave of corporate earnings report from major firms including Alphabet ( GOOG), Amazon ( AMZN) and Qualcomm ( QCOM).
For the week, Nasdaq ( COMP:IND) gained 2%, while Dow ( DJI) rose 0.7%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
AMD downgraded by Citi after Q4 results
Citi downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) to Neutral from Buy, following the chipmaker’s fourth quarter results, wherein Data Center revenue missed expectations.
Citi analyst Christopher Danely said AMD reported decent results and that the company did not provide Al revenue guidance, and it appears AMD’s Al revenue is flat to down for the first half of 2025 with margin dilution. The brokerage cut PT to $110 from $170.
However, KeyBanc and Evercore reiterated their bullish rating on AMD.
Skyworks downgraded as Apple plans to cut content demand for new iPhone
Stifel downgraded Skyworks Solutions (SKWS) to Hold from Buy, after the company reported that its largest customer, Apple, plans to reduce its dependence on the company for its iPhone 17 model.
"iPhones represent ~85% of Apple-related revenue for SWKS, so this dynamic is expected to significantly impact F4Q (we forecast <$900mn in revenue vs. ~$1.05bn consensus prior to the print) and FY26 (we forecast $3.6bn-$3.7bn range vs. ~$3.99bn prior consensus)," said Stifel analyst Ruben Roy. The brokerage reduced PT by about 40% to $62 from $105.
B. Riley Securities also downgraded Skyworks to Neutral from Buy, while Mizuho downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform.
Palantir receives praises from analysts after quarterly results
Morgan Stanley upgraded Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) to Equal-weight from Underweight and increased PT to $95 from $60, after fourth quarter results and outlook beat expectations.
Analysts led by Sanjit Singh said as fundamentals are improving and the likelihood that this proves durable given the stronger 2025 outlook, their original downside catalysts are unlikely to materialize.
BofA also reiterated its Buy rating, while Jefferies maintained its Underperform rating but upped the price target to $60 from $28.
Nike downgraded by Citi, Deckers receives upgrade
Citi downgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Neutral from Buy, saying the sportswear giant’s turnaround plan will take even longer than anticipated as management acknowledged the competitive threat in running and challenges in earning back lost shelf space.
“We no longer have the patience or conviction to wait another year, especially with the stock trading at 39x our FY26EPS and 28x our FY26 EBITDA,” noted Paul Lejuez, lowering his FY26 EPS estimate by 24% to $1.84 based on weaker sales and gross margin.
Meanwhile, Lejuez upgraded Deckers Outdoor (NYSE: DECK), the parent company of footwear disrupter HOKA, to Buy from Neutral. The brokerage said the 25% selloff in shares after Q3 results is unwarranted and was largely driven by fears of slowing growth in its HOKA label, which Citi viewed as “misunderstood/unwarranted.”
Regeneron upgraded by Leerink to Outperform
Leerink Partners upgraded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) to Outperform from Market Perform citing growth opportunities despite recent share weakness.
Analyst David Risinger projects that Eylea HD performance will improve in the second half of the year and uptake of Dupixent in COPD will help drive growth in 2025. The investment firm raised its price target to $834 from $762.
Cirrus Logic raised by Benchmark on solid quarter
Benchmark upgraded Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS) to Buy from Hold following the company's fiscal third-quarter 2025 results.
Analyst David Williams said they were upgrading the shares and setting a $125 price target after the company "turned in a solid" third-quarter performance, beating revenue and earnings by a wide margin, with a healthy upside to the fourth-quarter outlook.
Morgan Stanley reiterated Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) as its Top Pick, noting that DeepSeek ( DEEPSEEK) selloff is a buying opportunity. Analyst Joseph Moore said that sentiment has worsened around potential longer-term risks, but near-term business continues to be firm.
BofA downgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) to Neutral from Buy, citing relative preference for Infineon Technologies ( OTCQX:IFNNY). The analysts think STMicroelectronics' shares could benefit from a cyclical improvement in the second half of 2025 but believe that investors will prefer to leverage it via Infineon — due to its AI server power management and Automotive microcontroller units market share gains.
Jefferies upgraded Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) to buy from hold, citing management's "impressive" EPS track record. Jefferies raised its price target for the stock to $150 from $140. |
