(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street talk. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to see the latest posts.) Tesla and a pharmaceutical giant were among the stocks for which analysts were talking about on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs raised its price target for Tesla, but it still sees a downside for the electric vehicle maker. Barclays also raised its Eli Lilly target, indicating roughly 10% upside. Additionally, Needham upgraded Carvana to buy from hold, looking for more than 25% upside. Check out the latest calls and chats below. All ET times. 8:40 am: Bernstein begins coverage of bitcoin miners with AI data center strategies Bitcoin miners have emerged as attractive partners for AI data centers, and Bernstein has added two stocks with a hybrid data center strategy bitcoin/AI data in its coverage. The firm launched IREN, formerly Iris Energy, with a price target of $26, implying about 78% upside; and Core Scientific with a $17 price target, implying a potential upside of 54%. There is a better rating for both names. Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said in a note late Tuesday that AI data center revenue provides downside protection for miners dealing with volatile bitcoin prices. For example, bitcoin has been on a decline for several months and last week briefly extended its decline to more than 25% below its March high. “Bitcoin miners are being undervalued for their ‘strategic power portfolio’ and monetization option in AI data centers, in a world of limited ‘power,'” Chhugani said. “We believe the AI revenue line provides a bottom floor for miners, with bitcoin moving cyclically.” Bernstein expects the price of bitcoin to reach $200,000 by the end of 2025, driven by “rapid” institutional adoption. “IREN and CORZ are best positioned to take advantage of the Bitcoin/AI hybrid opportunity, in our view. While IREN and CORZ focus ~15% and ~40% of their energy capacity towards AI, we expect 30%-35 % of their 2025E. EV will flow from the AI vertical.” — Tanaya Macheel 08:07: Nomura cuts Super Micro Computer on AI server order uncertainties Super Micro Computer appears to have limited growth potential going forward, according to Nomura. Analyst Donnie Teng downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, but maintained his $930 price target, which implies just 3.8% upside potential. “Following Supermicro’s strong guidance for CY4Q23-CY1Q24, we believe Supermicro’s performance potential changed from ‘easy to beat low market expectations’ in CY4Q23 to ‘less room to beat already high expectations’ of the market’ in CY1Q24,” Teng said in a note. Teng expects a mixed near-to-mid-term outlook, saying the company’s dominance in liquid cooling solutions could be overshadowed by uncertainties in AI server orders. The transition between Nvidia’s Hopper and Blackwell GPUs could affect orders, as GB200 shipments could be a “driving factor” for Super Micro, the analyst said. Teng also thinks Super Micro’s June quarterly sales will come out in line with its guidance as some of its liquid cooling projects were pushed to later quarters, giving the company less momentum to beat guidance. Shares of Super Micro have been on fire this year, rising 215%. — Pia Singh 7:38 am: JPMorgan raises Coca-Cola price target ahead of earnings Coca-Cola is hitting signs that should lead to a rise in second-quarter earnings and a rise in its stock, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Andrea Teixeira raised Coca-Cola’s price target to $72 per share from $68. The new target is almost 15% above where the stock closed on Tuesday. “We continue to see positive valuations for this year, despite some strengthening in the USD, as North American performance appears to be more resilient versus peers and the international outlook appears to be improving,” Teixeira said in a note to clients. Teixeira noted that while Coca-Cola trades at a premium to some of its peers, it has underperformed the broader market with a 6.4% year-to-date gain. “While the relative valuation to PEP is high – now 13% premium vs 5-year average ~1% – we believe a wider spread will remain until there is better visibility on the stabilization/bending in food trends in USA,” the note said. . Coca-Cola is set to report its second quarter earnings on July 23. — Jesse Pound 6:57: Needham upgrades Carvana to buy, says stock could jump more than 25% Online car retailer Carvana is a compelling investment that could lead to “significant value creation” over the long term , according to Needham. Analyst Chris Pierce upgraded his rating to buy from hold and set a $160 price target on Carvana, implying the stock could jump 27.3%. The stock has gained 137.4% this year after its earnings rose in the first quarter of this year, marking a turnaround for the company — which had lost almost all of its value in 2022. “We think CVNA can increase sales of units and differentiate the industry by leveraging its digital-first customer experience and untapped physical footprint,” Pierce said in a note. “After a volatile past, we see CVNA becoming a profitable secular growth story, with increased retail unit sales and improved unit gross profit metrics from leveraging a high fixed cost base.” Pierce added that Carvana has just begun to leverage its acquisition of 56 Adesa wholesale auction locations in April 2022 in an effort to drive growth and efficiency. The company also has an improving balance sheet, according to the analyst. — Pia Singh 6:28 am: Jefferies calls Walmart top AI pick as retailer invests in automation Walmart remains a top pick for Jefferies given its progress in artificial intelligence and automation. Analyst Corey Tarlowe maintained his buy rating on the stock. His $77 price target on Walmart suggests the stock could jump nearly 10.2% over the next 12 months. This year, the stock has gained about 33%. “We continue to believe the company is in the early stages of a $20 billion EBIT growth opportunity, and we share below some of the latest developments that include a partnership with new egress arc technology from Fox Robotics and Sam’s Clubs, ” Tarlowe wrote in a note. to customers. Tarlowe noted that Walmart entered into a deal and took a minority stake in Fox Robotics, which operates the world’s first autonomous, AI-powered forklift, which is designed to fully automate warehouse loading docks. The partnership includes 19 of these forklifts across WMT’s four distribution centers. Also part of Walmart’s AI strategy are its automated checkout checkout lanes at Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, which speed up the checkout process, Tarlowe added. In February, Jefferies wrote that Walmart’s operating income could nearly double by the end of fiscal 2029 from fiscal 2023, driven by automation efficiencies, advertising, food waste reduction and merchandise optimization innovations, among its investments. others. — Pia Singh 6:04 AM: Target has ‘extremely strong merchandising’ but lacks upside drivers Piper Sandler says Piper Sandler thinks Target is a safe play for investors with a longer investment horizon. Analyst Peter Keith assumed coverage on the retailer with a neutral rating and $156 price target, suggesting the stock could add 5.7% over the next year. Its stock looks “properly valued” for a retailer with this long-term outlook, he said. “We like TGT’s strong omni-channel model and believe the company has extremely strong merchandising capabilities. Additionally, we believe the 2024 EPS guidance and mid-term EBIT margin target of 6% look reasonable,” said Keith in a note Wednesday. He added, however, that “we do not see a discernible catalyst to push sales/margin above near-term estimates.” Keith said Target offers “best-in-class” merchandising with a strong focus on the customer experience in its stores and online, and he expects those features to help revive the company’s sales for the rest of the year. The pace of the recovery remains uncertain, however, after a year of boycott-related Target sales slowdown, he said. The analyst also noted that Target has management transition risk and fee risk since its CEO had agreed in 2022 to stay on for just three more years. Shares are up just 3.6% year-to-date. — Pia Singh 5:51 am: Barclays expects Eli Lilly to beat earnings, gain nearly 10% Investors should pick up shares of Eli Lilly as the drugmaker looks well positioned heading into earnings season, according to Barclays. Analyst Carter Gould maintained his overweight rating and raised his price target by $112 to $1,025, implying a potential upside of about 9.9% for the stock. Gould is bullish on Eli Lilly ahead of its quarterly results due Aug. 8, saying he sees an attractive structure for the stock and expects the company to beat analysts’ consensus high expectations. “We expect strong Mounjaro print (+$71m vs vs) and Zepbound numbers in line (+64% q/q), but see room for the company to raise guidance again – and advance ex-Obesity (ie , Kisunla ) adds a new dimension that was missing for most of ’23-’24,” Gould said in a note Wednesday. He added that he expects increased valuation and focus on Orforglipron’s “disruptive effect,” a nonpeptide GLP-1 receptor agonist, in the company’s current stock dynamics.This year, Eli Lilly shares have advanced nearly 60% YTD year-to-date — Pia Singh 5:51 AM: Goldman raises target Tesla’s price but still sees shares slide Don’t expect Tesla’s recent momentum to last, according to Goldman Sachs The bank raised its price target for the electric vehicle maker to $248 from $175.However, the new forecast down 5% from Tuesday’s close.The target increase comes after Tesla reported better-than-expected second-quarter shipments earlier this month. Since then, the stock is up 25%. Mali TSLA 2024-07-01 TSLA as of July 2 “While we continue to believe that Tesla is well positioned for long-term growth given its strong position in the EV and clean energy markets … we expect that weaker market conditions to weigh on earnings In the near term and medium term, we also see the valuation as solid,” analyst Mark Delaney wrote. He has a neutral rating on Tesla
All the Wall Street talk of market moves from Wednesday