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BBY, PG, SNAP...
4/24/2019 11:04am
Best Buy, P&G, Snap upgrades among today's top analyst calls

Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.

JEFFERIES BOOSTS BEST BUY TO BUY: Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewski upgraded Best Buy (BBY) to Buy from Hold and raised his price target for the shares to $88 from $72. Survey and data work suggest Best Buy's greater push toward services will drive long-term value and customer wallet share, Matuszewski told investors in a research note. The analyst now has increased confidence in the company's In-Home Advisor initiative and the "upward trajectory of high-margin services that it feeds," including Total Tech Support. Matuszewski also thinks the consumer electronics cycle will be stronger than many believe and that Best Buy is well positioned to capitalize. After analyzing the company's share of voice for top consumer electronics products and phrases, the analyst believes "outsized share gains lie ahead, especially as pricing versus peers improves.

BARCLAYS BOOSTS PROCTER & GAMBLE TO OVERWEIGHT: Barclays analyst Lauren Lieberman upgraded Procter & Gamble (PG) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised her price target for the shares to $112 from $94. The market is shrugging off Procter & Gamble's 5% organic sales growth in its fiscal Q3, with many investors thinking this is the best it can get, Lieberman told investors in a research note. The analyst, however, does not think it is. Unlike in past years when Procter & Gamble lost share in a growing market environment, the company is finally at a point where it is driving category growth and gaining share on a global basis, said the analyst. She believes P&G can both step up reinvestment and deliver high-single digit operating profit growth in fiscal 2020.

JPMORGAN BOOSTS SNAP TO NEUTRAL: JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth upgraded Snap (SNAP) to Neutral from Underweight and raised his price target for the shares to $11 from $7. Following Tuesday's Q1 results, the analyst is more encouraged by the company's Andriod rollout and progress across its advertising platform. He believes Snap sped up its Android app rollout based on favorable early trends. Further, the company grew daily active users quarter-over-quarter for the first time in four quarters in Q1, adding 4M to 190M, Anmuth told investors in a research note. He thinks Snap has grown operationally stronger and more disciplined. However, while encouraged by the new Android app rollout, Anmuth also believes it will be challenging for Snap to "age-up its user base over time."

PIPER JAFFRAY CUTS KRAFT HEINZ TO UNDERWEIGHT: Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Lavery downgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC) to Underweight from Neutral and lowered his price target for the shares to $31 from $35. Expectations for the company's 2020 earnings are likely too high as it plans divestitures of underperforming businesses, which could be 20c-30c dilutive on a per share basis, Lavery told investors in a research note. He believes a new CEO is the right move, but also that incremental brand spending is needed to rejuvenate Kraft Heinz's "dusty brands," which he thinks could weigh on earnings by another 15c-20c per share.

MORGAN STANLEY RAISES APPLE PRICE TARGET TO $234: Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty raised her price target on Apple (AAPL) shares to $234 from $222 citing a rerating of Services peers' multiples, stating that she believes "the stock can continue to work from here" despite the rally of over 40% from its January lows. She contended that investors still don't fully appreciate the strength of Apple's platform, noting that Street revenue forecasts have been left largely unchanged despite Apple nearly doubling the number of Services offered this year. For context, she noted that iCloud and Apple Music contributed an average of roughly 300 basis points to Services revenue growth in their first full year following their launches. Additionally, Huberty noted that iPhone data points stabilized early in the March quarter, pointing to a positive inflection in China's active installed base share and Taiwan supplier monthly sales having improved at March quarter end. She kept an Overweight rating on Apple shares.

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