Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
RAYMOND JAMES BOOSTS APPLE, SKYWORKS TO OUTPERFORM: Raymond James analyst Christopher Caso upgraded Apple (AAPL) to Outperform from Market Perform citing greater confidence in next year's 5G iPhone cycle. Since Apple has settled with Qualcomm (QCOM) and decided to use its modem in the 2020 iPhone, his checks have suggested that Apple has decided to offer 5G across the iPhone product line, including in its lower priced "R" models, said Caso, who thinks "a reasonably priced 5G phone will be a very compelling" reason to upgrade. Among chip suppliers, he believes Skyworks (SWKS) stands to gain the biggest incremental benefit from a stronger iPhone cycle and Caso also upgraded Skyworks shares to Outperform from Market Perform. He set a $250 price target on Apple shares and a $90 price target on Skyworks shares.
BARCLAYS CUTS SKYWORKS TO EQUAL WEIGHT: Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis downgraded Skyworks Solutions to Equal Weight from Overweight while raising his price target for the shares to $80 from $75. The analyst sees near-term risks to estimates as he believes Huawei was not taken fully out of September quarter numbers. Longer term, Curtis has concerns about Skyworks' growth potential given its high exposure to Apple "into a lackluster cycle" as well as the "lagging" Android performance of Android. Further, the 5G "tailwind" only adds a few dollars of content per phone, and the environment is more competitive given the lack of acoustic filters, Curtis told investors in a research note.
RBC CUTS EXXON MOBIL TO SECTOR PERFORM: RBC Capital analyst Biraj Borkhataria downgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM) to Sector Perform and lowered his price target to $90 from $100. The analyst is positive on the company's "counter-cyclical" strategy and longer term potential, but believes that it is faced with greater macro headwinds in Chemicals, refining & LNG sectors. Borkhataria further states that Exxon Mobil stock now trades at a significant premium on Enterprise Value to Debt-adjusted cash flow multiple basis relative to its key peers.
MIZUHO CUTS AMD TO NEUTRAL: Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh downgraded AMD (AMD) to Neutral from Buy while raising his price target for the shares to $37 from $33. The analyst continues to like AMD given its "solid" Ryzen/Rome portfolio and new product ramps, but he's downgrading the shares after a "stellar" 80% rally year-to-date. With the stock at a 10-year high, upside in the second half of 2019 will be more limited, Rakesh tells investors in a research note. This will be due to the PC pull-in that occurred during the first half of 2019, slower Rome ramps in the second half, and pricing pressure from Intel (INTC), contended the analyst. Rakesh said he'd revisit AMD shares at a more attractive entry point since its long-term roadmap "is still intact."
NETFLIX SELLOFF IS BUYING OPPORTUNITY, SAYS CITI: Citi analyst Mark May lowered his price target for Netflix to $410 from $420 after the company's Q2 subscribers came in below forecasts. Despite the sub shortfall, operating income came in above forecasts, as marketing expense came in better than expected, May told investors in a research note. Further, management expects the subscriber weakness to be temporary, and the company's Q3 total sub guidance is above forecasts, says May. He views the post-Q2 selloff as a buying opportunity for long-term investors and kept a Buy rating on Netflix. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne offered several "arguments not to overreact" to Netflix's Q2 subscriber miss, beginning by noting that the company has missed its quarterly net additions forecast once a year in each of the last three years. In all three of these cases, the company has outperformed meaningfully the following quarter, and in two cases the miss came in the seasonally light second quarter, he pointed out. The analyst, whose full year net additions, revenue and earnings estimates are largely unchanged following last night's report, kept an Overweight rating and $450 price target on Netflix shares.
