Check out today's top analyst calls from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.
TO DOMINATE DATA CENTER: Baird analyst Tristan Gerra initiated coverage of Nvidia (NVDA) with an Outperform rating and $800 price target. The price target is a Street-high according to Bloomberg. As Nvidia "increasingly moves to platform solutions" targeting and enabling all artificial intelligence markets, while diversifying its architecture offering, the company is "poised to over time dominate data center," Gerra told investors in a research note. The analyst also expects Nvidia to "dominate" the market for chips used in data centers.
RETURN TO 'HIGH-QUALITY' SALES GROWTH: Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih upgraded Under Armour (UAA) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $34, up from $25, following the company's first quarter results. The analyst sees a "significant positive inventory inflection," a return to "high-quality" sales growth in North America, and opportunity for multiyear operating margin expansion from current levels. Under Armour has completed much of "heavy lifting" in terms of right-sizing inventory and exiting undifferentiated /off-price doors, and is now positioned to focus on full-price brand rebuilding from a much healthier base, Yih contended.
UBS analyst Jay Sole also upgraded Under Armour to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $36, up from $26 after its first quarter earnings beat. The analyst noted that while the market believes that the company's "strong" fourth and first quarter results were due to the to fiscal stimulus and an unusually benign promotional environment, he believes that its earnings growth will be "long lasting." Sole added that not only did Under Armour improve its gross margins, but it has also achieved "big" SG&A leverage.
Meanwhile, Atlantic Equities analyst Daniela Nedialkova upgraded Under Armour to Neutral from Underweight with a $24 price target. The last two quarters have shown solid and convincing progress on the operational turnaround of Under Armour, Nedialkova told investors in a research note. While the analyst still sees the brand as positioned less favorably than its bigger peers to take advantage of the currently enhanced growth opportunities, he has seen enough progress on operational metrics in recent quarters to become more positive on the sustainability of the turnaround.
MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: Argus analyst Kristina Ruggeri downgraded Altria Group (MO) to Hold from Buy. The analyst cited the company's lower than expected first quarter revenue as well as the sharp decline in the value of its investment in e-cigarette maker JUUL, along with the increased legislative and regulatory risks - particularly the FDA's plans to ban menthol cigarettes. Ruggeri also lowered her full year 2021 earnings per shar view by 5c to $4.55 and full year 2022 view by 9c to $4.74.
BUY DELL: Citi analyst Jim Suva reinstated coverage of Dell Technologies (DELL) with a Buy rating and $120 price target. The shares are on Citi's U.S. Focus List as a top pick. Suva does not anticipate any regulatory challenges with the pending Boomi transaction and sees positive catalysts ahead for Dell including May 5-6 virtual Dell Technologies World as well as earnings tentatively planned for May 27.
IMPROVING MACRO BACKDROP: Benchmark analyst Mark Miller upgraded IPG Photonics (IPGP) to Buy from Hold with a $230 price target after the company posted upside for the first quarter and announced that its COO will replace its founder as CEO. Further, the analyst sees an improving macro backdrop and growth from emerging products.
