Tuesday's analyst calls: Coinbase gets a downgrade from JPMorgan, two solar stocks are upgraded
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(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Tuesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Tuesday’s analyst calls include upgrades to two solar names and a downgrade to a key crypto stock. Truist raised its rating on Sunnova and Enphase Energy to buy from hold, noting the stocks should get a boost as the Federal Reserve starts cutting rates. On a more downbeat note, JPMorgan cut Coinbase to underweight from neutral, calling for a steep decline ahead for the stock. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:41 a.m.: Cantor Fitzgerald is finally bullish on semiconductors — specifically Nvidia Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of several semiconductor stocks, including Nvidia as one of its best ideas for 2024. The firm thinks Nvidia will outperform earnings expectations and hike up its consensus estimates throughout 2024 and 2025, leading shares to also climb. Cantor’s $775 price target indicates 29.9% upside from Monday’s close. Analyst C.J. Muse said he sees 14% upside for its semiconductor coverage universe this year. Given that the market is only in the “early stages of cyclical recovery,” he anticipates another strong 12 months for semiconductor stocks with investors looking for an exit strategy in late 2024 into early 2025. Overall, Muse is betting that semiconductor revenues will grow 18% during the 2024 calendar year. “At a high level, Semiconductors are under-shipping GDP — particularly when excluding both NVDA and Memory…so while the soft- vs. hard-landing debate continues amidst the next move from the Fed being potentially lower, we see the setup for Semiconductor revenues recovering as quite good,” Muse wrote in a Monday note, adding that the most “interesting end markets” for the semiconductor industry are AI and memory. Nvidia is coming off a monster year, rallying 238.9% in 2023 to lead all S & P 500 members on the back of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence. NVDA 1Y mountain NVDA in past year — Pia Singh 5:34 a.m.: JPMorgan downgrades Coinbase Coinbase shares could be in trouble as the dust settles on the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Kenneth Worthington downgraded the crypto exchange to underweight from neutral, reiterating his price target of $80. That forecast implies downside of 37%. “While we continue to see Coinbase as the dominant U.S. exchange in the cryptoecosystem and a leader in cryptocurrency trading and investing globally, we think the catalyst in Bitcoin ETFs that has pushed the ecosystem out of its winter will disappoint market participants,” Worthington said. Coinbase is coming off a monster year, rallying 391% as investors awaited the regulatory approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. In 2024, however, shares have already fallen 26%. COIN YTD mountain COIN in 2024 “We see the potential for 2024 to be a more challenging year for Coinbase stock, despite what we see as continued progress in various meaningful initiatives including its buildout of derivatives,” Worthington said. — Fred Imbert 5:34 a.m.: Truist upgrades Sunnova and Enphase Energy Truist thinks solar stocks Sunnova and Enphase Energy are due for a bounce as Federal Reserve rate cuts draw closer. Analyst Jordan Levy upgraded Sunnova to buy from hold and raised his price target to $18 from $10. The new forecast implies upside of 72% from Monday’s close. He upgraded Enphase Energy to buy from hold, moving his price target to $145 from $85. That target signals a gain of 35%. “It will come as no surprise that 2023/start of 2024 have been challenging for the Sustainability space. Up & to the right growth expectations driven by low rates & a global focus on energy availability have fallen back to earth, taking shares with it,” Levy wrote. “While we’ve surely not seen the end of volatility in the group, we see meaningful upside opportunity moving into the fed rate cut cycle particularly for the resi solar group.” Sunnova and Enphase have fallen 31% and 18.9%, respectively, to start 2024. They were both up more than 2% in the premarket Tuesday. — Fred Imbert
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