Wednesday’s analyst calls: JPMorgan upgrades gas stock, Amazon a top pick

Posted By: EN Todayon: June 05, 2024In: General Energy News, Oil & Gas News

(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A gas stock and an e-commerce giant were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on Wednesday. JPMorgan upgraded Sunoco to overweight from neutral. Meanwhile, Bernstein reiterated Amazon as a top pick. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:05 a.m.: Stellantis shares offer ‘compelling entry point’ ahead of investor day, Redburn Atlantic says Muted expectations ahead of Stellantis’ investor day on June 13 pose a strong buying opportunity for investors, Redburn Atlantic said on Wednesday. Analyst Adrian Yanoshik reiterated his buy rating on the Netherlands-based automaker and kept his target price of 25 euro, which suggests about 25% potential upside for the stock from its latest close. U.S.-listed shares are down 6.9% this year after the company posted a major drop in first-quarter revenue. “Recent investor discussions suggest tepid expectations after its H1 profit warning. The setup offers a compelling entry point with Stellantis shares still below 4x forward P/E, despite offering best-in-class returns on incremental capital,” Yanoshik said. He expects Stellantis to address its capital structure, product refresh, production technology and guidance that could recommit to double-digit adjusted operating margin. — Pia Singh 5:52 a.m.: BMO Capital Markets initiates coverage of Old Dominion Freight Line Old Dominion Freight Line is set to outperform moving forward as the freight industry begins to recover, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Fadi Chamoun initiated coverage of the truckload shipping company with an outperform rating and $210 price target. That suggests 22.2% potential upside for the stock, which has shed more than 15% this year. “ODFL has consistently been among the top three performing transport stocks over the past three freight cycles, having returned 4,594% since January 2009 … With the freight cycle having likely bottomed and considering the recent pullback in valuation, we believe the risk/reward is favorable for this premier transport franchise,” analyst Fadi Chamoun wrote in a note. Chamoun pointed to favorable less-than-truckload shipments, or LTL, industry characteristics, saying the industry is poised to benefit from long-term tailwinds such as consolidation and potential near-shoring of manufacturing. Old Dominion Freight Line’s strong free cash flow generation and high return on investment capital are among the company’s traits that support its “long-term value creation,” the analyst said. — Pia Singh 5:46 a.m.: Bernstein reiterates Amazon as its top pick among digital ad beneficiaries Amazon remains Bernstein’s top pick among its coverage of major tech companies as the group saw a bounce back in digital advertising this year. The first quarter saw a “broad-based” recovery in the digital advertising market, but second-quarter guidance could be hinting at sequential deceleration, potentially impacting several stocks that benefit from digital ad spend, analyst Mark Shmulik wrote in a note. The analyst said Amazon will continue to see growth ahead, however, as it views the e-commerce giant as a strong AI beneficiary. He rated the stock overweight with a $210 price target, which implies roughly 17% potential upside. Shares this year have advanced about 18%. “Amazon continues to be our top pick as it demonstrated that it can continue delivering profitability and, most importantly, despite the company guiding up investment intensity, has the ability to fund their AI investments from incremental core operating profits,” Shmulik said. He added that Amazon should see continued OI expansion as Amazon Web Services accelerates and has a multi-billion-dollar AI revenue run-rate. — Pia Singh 5:46 a.m.: JPMorgan upgrades Sunoco Sunoco’s recent acquisition will drive a rebound in the stock, according to JPMorgan. The bank upgraded the gas station company to overweight from neutral. Its price target of $61, up from $60, implies upside of 20.3%. The change comes after Sunoco completed its takeover of NuStar Energy, a deal that valued the latter company at more than $7 billion. “We view the acquisition as a transformational deal and see SUN as a more diversified entity with increased stability, scale, and growth opportunities, with particularly attractive synergy capture potential,” analyst Jeremy Tonet wrote. “We expect SUN to pair its strong positioning in the fuel distribution and logistics sector with NS midstream assets to streamline and vertically integrate the business,” Tonet said. Sunoco shares have struggled this year, losing more than 15%. SUN YTD mountain SUN year to date — Fred Imbert