(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Monday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Nvidia and three major U.S. airlines were among the top analyst calls Monday. Jefferies raised its price target on the artificial intelligence chipmaker, calling for more than 30% upside. HSBC, meanwhile, initiated coverage on Delta, United and American Airlines with buy ratings. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:57 a.m.: Susquehanna turns neutral on SolarEdge in wake of earnings Susquehanna moved to the sidelines on SolarEdge following the solar stock’s latest earnings report. Analyst Biju Perincheril downgraded shares to neutral from positive and slashed his price target by $36 to $56. Perincheril’s new target implies 13.2% upside from where the stock ended last week. SolarEdge said it lost $1.90 per share in the first quarter, wider than the consensus loss estimate of $1.55 from analysts polled by FactSet. On the other hand, revenue came in at $204.4 million for the three-month period, above the $195.4 million figure anticipated by Wall Street. But revenue guidance for the current quarter came in well below where analysts thought it would, offering another reason for concern. Perincheril said demand has yet to recover in either the U.S. or Europe, leading to too much channel inventory and a likely trend of under-shipping for at least the rest of this year. With that weak guidance for revenue in mind, he said price reductions can help reduce the overstock and lift consumer interest. “All of this should keep gross margins under pressure, and it’s unclear if margins can recover to the company’s low-30s target,” Perincheril wrote to clients in a Monday note. SolarEdge shares dropped around 1% in Monday premarket trading. The stock has already tumbled more than 47% so far this year. — Alex Harring 6:56 a.m.: Micron can jump above trading range, Barclays says Micron shares could finally break above their historical range, according to Barclays. Analyst Tom O’Malley hiked his price target by $25 to $145, which now suggests shares can jump 19.6% in the next year from last week’s close. O’Malley also kept his overweight rating on the semi stock. With that target price, O’Malley believes the stock can break above the upper bounds of the range shares have previously stayed within. That optimism stems from structural improvements to the memory market as the need for hardware that can power artificial intelligence drives up demand. O’Malley noted that memory is considered “more critical” to advancing semis than it has ever has been before. He said memory should take up between 25% and 30% of industry spend in the future, an improvement from between 10% and 15% today. “Micron views AI as a generational moment for the company and believes they have the best product in the market,” he wrote to clients in a Monday note. Shares added 0.6% in Monday’s premarket. The stock has already surged more than 42% in 2024. — Alex Harring 6:55 a.m.: JPMorgan: GE Aerospace can keep rallying JPMorgan sees more room for GE Aerospace to run. Analyst Seth Seifman upped his price target by $27 to $175, which now reflects the potential for shares to jump another 7.1% over the next year from Friday’s closing price. Seifman has an overweight rating on the aerospace stock. “We’ve also boosted our target multiples in Aero this earnings season and given our view that GE should trade at a premium, we do the same here,” he wrote to clients on Monday. Seifman said investors should continue to expect $4.10 in adjusted earnings per share and $5.4 billion in free cash flow this year. He said aftermarket growth should accelerate at a faster rate than expected, while the company’s original equipment manufacturing venture is “off to a big start.” Overall, he called GE Aerospace the “premier large-cap” within commercial aerospace, citing the business and its cycle, as well as its balance sheet and management. Seifman said the only challenge to owning the stock is its high valuation. Shares rose slightly before the bell on Monday. The stock, which trades under the classic GE ticker, has already surged more than 60% so far in 2024. — Alex Harring 6:14 a.m.: Morgan Stanley analyst calls PepsiCo best name in coverage Morgan Stanley is sticking by PepsiCo . Analyst Dara Mohsenian reiterated her overweight rating for the soft drink maker, calling Pepsi his favorite name covered following the March upgrade. Mohsenian’s $190 price target implies shares can add 5.7% from last week’s closing level. “We see PEP as the most compelling name in our coverage post our March upgrade, with a clear OSG inflection ahead,” he wrote to clients, using an acronym for organic sales growth. That turning point for sales should come after what Mohsenian described as weak results for the fourth quarter of last year and first quarter of this year. Now, he said Pepsi should benefit from easier comparison periods when it reports going forward. Continued strength in international markets can also help the stock, Mohsenian said. Its valuation is currently at “depressed” levels, the analyst added. “Investors should use this a buying opportunity and now look ahead not behind,” he said. Pepsi has underperformed the broader market this year, advancing less than 6%. PEP YTD mountain PEP year to date — Alex Harring 5:53 a.m.: Mastercard and Visa have upside potential, Piper Sandler says Artificial intelligence and a handful of other growth drivers can boost Mastercard and Visa , according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Arvind Ramnani initiated coverage of both names with an overweight rating. Ramnani’s $531 price target implies upside of 16.2% for Mastercard, while he sees Visa shares advancing 14.7% to $322. “Both MA and V are attractive businesses to own, given their scale, hard to replicate network, extensive FinTech ecosystem partnership, and tethered to sustainable secular growth within digital payments,” Ramnani told clients. Technology offers a particular edge to the stocks, the analyst said. Ramnani pointed out the proprietary data sets and ability in invest in generative AI as factors that can drive upside to fundamentals. For Mastercard specifically, he said the company should be able to post revenue growth above 12% and have earnings per share increase in the mid-to-high teens percentage range over the next three years. Meanwhile, he said Visa should record top- and bottom-line margins at 11% and 12%, respectively. Mastercard and Visa shares have both climbed more than 7% in 2024. Visa rose slightly before the bell on Monday. — Alex Harring 5:39 a.m.: HSBC names top airline ideas As some airline stocks show reason for optimism, HSBC has recommendations on how to play the space. Analyst Achal Kumar initiated coverage on Delta , United and American Airlines with buy ratings. Kumar said Delta was his preferred stock in the sector. These stocks should be helped by a recovery in corporate travel, strength in demand for international vacations and tighter capacity, according to Kumar. Though cost pressures may not recede in the near-term, he said that can be balanced out by profitability increases and “manageable” capital expenditures. “We argue that a better traffic mix … a tight capacity environment, cost pressure and strong international demand should support better yields,” Kumar wrote to clients. “However, most of the indicators favour flag carriers … while low-cost carriers (LCCs) could face headwinds given rising cost pressures and limited opportunity to pass on the burden.” With a price target of $72.80, Kumar expects Delta to see 38.7% upside. His $17.90 target price reflects the potential for 24.3% upside for American, while Kumar thinks United can rally 31.3% to his target price of $69.20 per share. Delta and United have outperformed this year, climbing more than 30% and 27%, respectively. American has lagged, gaining less than 5% in 2024. — Alex Harring 5:39 a.m.: Jefferies raises Nvidia price target Nvidia’s gains won’t stop anytime soon, according to Jefferies. After an analyst change, the firm kept its buy rating and raised its price target to $1,200 from $780. The new forecast implies upside of 33.5% over the next 12 months. Nvidia shares have soared 81% year to date. However, they have struggled in the second quarter, falling slightly in that time. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date “We believe it’s too early to sift out winners and losers in the AI basket yet, but NVDA is our favorite,” Blayne Curtis wrote. “NVDA maintains control over the entire ecosystem and is taking more pieces of the pie. We expect a strong ramp for the GB200 NVL 36/72, which includes NVDA Arm based CPUs and more networking, which admittedly would come at the expense of others.” Curtis added that Nvidia’s GB200 chip, which is aimed at artificial intelligence and large language model use, could make up more than 40% of sales volumes next year. That’s “important as this would allow NVDA to control even more content decisions, particularly in the early ramp.” Nvidia shares ticked slightly higher in the premarket. — Fred Imbert
