Notable analyst calls this week: Snap, Peloton and Skyworks stocks among top picks
Feb. 15, 2025 9:35 AM ET
By: Tiyashi Datta, SA News Editor
The S&P500 ( SP500) closed in the red on Friday, after headlines on Donald Trump’s tariff policy and a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation report in January grabbed the limelight.
For the week, Nasdaq ( COMP:IND) gained 1.2%, while Dow ( DJI) rose 0.5%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
Skyworks downgraded at Argus on Apple worries
Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Argus, amid worries about its Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) business following its latest quarterly results. The company reported that Apple plans to reduce its dependence on Skyworks for its iPhone 17 model.
“Apple is by far the company's largest customer, at 69% of FY24 revenue. At mid-percentage, Skyworks will lose an estimate $600 million-plus in total annual revenue due to iPhone content loss. Skyworks in spring 2024 announced that it had lost approximately 10% of content in the iPhone 16 family,” said Argus analysts.
Benchmark initiates coverage on Tesla, Lucid with Bull rating
Benchmark started coverage on Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) with Buy rating.
The brokerage thinks Tesla has multiple opportunities to fuel growth, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, and energy generation/storage. "Advancements in manufacturing and battery technology have driven down market prices and we see the release of more affordable Tesla models in 2025 as a key catalyst for the stock," highlighted analyst Mickey Legg.
Meanwhile, Lucid is believed to be well positioned to achieve significant market share based on its advanced technology, well-stocked balance sheet, access to capital, award-winning vehicles, Saudi investment, partnerships and highly integrated manufacturing capabilities.
Argus positive on Peloton’s new CEO, cost-savings measures
Argus upgraded Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) to Buy from Hold, saying the company’s new CEO, increased interest in fitness equipment, and cost-savings measures should contribute to a narrower loss in FY25.
“Given his background in the health & fitness industry, we think that Peloton’s new CEO, Peter Stern, can reduce debt, revive subscriber growth, and increase customer retention,” said analyst John Staszak and set a $15 price target on the stock.
The combination of cost-cutting and raised EBITDA led Staszak to narrow his FY25 loss estimate to $0.40 from $0.45 and FY26 loss estimate to $0.25 from $0.30 per share.
Guggenheim cautious on Snap, sees profitability pressures ahead
Guggenheim downgraded Snap (NYSE: SNAP) to Neutral from Buy, saying that the company has well-defined broad goals like increasing user engagement, developing more effective lower-funnel advertising, and improving brand advertising growth, but the effective investment in and execution towards these goals is likely to remain elusive in 2025.
The brokerage also believes that the company’s plan to invest more to be competitive drives further pressure on profitability and cut PT to $11 from $13.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was added to the Tactical Outperform list at Evercore, ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Analyst Mark Lipacis said Nvidia is still the platform of choice for hyperscalers' customers, with it being 5 to 10 years ahead of "anything else in the market."
GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ: GFS) was upgraded by Needham to Buy from Hold after the company's quarterly results and outlook indicated potential for a strong gross margin ramp. “Not only do we forecast a return to Y/Y growth in 2025, but also we see meaningful gross margin expansion through the year,” said analyst N. Quinn Bolton.
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) received an upgrade at Mizuho to Outperform from Neutral with a $259 price target, hiked from $218, citing a materially improved sales outlook after 2026 and a stronger competitive position in the U.S. market.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST) to Equal-weight from Underweight, as analyst James Faucette is encouraged by a favorable environment from both a funding and macro perspective for the lending platform after the company issued robust Q4 earnings and introduced strong 2025 guidance. |
