(That is CNBC Professional’s dwell protection of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Avenue chatter. Please refresh each 20-Half-hour to view the most recent posts.) Apple seemingly cannot catch a break from analysts. On Thursday, Piper Sandler lowered its ranking on the tech large, marking the second main downgrade for the corporate. Shares are down greater than 4% to begin the yr. On a extra optimistic observe, Barclays and Bernstein named Nike a high choose, noting the inventory may see a pointy rebound after back-to-back down years. Try the most recent calls and chatter under. 6:49 a.m. ET: Morgan Stanley upgrades Allstate, calls insurance coverage inventory an ‘underappreciated story’ Morgan Stanley is popping extra bullish on shares of Allstate within the new yr, calling the insurance coverage firm an “underappreciated story in a favorable market environment.” Analyst Bob Jian Huang upgraded the corporate to chubby from equal weight, citing increased private auto-growth and decrease underwriting losses, which he expects to energy higher earnings progress in 2024. “As we head into 2024, lower inflationary pressure and continued strong pricing lead us to believe that the overall environment should turn more positive for Allstate,” he stated. The inventory rose lower than 1% earlier than the bell, with the agency’s adjusted $171 worth goal suggesting one other 18% upside from Wednesday’s shut. ALL 1Y mountain ALL in previous yr The analyst additionally views the corporate’s valuation as engaging relative to see Progressive and presents a good risk-reward buying and selling at 8. 8 instances 2025 earnings. Favorable cyclical components together with increased pricing and policy-in-force progress, coupled with a greater underwriting margin setup as inflationary pressures ease, also needs to profit Allstate, he added. “Among the personal auto carriers, we believe Allstate and Progressive are both well positioned for growth (albeit from different levels),” Huang stated. “As such, we expect the ~3% PIF growth will position Allstate to take market share at the expense of more stagnant carriers.” — Samantha Subin 6:35 a.m. ET: Oppenheimer downgrades PayPal, cites ‘profitability strain’ Oppenheimer downgraded PayPal to carry out from outperform because the funds firm faces “persistent profitability pressure.” “A mix from branded to unbranded volumes is impacting their ability to stabilize [gross profit] margins and thus operating margins outside of expense cuts,” wrote Dominick Gabriele. “As expenses continue to get cut, PYPL could fall behind peers in innovation. It will likely take multiple years for PYPL’s profitability to stabilize.” The combination between branded and unbranded volumes additionally appears to recommend that PayPal’s transaction margin is headed decrease and more likely to weigh on profitability and the corporate’s means to develop its price-to-earnings a number of within the close to time period, Gabriele wrote. “We see better opportunity in medium-term value creation with limited transition headaches and better downside EPS protection at peers,” he stated. — Samantha Subin 6:16 a.m. ET: JPMorgan upgrades American Specific JPMorgan upgraded shares of American Specific to chubby from impartial, viewing the bank card issuer as a “safe haven” from weak family steadiness sheets. “We believe lower/middle income borrowers are facing pressure from depleted pandemic savings and the lingering effects of high inflation, and expect AXP to offer investors shelter from these forces,” stated Richard Shane in a Thursday observe to shoppers. “Following a year end rally, price appreciation is likely to follow EPS growth (10-12%) rather than be driven by multiple expansion.” Throughout the previous two calendar years American Specific has additionally conveyed the “power of its business model” and confirmed resilient credit score efficiency at the same time as white-collar professions grappled with layoffs, he added. Within the close to future, Shane views uncertainty across the ultimate Basel III ruling, and whether or not persistent higher-income spending can proceed as key points for American Specific. JPMorgan additionally lifted its worth goal to $205 a share, which represents 10% upside from Wednesday’s shut. Elsewhere, Shane downgraded Capital One Monetary to impartial from chubby, citing expectations for a restricted a number of growth and its latest rally on optimistic credit score commentary. “COF has greater exposure to nonprime borrowers, and given our concerns about depleted pandemic savings and the lingering effects of inflation on low income households, we see better risk/reward elsewhere in our coverage,” he wrote. – Samantha Subin 6:09 a.m. ET: Bernstein downgrades Analog Gadgets, says firm must ‘develop’ into new a number of Bernstein is shifting to the sidelines on shares of Analog Gadgets within the new yr as the corporate grows into its heightened a number of. Analyst Stacy Rasgon downgraded the corporate to market carry out from outperform, citing valuation issues because the analog trade faces its reset. “We think the story gets a little murkier in analog-land,” he stated in a Thursday observe to shoppers. “On the one hand numbers have been cut (in some cases substantially), but many of those cuts have already been aggressively bought, and some of the stocks may need time to grow into multiples.” Throughout the analog and large-cap semiconductor area, the corporate’s skilled one of many steepest estimate revisions, whereas consensus expectations sit down a 3rd from their 2023 peak, Rasgon famous. On the similar time, Analog’s a number of has climbed almost 50% and appears elevated within the excessive 20s – even for a “high-quality” firm. “That being said, while a high-20’s multiple isn’t crazy to put on a trough earnings, it seems likely to us that those earnings will probably have to grow into the multiple, and the stock itself may trade sideways for a bit until then, and there may be better places to put new money to work in the space for now,” he wrote. The agency’s unchanged $200 worth goal suggests about 6% upside from Wednesday’s shut. — Samantha Subin 5:43 a.m. ET: Piper Sandler downgrades Apple, cites valuation and handset issues Piper Sandler is popping extra cautious on Apple in 2024. Analyst Harsh Kumar downgraded shares of the iPhone maker to impartial from chubby, citing valuation issues, macro weak spot and a strained handset outlook. “We are concerned about handset inventories entering into 1H24 and also feel that growth rates have peaked for unit Sales,” he wrote. The setup for handset firms seems murky within the first half of 2024 following a slowdown in 2023, with a restoration unlikely till the again half of the yr, Kumar wrote, including {that a} weakening macro setting in China may additionally additional weigh on this enterprise. The troublesome handset setup additionally led Kumar to downgrade each Qorvo and Skyworks Options. Extra adverse information surrounding the corporate’s Apple Watch, on the middle of an mental property dispute with medical know-how firm Masimo, and different authorized battles, may additionally pose headwinds within the new yr, he added. “Difficult comps from 2023 paired with constant currency headwinds are expected to continue in 1H24 with interest rates remaining elevated,” he added. Apple shares lagged behind megacap friends in 2023 however rallied 48%. In keeping with Kumar, Apple’s valuation already seems excessive, buying and selling above a five-year historic price-to-earnings ratio of 24 instances at 29 instances earnings on a subsequent twelve-month foundation. Given this outlook, Kumar trimmed the agency’s worth goal to $205 from $220 a share, representing 11% upside from Wednesday’s shut. Shares misplaced 0.7% earlier than the bell. That is the second main downgrade Apple has obtained this week. On Tuesday, Barclays lowered its ranking on the tech large to underweight from equal weight. — Samantha Subin 5:42 a.m. ET: Barclays and Bernstein title Nike a high choose After back-to-back shedding years, Barclays and Bernstein assume it is time for Nike to show round. Each corporations named the attire large a high choose. Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih charges the inventory as chubby with a worth goal of $142, which means upside of 36.5%. Bernstein’s Aneesha Sherman has an outperform ranking on shares with a $134, pointing to a 29% achieve. Barclays’ Yih pointed to wholesale get well and enhancing margins as catalysts for the inventory in 2024. “Our 2024 best idea recommendation is based on: 1) continued and accelerating positive sales-to-inventory growth; 2) improved product margins accelerating on lower costs; 3) expected wholesale ‘bottom’ in FY2Q24; and 4) new innovation cycle that will be more impactful in FY25 and beyond,” the analyst stated. Sherman from Bernstein, in the meantime, thinks Nike’s fiscal 2025 estimates are down an excessive amount of. “Consensus seems to have extrapolated the weak H2 guidance to underwrite demand weakness through the entire following fiscal year as well. This is an overreaction,” Sherman stated. “The H2 guidance cut was more indicative of current market conditions and retailer timidness in 2024 order books … than of Nike’s fundamental viability as a brand.” Nike shares posted their second straight annual decline in 2023, shedding 7.2%. This comes after a 29.8% drop in 2022. NKE mountain 2021-12-31 NIKE in previous two years — Fred Imbert