(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.) A banking giant and a consulting company were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on Monday. Morgan Stanley downgraded JPMorgan Chase to equal weight from overweight. Meanwhile, TD Cowen raised its rating on Accenture to buy from hold. Elsewhere, TD Cowen raised its price target on Costco to $975. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 7:58 a.m.: Morgan Stanley names Autodesk a top pick Investors have a chance to buy Autodesk at a discount ahead of what should be a period when the company’s margins expand, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Elizabeth Porter named the software stock a top pick, saying in a note to clients that Autodesk’s goal of long-term margin expansion to be among the “best in the industry” seems plausible. “Autodesk shares are trading at a multi-turn discount to both design software and scaled software peers … while fundamentals are passing the trough on FCF, revenue growth, operating margin and investor sentiment. As such, we see a favorable risk/reward with an opportunity for both EPS and multiple expansion,” the note said. Morgan Stanley has a price target of $320 per share for Autodesk, which is almost 18% above where the stock closed Friday. — Jesse Pound 7:57 a.m.: Barclays downgrades Procter & Gamble to equal weight Procter & Gamble’s organic sales growth trajectory appears to be falling behind its peers, according to Barclays. Analyst Lauren Lieberman downgraded shares to equal weight from overweight and kept her $163 price target, which implies about 6.5% upside, unchanged. The stock is up 18.4% year to date. “As we’re taking a more disciplined approach to relative valuation and looking at P & G’s organic sales growth trajectory versus multinational peers over the next 12 months we prefer to move to the sidelines,” Lieberman said in a note. Lieberman noted that P & G has been and should continue to be a “best in class operator” in the broader consumer staples consumer, but that the company’s outsized exposure to growth or declining markets — like China — is impacting its sales. According to the analyst, P & G’s overall growth over the next 12 months could be weighed down by a slowdown in other markets even as growth in its home market of the U.S. has remained strong. — Pia Singh 7:50 a.m.: Seaport upgrades Walt Disney Disney is starting to win over some of its critics. Seaport analyst David Joyce upgraded the entertainment giant to buy from neutral, saying in a note to clients that the move was a “mea culpa” from a downgrade in August. “While we have tangibly soft Parks data, it is likely temporary, and emergent [direct to consumer] profitability is getting the benefit of the doubt, with recent price increases and paid sharing announcements possibly supporting further [average revenue per user] and sub growth,” the note said. The new government stimulus in China could also give a boost to Disney’s theme park business, the note said. Seaport has a $108 per share price target on Disney, which is more than 12% above where the stock closed Friday. — Jesse Pound 7:39 a.m.: Citi ups price target on Shopify, sees 30% upside Shopify shares could rally more than 30%, according to Citi. The firm upped its price target on the e-commerce company to $103 from $90 a share, viewing shares as trading at an attractive entry point. “We remain optimistic on accelerating revenue growth in 2H24 with profitability set to inflect in 2025,” wrote analyst Tyler Radke. “We also view Shopify as a beneficiary of a lower rate environment, which will benefit consumers, merchants and drive [gross merchandise value].” Radke also cited an “upbeat tone” from management regarding the company’s upmarket push, payments and merchant solutions products among the reasons for the target lift. — Samantha Subin 7:04 a.m.: TD Cowen raises Costco price target TD Cowen is even more bullish on Costco after hosting the company’s leadership for a post-earnings meeting. Analyst Oliver Chen reiterated his buy rating on the warehouse retailer and moved his price target higher by $50 to $975, suggesting about 10.2% potential upside. This year, Costco shares have gained more than 34%. “Costco’s tried-and-true approach remains at the heart of all strategic innovations; however, in our view Mr. Millerchip’s signature trademarks bring a new emphasis on digital scale, customer analytics & personalization, and membership experience enhancements,” Chen said after his meeting with chief financial officer Gary Millerchip. He cited membership perks such as Costco Next delivery and new app enhancements with inventory availability and search optimization. Chen added that Costco is well-positioned to continue generating “robust earnings growth” over the near to medium term, and that he views the stock as one of the retailers that’s best prepared to win market share over the coming quarters. The company’s square footage growth, membership revenue growth, and physical and digital momentum all lend to Costco’s dominance, according to the analyst. — Pia Singh 6:50 a.m.: Deutsche Bank lifts price target on Robinhood Robinhood Markets’ strong gains aren’t slowing down just yet, according to Deutsche Bank. Analyst Brian Bedell reiterated his buy rating and lifted his price target by $3 to $27, implying about 13% upside. The stock has jumped more than 85% year to date. “We remain encouraged about HOOD’s revenue and earnings momentum from a range of initiatives designed to bring more customers to the platform, better leverage addressable markets, and deepen user activity across products & services,” Bedell said after hosting an investor group meeting with Robinhood on Thursday. Bedell expects the company to generate net new assets at an annualized pace of well over 20% through 2025 and 20% in 2026, which he expects to fuel continued adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and strong double digit EPS growth. — Pia Singh 6:32 a.m.: Wells Fargo upgrades American Express, citing ‘attractive’ EPS growth Wells Fargo is optimistic that American Express can expect strong revenue growth heading into its third-quarter print. Analyst Donald Fandetti upgraded shares to overweight, forecasting continued stable spend growth rates from premium consumers. His $300 price target suggests shares can gain 10.7%. This year, the stock is up 44.7%, far outpacing the broader market. AXP YTD mountain AXP year to date “We are comfortable owning the stock into the Q3 print as we see them hitting revenue est’s, unlike the top-line miss last qtr,” Fandetti said in a Monday note to clients. “While there’s some cooling-off of consumer strength, we still see AXP generating attractive mid-teens EPS growth. We feel best about the affluent consumer vs the low-end/middle.” The thinks American Express is “well positioned to expand on their leadership position” in the premium segment, expecting that the company’s Delta and Gold card refreshes will add growth in their card fee revenue. — Pia Singh 6 a.m.: Piper Sandler upgrades Amerant Bancorp, says shares can rally nearly 29% Florida-based bank Amerant Bancorp’s recent capital raise has positioned the stock for steady improvement, according to Piper Sandler. Amerant on Thursday priced a $165 million gross capital raise at $19 per share, issuing roughly 8.7 million shares. With that, analyst Stephen Scouten upgraded Amerant to overweight from neutral and raised his price target by 50 cents to $25.60. That suggests the stock — which is down 16.5% year to date — can jump 29.2% over the next year. “We are upgrading shares to Overweight based on the attractive risk/reward dynamics in the shares post the raise,” Scouten said in a note, also lifting his 2025 and 2026 earnings per share targets for the bank. “AMTB is now armed with ample capital to grow rapidly within its Florida markets as it has now moved through the last stage of its multi-year transformation and into an execution stage.” — Pia Singh 5:50 a.m.: Morgan Stanley downgrades JPMorgan Chase to equal weight JPMorgan Chase is among the worst-positioned for rate cuts through the end of 2025, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Betsy Graseck downgraded the bank to equal weight from overweight, forecasting very little net interest margin expansion at the bank over the near term. Her $224 price target implies 6.4% potential upside for the stock, which has gained 23.8% this year. JPM YTD mountain JPM year to date “JPM management has consistently reminded the Street that they are asset sensitive and over-earning on [net interest income],” Graseck said about JPMorgan shares in a Monday note. “We see more room for positive [net interest margin] surprises elsewhere in our coverage, model negative operating leverage next year and are taking some chips off the table after outperformance.” Graseck also expects the bank to deliver roughly -3% operating leverage next year, which is the most negative among its large-cap banks coverage. The analyst said that a faster pace of interest rate cuts is generally positive for NIM at midcap banks, while being more mixed for large cap banks. Lower rates are a positive for capital markets revenues, particularly benefitting large-cap banks, she added. — Pia Singh 5:50 a.m.: TD Cowen upgrades Accenture Investors should buy shares of Accenture as the company’s recovery gains steam, according to TD Cowen. Analyst Bryan Bergin upgraded the consulting giant to buy from hold. He also raised his price target on shares to $400 from $321, implying upside of 14.4% from Friday’s close. “ACN reinforced the demand stabilization theme & initial FY25 guide is appropriately positioned for positive revisions,” Bergin wrote. “Gen AI traction, and potential demand tailwinds connected to Fed rate cuts that should be supportive of CY25 IT budgets & tech multiples” “At a higher level, our upgrade is a call on a directional improvement in the Services sector — with ACN serving as a vehicle for many investors to gain sector exposure — and progress across multiple areas of ACN’s business,” he said. Accenture shares are flat year to date. However, they have popped more than 13% over the past three months. ACN 3M mountain ACN 3-month chart — Fred Imbert
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