(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Friday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) With markets wrapping up a brutal week, there was some good news for individual stocks. Analysts at Pivotal Research group see streaming giant Netflix likely to beat Wall Street expectations for subscriber growth and add to massive share gains already seen this year. Also, Krispy Kreme is forecast to benefit from the doughnut maker’s partnership with McDonald’s and shake off pressure following its initial public offering. Other stocks seeing upgrades include Sofi Technologies and Ollie’s. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:57 a.m.: Citi lists CRH as top pick among homebuilding stocks Citi says homebuilding and materials company CRH can gain on peers in the sector and grow its multiple. “Key drivers include US investors gaining comfort with CRH’s integrated model, potential index inclusion later this year, and portfolio actions to deploy capital to higher-multiple US assets,” analyst Anthony Pettinari said. The firm listed the homebuilding stock as a top pick and reiterated a buy rating. Citi raised its target price to $106 from $101, which amounts to about 25% upside from Thursday’s $84.47 close. The company will report quarterly results on May 3, where Citi expects the firm to stand by its full-year EBITDA forecast of $6.55 billion to $6.85 billion. —Brian Evans 6:27 a.m. Loop Capital upgrades Ollie’s, says stock is cheap compared to peer retailers Loop Capital says investors can take advantage of a cheap entry point with Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings stock. “Ollie’s continues to have a long organic square footage growth runway ahead,” analyst Anthony Chukumba said. “Finally, we believe Ollie’s stock is inexpensive relative to its closest comparable companies The firm upgraded the retailer to buy from hold, and raised is price target to $90 per share from $80. Loop’s forecast equates to more than 26% upside from Thursday’s $71.16 close. Ollie’s stock has ticked down 6.2% in 2024. “[W]e are confident in Ollie’s ability to continue to expand its store base for the foreseeable future (including ~48 net new store openings planned for F2024) and note management recently increased its long-term US store target to 1,300 from 1,050,” the analyst added. —Brian Evans 6:14 a.m. Sofi Technologies’ near-term risks are abating for investors, KBW says Near-term risk tied to Sofi Technologies’ stock has lessened as the company raises capital and shares have slipped in 2024, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. The financial services firm upgraded Sofi to market perform from underperform and raised its price target to $7.50 per share from $6.50. KBW’s forecast implies roughly 3% upside from Thursday’s $7.31 close. SoFi stock has been under pressure in 2024 with a nearly 27% pullback. “While we continue to have questions about the sustainability of earnings/capital over the long-term, we believe the share price decline and recent capital raise remove much of the risk of negative catalysts to investors over the near-term,” analyst Timothy Switzer said. “Assuming a stable macro environment, SOFI should now be able to maintain its pace of originations for a full year without needing to raise capital or find a meaningful purchaser of its loans, significantly lowering the near-term risk of some key negative catalysts investors have been focused on,” the analyst added. —Brian Evans 6:07 a.m.: Pivotal Research Group raises Netflix price target to Wall Street high Pivotal Research Group expects Netflix to outperform estimates for subscriber growth and average revenue per user in 2024 and beyond. The firm reiterated a buy rating on the streaming stock on Friday and raised its price target to $765 from $700, a fresh Wall Street high for Netflix shares. Pivotal’s forecast implies nearly 24% upside from Thursday’s $617.14 close. “In the end, our positive investment view remains unchanged, Netflix has won the streaming wars and their continued strong subscriber/ARPU and free cash flow generation should drive the shares higher,” analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said. “The key for NFLX going forward is to press their advantages and keep the flywheel going because the larger they get the more leverage they have over their peers, content creators, the better their product gets (allowing them to drive subscriber/ARPU growth) and the bigger the moat grows around their core business model,” he added. Netflix stock has surged about 27% in 2024. —Brian Evans 6:07 a.m.: Piper Sandler upgrades Krispy Kreme on ‘game changer’ McDonald’s partnership expansion Piper Sandler says Krispy Kreme is on the verge of a major growth narrative after brokering a nationwide partnership with McDonald’s last week. The firm upgraded the doughnut stock to overweight from neutral on Friday, and raised its price target to $20 per share from $14. Piper Sandler’s forecast calls for nearly 40% upside from Thursday’s $14.29 close. Krispy Kreme stock has ticked down roughly 5.3% in 2024. However, analyst Brian Mullan says pressure on the stock stemming from its initial public offering in 2021 “is in the rearview mirror now and things are starting to change in real time.” “Big picture, we think this partnership is a game changer for the business, and we’d expect to see the narrative around DNUT start to improve from here,” Mullan added. —Brian Evans
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