All the market-moving Wall Street chatter from Friday
(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.) Major tech-related stocks and a big bank were among the stock being talked about on Wall Street on Friday. Analysts reacted to Amazon’s latest quarterly report, which featured mixed second-quarter results and disappointing guidance. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, downgraded Morgan Stanley. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:44 a.m.: Analysts stand by Amazon after disappointing quarter, light forecast Wall Street analysts are standing by Amazon in the wake of a mixed quarter and underwhelming guidance. Shares of the e-commerce giant sank nearly 9% in premarket trading after the company topped earnings estimates but fell short of revenue. Amazon also offered a disappointing forecast. AMZN 1D mountain AMZN drops But analysts arefinding the positive in the company’s Amazon Web Services business, which posted 19% growth and ahead of expectations. That should boost market confidence in the segment’s “positioning (in the early GenAI ecosystem) and growth to come,” wrote Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowak. “AMZN remains a Long-Term Buy for us,” wrote Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney. “Three fundamental catalysts continue to play out – AWS growth is materially accelerating, the North American Retail segment is ramping to record-high Operating Margin levels, and the company as a whole is ramping to record-high FCF margins.” Evercore ISI’s Mahaney forecasts a potential scenario where AWS accelerates to 20% year-over-year growth, supported by gains in Prime Video Ads during the second half. He reiterated his $225 price target, implying roughly 22% upside from Thursday’s close. Bernstein’s Mark Shmulik trimmed his price target by $5 to $210 a share but encouraged investors to use the sell-off as an entry point. The results also suggest that Amazon’s core business suggest is posting “healthy” operating income and free-cash-flow growth. “Zoom out, Amazon is already living up to its potential,” he wrote. “Step in.” — Samantha Subin 5:44 a.m.: Wells Fargo downgrades Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo is steering clear of Morgan Stanley stock. Analyst Mike Mayo downgraded the bank to underweight from equal weight. His price target of $95, down from $99, implies downside of 6.6% over the next 12 months. Mayo cited concerns around Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business as a catalyst for the downgrade. He noted that the stock’s “industry leading valuation seems to ignore deceleration of growth in its higher P/E businesses that drove historical re-rating.” Indeed, wealth management revenue rose just 2% in the second quarter from the year-earlier period. “MS has the highest forward P/E of any large cap bank despite slowing wealth flows, downward pressure on [net interest income] and fee realization, negative flows in investment management, and accelerating insider sales,” Mayo added. “Further, MS doesn’t seem to benefit as much from a capital markets recovery as GS, but trades at a significant valuation premium.” Morgan Stanley shares have gained more than 9% in 2024. MS YTD mountain MS year to date — Fred Imbert
