(This is CNBC Pro's live coverage of Wednesday's analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A hotel giant and an apparel name were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs initiated Marriott International with a buy rating. Meanwhile, Barclays upgraded VF Corp to overweight from neutral. Check out the latest calls and chatter below.
All times ET. 6:29 a.m.
: Bank of America raises Starbucks price target A shift in Starbucks' China strategy could mean more upside ahead, according to Bank of America. Analyst Sara Senatore upped its price target by $6 to $118, which implies more than 22% upside from Tuesday's close. She also reiterated a buy rating on the stock, which has only gained about 0.
5% this year. With licensing, Senatore believes that lower asset intensity in China would "buoy SBUX returns and its multiple." "Licensing China would also allow SBUX management to train its focus on the US (73% of 2023 EBITDA before corporate expenses)," the analyst wrote in a Wednesday note.
"Because new CEO Brian Niccol's experience includes YUM's highly franchised model and CMG's more selective licensing approach (Middle East), he may be receptive to licensing." — Sean Conlon 5:53 a.m.
: Goldman Sachs says buy Marriott A bullish industry outlook may send shares of Marriott higher, according to Goldman Sachs. The firm initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating and a price target at $267, implying more than 13% upside, as of Tuesday's close. "With most companies lowering 2H outlooks and some pockets of consumer weakness in travel, the backdrop for Lodging in 2024 remains choppy, drawing late-cycle concerns and debate about whether the stocks are priced for perfection," analyst Lizzie Dove wrote in a note to clients.
"As a result, C-corps have increasingly been viewed as less of a safe haven for investors within consumer discretionary, which we believe is unjustified." She believes that a material deceleration in revenue per available room — a key metric for hotels — isn't likely, citing an above-consensus U.S.
GDP growth forecast and acceleration of RevPAR domestically heading into 2025 and 2026. The analyst anticipates that ongoing business recovery, as well as a compressing valuation gap to Hilton, may provide upside for Marriott specifically. Shares of the hotel giant are up more than 4% year to date.
MAR YTD mountain MAR in 2024 "We like MAR's business segmentation which skews a little more towards higher-end leisure (43% of rooms), which we expect to be relatively resilient at the lower end if we continue to see the consumer weaken," the analyst continued. Dove also likes Hilton and Wyndham, initiating coverage with a buy rating for those two names with targets of $245 and $96, respectively. That implies more than 11% upside for Hilton and more than 22% upside for Wyndham from Tuesday's close.
In 2024, Hilton's shares have surged around 21%, while Wyndham's have fallen more than 2%. — Sean Conlon 5:53 a.m.
: Barclays upgrades VF Corp to overweight There are plenty of reasons to get bullish on VF Corp , according to Barclays. Analyst Adrienne Yih upgraded the parent company of Timberland and North Face to overweight from equal weight. Her price target of $22, up from $19, implies upside of nearly 20%.
"We believe the risk-reward is attractive at current levels. We believe we will begin to see incremental sequential improvement in company fundamentals over the next four to six quarters beginning modestly in the fall season of 2024," Yih wrote. To be sure, the analyst pointed to Vans as possible negative catalyst for the stock.
"The biggest driver of the turn at VFC is a turn in Vans, which has been in a multi-year slump. We could underestimate the difficulty in recapturing brand equity at the core Vans brand." VF Corp shares are down 2% year to date.
However, they have rallied 36% this quarter. VFC YTD mountain VFC year to date — Fred Imbert.
