(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Thursday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A major electric vehicle maker and a major U.S. bank were in focus Thursday among the biggest analyst calls. UBS trimmed its price target on Tesla to $165 from $225, implying shares will hover around current levels for the foreseeable future. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, raised its rating on Citigroup to buy from neutral. Elsewhere, Citi said Nvidia remains among its “most favored” names. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:22 a.m.: Bernstein says Robinhood could rally more than 70% as ‘crypto comeback’ continues It’s time to consider buying Robinhood as the financial services company continues “rising on the crypto comeback arc,” according to Bernstein. Analyst Gautam Chhugani initiated coverage of the company with an outperform rating and $30 price target, implying that shares could rally nearly 75% from Wednesday’s close. The stock is up nearly 35% in 2024 and popped more than 12% in the premarket Thursday after reporting a strong uptick in February trading volumes. “The buy-side and sell-side alike, refuse to see what we see – a monster of a crypto cycle over 2024-25,” he wrote. “We expect crypto market cap to reach $7.5Tn vs. $2.6tn today. This leads to HOOD growing its crypto revenues by 9-fold (5x vs consensus), leading to us being 54% ahead on HOOD’s 2025 consensus revenues and 3.5 times 2025 consensus earnings.” Offering crypto trading on a regulated broker platform puts Robinhood in a “sweet spot” as traditional brokerage firms avoid crypto trading. The firm also offers competitive rates versus exchanges such as Coinbase, Chhugani added. “We see HOOD as a 2-year cyclical trade, riding the crypto-led earnings inflection over 2024-25,” he wrote. — Samantha Subin 6:09 a.m.: Citi downgrades Chubb, cites balanced risk-reward Citi is moving to the sidelines on shares of Chubb , downgrading the insurance company to a neutral rating as near-term catalysts dwindle. “Our reserve analysis suggests reserves improved y/y, and we believe CB is positioned to continue expanding underlying margins,” wrote analyst Michael Ward in a Thursday note to clients. “That said, we believe this is already largely priced into shares with risk/reward more balanced, and struggle identifying other N-T catalysts.” According to Ward, the outlook for Chubb appears “adequately reflected” in shares since the firm upgraded the company last year on expected tailwinds from an “overreaction to reserve challenges.” “While CB’s long-tail reserve development trends have remained more volatile than recent historical averages (see figure below), its reserving position looks incrementally stronger to us at year-end 2023” and peers such as Travelers and American International Group. Along with the downgrade, Ward upped the firm’s price target to $275 from $238 a share, implying about 6% upside from Wednesday’s close. The stock has popped more than 14% in 2024. — Samantha Subin 5:45 a.m.: Citi calls Nvidia a ‘most favored’ semiconductor pick Citi is continuing to bet big on Nvidia , naming the AI darling among its “most favored names” in the semiconductor space, along with Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom . “We believe clients are excited about the AI opportunity for Nvidia and AMD, equipment names on positive capex revisions and various CHIPS act subsidies, and NXP on their resilient auto exposure,” wrote analyst Christopher Danely in a Thursday note. Nvidia shares have rallied more than 83% this year, building on 2024’s nearly 239% gain as investors continue to bet on artificial intelligence. The firm holds an overweight rating on the stock, with its $820 price target implying about 11% downside from Wednesday’s close. The firm named Micron Technology its top pick in the space as a recovery begins in the dynamic random access memory market even though the stock ranked as one of the “most disliked stocks” in recent meetings held with investors. “We came away with more conviction on our top pick Micron and more worried on analog stocks like ADI/MCHP,” Danely wrote. — Samantha Subin 5:38 a.m.: UBS trims Tesla price target, cites downside risks to deliveries UBS cut its price target on Tesla to $165 from $225 a share, citing slower electric vehicle demand in the U.S. and Europe, coupled with competition concerns in China. “We lower our 1Q24 delivery forecast to 432k from 466k and are ~10% below 477k consensus,” wrote analyst Joseph Spak in a Wednesday note. “Our revision is driven by slower EV demand (US, Europe) and slower production in NA and Europe.” The revised price target implies about 3% downside from Wednesday’s close. The stock slipped 1.4% before the bell. Shares have struggled this year, falling nearly 32% as demand for electric vehicles dwindles. TSLA YTD mountain TSLA year to date Given this backdrop, Spak anticipates downside risks to 2025 consensus deliveries and noted that forecasts need to “come down.” For 2024, the firm’s EPS expectations are down about 32% versus consensus expectations, he noted. “Though we remain cautious on the numbers and the stock near-term, we stay Neutral,” Spak added. “While difficult to see a near-term catalyst for EV sentiment to improve, if/when it does we believe investors will look to TSLA for exposure.” UBS’ price target cut came a day after Wells Fargo downgraded Tesla to underweight from equal weight and called for a steep decline in the stock going forward. — Samantha Subin 5:38 a.m.: Goldman Sachs upgrades Citigroup Despite its early 2024 outperformance, Goldman Sachs thinks Citigroup is primed for even more gains from here. Analyst Richard Ramsden upgraded the bank to buy form neutral. He also raised his price target to $68 from $55, which implies upside of 18% from Tuesday’s close. “Citi can grow revenue and deliver on expense reductions simultaneously, and there is significant capacity for C to either buy back stock or expand its balance sheet,” Ramsden said in a note. “While we see a risk that C may not be able to achieve its medium-term target of 11-12% [return on tangible common equity] through 2026E laid out during the 2022 Investor day, we believe that the current valuation already discounts lower target returns.” Citigroup shares are up more than 12% year to date, beating the S & P 500’s 8.3% advance. C YTD mountain C year to date — Fred Imbert
