(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.) A chipmaker and a Chinese electric vehicle maker were among the stocks being talked about by analysts on Friday. Analysts gave their thoughts on Broadcom after the company’s latest quarterly figures. Meanwhile, JPMorgan raised its rating on Nio shares. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:34 a.m.: Barclays initiates MicroStrategy at overweight Barclays opened coverage of MicroStrategy with high praise, saying the business intelligence stock is “spinning software into digital gold.” Analyst Ramsey El-Assal initiated coverage at an overweight rating. El-Assal’s price target of $146 suggests shares can climb 22.1% over Thursday’s closing level. “The company’s strategy—to convert a sticky enterprise software business into a bitcoin accumulation vehicle—is unique and differentiated,” El-Assal wrote to clients in a note. “For public company investors looking for bitcoin exposure, we see MSTR as the best strategy available.” This strategy involves management harnessing cash flows and utilizing a software provider’s balance sheet to build a bitcoin pile valued at around $13 billion, according to the analyst. Now, he said the company feels like a bitcoin index fund that can generate its own investment capital. El-Assal also said the company should be able to weather any liquidity challenges tied to future “crypto winters.” His call comes amid a strong year for the stock, with shares surging more than 89%. That builds on 2023’s monster rally of more than 340%. MSTR YTD mountain MSTR year to date — Alex Harring 6:06 a.m.: Mizuho upgrades Fortive following spin-off plan Mizuho joined the bull camp on Fortive following its spinoff announcement. Executive Director Brett Linzey upgraded the industrial technology stock to outperform from neutral and upped his price target by $10 to $90. That new target implies shares can jump 23.6% over Thursday’s close. Linzey’s call follows Fortive’s plan to break into two, independent public companies. He said the new one will focus on secular growth trends through the precision technology business, while the original firm will key in on high-quality recurring growth. The company reaffirmed its guidance for the third quarter and 2024 full year. While the transaction isn’t expected to close until the fourth quarter of 2025, Linzey said Fortive will make share repurchasing a priority in the meantime. “We believe FTV can close the valuation gap with consistent earnings, deal moratorium derisking and repo focus,” he said. He said that emphasis on share buybacks can mitigate any perceived or real risk tied to the deal. On top of that, he said a new chief executive and finance chief can bring fresh ideas, while also noting the previous leaders had solid runs. Fortive shares have shed more than 1% year to date, bucking the broad market’s uptrend in 2024. — Alex Harring 5:55 a.m.: Barclays leaves behind underweight rating for Coinbase and Robinhood Barclays has turned less bearish on Coinbase and Robinhood , with analyst Benjamin Budish upgrading both crypto stocks to equal weight from underweight. Budish decreased his Coinbase price target by $37 to $169, but that still reflects upside of 5.8% from Thursday’s close. On the other hand, Budish lifted his Robinhood target by $2 to $20, suggesting the stock can add 1.7%. “Over the past year+, the business models at both COIN and HOOD have matured,” Budish wrote in a Friday note announcing the upgrades. “While we still see risks for both models, we also see potential top-line catalysts.” Budish said Coinbase’s regulatory environment should be improving, given the two major presidential candidates’ friendliness toward crypto and the approval of spot ETFs tied to digital currencies. He also called Coinbase’s revenue “quite resilient.” For Robinhood, he said there’s likely upside from new products, geographic expansions and fresh investing channels. Both stocks have valuations that now appear “more sensible,” the analyst said. “In short, the factors that drove our Underweight ratings are increasingly turning around,” he said. “We now see the risk/reward for both stocks as more balanced.” Both names were little changed in Friday’s premarket. But the stocks have diverged greatly in 2024: While Coinbase has slid more than 8%, Robinhood has soared more than 54%. COIN HOOD YTD mountain COIN and HOOD year to date — Alex Harring 5:44 a.m.: JPMorgan upgrades Nio After a tough 2024, JPMorgan said Nio could be in for a big run. Analyst Nick Lai upgraded U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese electric vehicle maker to overweight from neutral. Lai also hiked his price target by $2.70 to $8, now reflecting upside of 64.9% from Thursday’s close. That would mark a turn after a harsh year, he noted, with shares down about 46.5% in 2024. For reference, this is slated to be Nio’s fourth straight losing year. “With the stock price halving YTD and hence expectations low, we believe Nio may well exhibit a relief rebound beyond year-end, driven by financial and operational turnaround,” Lai wrote in a note to clients. Lai said higher visibility on new models and the pipeline entering 2025 is one reason for optimism. To be specific, the analyst said he raised volume estimates for the second half of 2024 and the 2025 year by between 11% and 13%. Additionally, Lai pointed to the company’s improving cash position, which can mitigate investor concerns around fund raises or equity dilution risks. On this topic, he specifically noted that operating cash flow should turn positive in the latter half of this year. — Alex Harring 5:44 a.m.: Analysts react to Broadcom’s fiscal third-quarter results Broadcom shares dropped 10% in the premarket after lackluster fiscal third-quarter results and somewhat muted guidance . Here’s what some analysts had to say after the report: UBS: Analyst Timothy Arcuri maintained a buy rating on the stock but lowered his price target to $170 from $173.50. The new target implies upside of 11.2%. “AVGO raised full year AI revenue, but results fell maybe a bit shy of expectations and overall revenue guidance was a touch below Street. Combined w/investor reaction post NVDA’s report (strong guide but a touch below investor bogeys), it may be tempting to connect these and conclude the AI trade is slowing but we disagree,” he said. JPMorgan: Analyst Harlan Sur, who has an overweight rating on shares, raised his price target to $210 from $200. The new target implies upside of 37.4%. “Overall, the team continues to drive a stable growth revenue growth profile even in a period of macro volatility given its portfolio breadth/diversification/product cycles,” he said. Deutsche Bank: “While AVGO delivered a solid report/guide (in-line revs, slightly better EPS in both), we expect investors to be somewhat disappointed as the lack of more meaningful upside, especially in AI, … overwhelms increasingly positive bookings trends in AI, non-AI semis and VMW,” said analyst Ross Seymore. AVGO 1D mountain AVGO drops — Fred Imbert
