Monday’s analyst calls: Ford set for strong gains ahead, big Nvidia price target hike

(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Monday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) A major automaker and a key chipmaker were featured among Monday’s biggest analyst calls. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Ford after the company reassessed its electric vehicle strategy. KeyBanc also raised its price target on Nvidia and now sees more than 30% upside for the stock. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:05 a.m.: Goldman: Buy BJ’s Wholesale on earnings upside potential There are several earnings-related reasons to be optimistic on BJ’s Wholesale Club , according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Kate McShane upgraded shares to buy from neutral and raised her price target by $6 to $87. McShane’s new target implies a 14.9% gain from where the wholesaler finished Friday. “We see earnings upside driven by a better top-line outlook with the return of volume growth in grocery and solid inflation support,” McShane wrote to clients Monday. That’s “along with greater customer engagement likely in general merchandise categories amid an improving consumer backdrop and the company’s assortment refresh.” In short, volume growth can help the grocery business, while positive general merchandise trends can drive up sales. Trends for the quarter so far also appear beneficial, she said. The Massachusetts-based company’s stock can also see upside through an increase to membership fees, McShane said. “Ultimately, BJ is an attractive club model with a compelling value proposition and long runway for new club growth that should continue to gain market share over the long term,” she wrote. Shares popped nearly 2% in Monday premarket trading. The stock has advanced nearly 14% in 2024. BJ YTD mountain BJ in 2024 — Alex Harring 5:53 a.m.: Buy GE Vernova’s dip, JPMorgan says JPMorgan said a slide in shares of newly public GE Vernova provides a good spot to buy in. Analyst Mark Strouse upgraded the energy stock, which began trading last week , to overweight from neutral. Strouse’s $141 price target implies shares can climb 14.9% from last week’s close. “We believe the pullback presents an attractive entry point for what we believe will be a core holding for investors in the US/global electrification theme,” Strouse wrote in a note to clients. Strouse said the stock can be a core long-term holding for investors wanting exposure to electrification. He also said the company can see upside to forecasts as data centers require more energy. Looking ahead, he said the new few earnings reports can provide evidence into a continued margin rebound. Despite its rough start to trading, GE Vernova shares climbed nearly 2% before the bell on Monday. — Alex Harring 5:48 a.m.: Morgan Stanley sees more upside for Ford stock following EV strategy shift Ford’s reassessment of its electric vehicle strategy is largely good for the automaker’s financials, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Adam Jonas upped his price target on the automaker by $1 to $17, implying 28% upside over Friday’s close. He has an overweight rating on Ford and called it a top pick. “Following Ford’s announcement of a significant recalibration (slower/later) of their EV strategy we make a number of changes to our Ford earnings model that are largely positive and drive a slight increase in our price target,” he wrote in a Friday note to clients. Unit volume for the electric Model e cars was cut by a combined 27% compared with prior Morgan Stanley estimates for 2024 and 2024. Now, Jonas anticipates battery electric vehicles should make up less than 7% of total Ford unit volume by 2030, far lower than the prior forecast of 14%. Ford should see adjusted loss before interest and taxes for the Model e at $4.6 billion and $3.6 billion in the fiscal 2024 and 2025 years, respectively. That’s a decrease from prior guidance showing losses of between $5 billion and $5.5 billion in 2024 and $4.4 billion in 2025. Jonas also cut his capital expenditure outlook for the two years. He now expects $7.7 billion in 2024 and $8.6 billion in 2025, down from prior estimates of $8 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively. Ford management has said the company still believes in electric vehicles, but doesn’t see widespread adoption happening until costs come closer in line with traditional cars. Shares have climbed nearly 9% in 2024. — Alex Harring 5:48 a.m.: KeyBanc raises Nvidia price target There’s no slowing down Nvidia , according to KeyBanc. Analyst John Vinh raised his price target on the stock to $1,200 per share from $1,100, implying upside of 36% from Friday’s close. He also reiterated his overweight rating. Vinh noted “supply chain feedback indicates GB200 with [average selling prices] of $1.5M-$2M are expected to become a mainstream configuration in 2025 and could generate as much as $90B-$140B in revenues in of itself.” He added: “Demand for H20 in China is much higher than anticipated and could contribute $9B-$12B in incremental revenues this year.” Shares have been on a tear this year, surging more than 77%. In 2023, the stock surged more than 200%. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Fred Imbert