With over 300 new stock recommendations were given today, here are some of the highlights:

By: Matthew Otto

Chipotle has announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2022.

Operating income increased 44.2%, while comparable restaurant sales increased 8.0% and sped up margin expansion.

Moreover, total revenues surged 11.2% reaching a total of $2.2 billion in FY22. Comparable restaurant sales grew even further by 5.6%, placing emphasis on the success of in-restaurant sales which saw an increase of 17.5%. An impressive 37.4% of food and beverage revenue was provided through digital sales, clearly indicating that Chipotle can easily thrive under modern circumstances leveraging this powerful reliable channel into their distribution channels

An even greater source of hopefulness was present in the form of expansion in operating margin, which sat at 13.6%, making for an increase of 8.40%. A notable record was factored by restaurant level operating margin standing as 24%, increasing 380 basis points throughout the fiscal year 2022 signaling positive progress To strengthen results within future years

Diluted earnings per share of $8.02 compared to $4.69 reported in 2021, indicating an increase of 48.6%. After excluding expenditures related to legal proceedings and corporate restructuring, the adjusted diluted earnings per share was recorded as $8.29.

Amidst the pandemic, Chipotle opened a total of 100 new restaurants – 90 locations included a Chipotlane. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, despite opening new establishments, visits to Chipotle’s restaurants fell 10.2%, compared to a 29.4% jump experienced by its competitor McDonald’s in the same period as determined by Placer.ai data collection services. Comparable sales also declined 5.6%, opposing the average analyst expectation for a 7.1% increase admitted by Refinitiv IBES’ market analysis report on this account.

Wall Street Action

• Truist Securities analyst Jake Bartlett gave a Buy rating and setting the price target down from $1825 to $1800.
• Lauren Silberman from Credit Suisse maintained her Outperform rating with a price target at $2050
• Andrew Strelzik from BMO Capital kept to his Market Perform, increasing his price target from $1600 to  $1800.
• Bairnd David Tarantino kept an Outperform rating and raised his price target from $1800 to  $1900.
• Wells Fargo’s Zachary Fadem followed suite keeping an Overweight and increased the prices target by the same margin from $1800 to  $1900.
• Brian Vaccaro of Raymond James maintained an Outperform but raised it up to $1900
• Jeffrey Bernstein of Barclays kept his original Equal-Weight outlook but raised his projection from $1450 to  $1550.
• Jon Tower, an analyst at Citigroup, has reaffirmed his Buy recommendation on Chipotle and upped the price target from $1986 to $2084.
• Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan upgraded his price target to $2080 while continuing to rate as an Outperform.
• Joshua Long of Stephens backed up a reiteration of Overweight following a price target rise to $1760.
• Andrew Charles of Cowen held his Outperform ranking and raised his price target from $1950 to $2050.
• Eric Gonzalez of Keybanc maintained an Overweight rating on the chain despite bringing down his assessments from $1800 to $1780.

 

Fortinet has released their 4th Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Showcasing an annual increase in their products and services. Product revenue demonstrated a 43% year over year growth, while service revenue followed closely behind with a 27% yearly increase. Total revenue also surged 33%, accompanied by billings growth at 32%. GAAP operating income rose by 66%, and Non-GAAP operating income demonstrated positive progress of 52%. Lastly, GAAP diluted net income per share attributed to Fortinet exhibited the highest jump at 67% year over year, while Non GAAP diluted net income jumped 76% annually.

For 2022 product revenue increased by 42% year over year, while service revenue increased by 26%. Total revenue for the year was up 32%, with billings coming in at 34%. This strong growth was driven largely by increases in deferred and operating income, which grew by 49% and 34%, respectively. GAAP operating margin came in at 21.9% for the year, while non-GAAP operating margin was 27.3%. Diluted net income per share attributable to Fortinet rose by 45% on a GAAP basis, and 49% on a non-GAAP basis.

According to StreetAccount Fortinet reported that it exceeded analysts’ estimates in its most recent quarter by five cents a share. This news was met with increasingly more positive responses from several financial institutions.

Wall Street Action

• Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo increased his price target for Fortinet shares from $65 to $70 and maintained a Buy rating.
• Stifel analyst Adam Borg followed suit, setting his own new price target of $72 and maintaining a Buy rating.
• Keybanc Michael Turits however, chose to downgrade his outlook from Overweight to Sector Weight, but maintained the same price target of $70.
• Wedbush Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform outlook while raising the price target from $64 to $70.
• Wells Fargo’s Andrew Nowinski kept his Overweight outlook while bumping up the price target range from only four days prior  of $62 to  $72.
• Fatima Boolani, a Citigroup analyst, has maintained her Buy rating on Fortinet and raised her price target from $65 to $67.
• Baird Shrenik Kothari increased his target price from $70 to $73 while maintaining his Outperform rating.
• BMO Capital Keith Bachman have also kept his Market Perform rating and moved the target price range up from $57 to $67.
• JP Morgan Brian Essex maintained an Overweight rating and raised his target price from $69 to $70.
• Raymond James’ Adam Tindle set an Outperform and updated his price target from $60 to  $70.
• Piper Sandhler’s Rob Owens had a Neutral rating as well as raising his price target from $57 to $64.
• Mizuho Gregg Moskowitz maintained  a Neutral outlook but revamped his target price from ​$60 to ​$68.

Microsoft integrating ChatGPT into Bing

Microsoft has shown their ambition to upgrade and modernize the Bing search engine by introducing the range of AI abilities which powers ChatGPT. The update marks a momentous milestone in creating an interactive search experience, where natural language questions can be asked and people could receive improved answers, instead of just “blue links” as traditional searches had typically produced.

• DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria is maintaining Microsoft with a Buy rating and raising the price target from $280 to $325.
• JP Morgan’s Mark Murphy had his price target increased from $265 to  $305 with an Overweight rating.
• Mizuho’s Gregg Moskowitz  raised his proce target from $280 to  $300 with a Buy rating.
• Jefferies’ Brent Thill  had his price target raised from $275 to  $310 with a Buy rating.
• Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan lifted his target price from $265 to  $280 while carrying an Outperform rating.
• Wedbush’s Daniel Ives reiterated his Outperform recommendation while raising his price target to  $280.
• Piper Sandler’s Brent Bracelin maintained an Overweight rating along with increasing the price target from $247 to $290.

FISV

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Fiserv reported results in terms of both GAAP revenue and GAAP earnings per share (EPS). GAAP revenue increased by 9% to $4.63 billion compared to the prior year period, while GAAP EPS increased by 146%. The company also saw organic revenue growth of 12% in the quarter and 11% in the full year. Meanwhile, adjusted EPS increased 22% in the fourth quarter and 16% for the full year. After showing considerable success in its 2022 fiscal year, Fiserv is aiming to continue its positive trend by projecting organic revenue growth of 7%-9%, and adjusted EPS figures of $7.25 through $7.40 reflecting growth of 12%-14%.

Overall for fiscal year 2022, total reported GAAP revenues exhibited steady performance with a 9% increase landed to reach $17.74 billion.

Wall Street Action

• Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette has maintained Fiserv with an Equal-Weight rating and increased his price target from $107 to $117.
• Susquehanna analyst James Friedman endorsed Fiserv with a Positive rating while raising hos price target from $135 to $140.
• Baird analyst David Koning maintained an Outperform rating and raised his price target from $132 to $138.
• Analyst Dan Dolev from from Mizuho set a price target of $135, maintaining a Buy recommendation.
• JP Morgan’s Tien-Tsin Huang revised his price target for Fiserv from $121 to  $132, maintaining an Overweight prediction for the firm.
• Barclays Ramsey El-Assal followed this view and increased his price target from $125 to  $140, continuing to back his Overweight rating.
• Citigroup’s Ashwin Shirvaikar raised his price target from $122 to  $135 while keeping on a Buy Rating.
• Raymond James’ John Davis increasing his forecast from $109  to $135 while Maintaining their Outperform outlook.
• RBC Capital analyst Daniel Perlin upgraded his rating from Neutral to Outperform and upped the share price target from $123 to $131.
• Credit Suisse analyst Timothy Chiodo maintained Fiserv with an Outperform rating while increasing his price target to 132, up from $115.
• Wells Fargo Jeff Cantwell’s raised his price target to $104 from $101 yet keeping an Underweight rating.

 

OneMain Holdings

Reported fourth quarter results for the year 2022, this included diluted EPS of $1.48, C&I adjusted diluted EPS of $1.56, and managed receivables of $20.8 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 5.3% to $1.00 per share and repurchased 1.6 million shares for $57 million in the fourth quarter. In total, pretax income was $238 million and net income was $180 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to $355 million and $262 million, respectively, in the prior year quarter.

• Credit Suisse analyst Moshe Orenbuch maintains OneMain with an Outperform and raises the price target from $45 to $54.
• Northland Capital Markets analyst Mike Grondahl also maintains an Outperform and raises his price target from $45 to $50.
• Piper Sandler analyst Kevin Barker maintains an Overweight and raises the price target from $47 to $51.
• JP Morgan Richard Jaffe has had his price target raised from $40 to  $47 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
• Stephens & Co. Vincent Caintic raises his price target from $44 to $60 and keeps an Overweight rating.
• BMO Capital James Fotheringham upgraded his price target from$36 to  $43 while still maintaining a Market Perform rating.
• Barclays Mark Devries raised his price target from $39 to  $46 with an Equal-Weight rating.
• JMP Securities David Scharf upped his price target from $49 to  $55 while still maintaining an Outperform rating.