Selected stock price target news of the day - January 24th, 2025

By: Matthew Otto

Associated Banc-Corp Reports Q4 Adjusted EPS Beat Amid Revenue Miss and Strategic Repositioning

Associated Banc-Corp reported net income available to common equity of $112 million, or $0.72 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decline from $171 million, or $1.13 per share, in 2023. For the fourth quarter of 2024, it recorded a net loss of $164 million, or $1.03 per share, compared to a loss of $94 million, or $0.62 per share, in the same period of 2023.

Fourth-quarter results were impacted by nonrecurring items tied to balance sheet repositioning, including a $130 million loss on a mortgage portfolio sale and a $148 million net loss on investment sales. Excluding these items, adjusted earnings for 2024 were $367 million, or $2.38 per share, with fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $91 million, or $0.57 per share.

Notably, the Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.57 exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. Revenue for the quarter came in at $63.52 million, below the consensus estimate of $339.78 million. Despite challenges, Associated Banc-Corp highlighted deposit growth of $1.2 billion, adjusted loan growth of $1.3 billion, and stable credit trends.

Looking ahead to 2025, Associated Banc-Corp projects loan growth of 5%-6%, deposit growth of 1%-2%, and net interest income growth of 12%-13%, aiming to leverage its financial position to create value for stakeholders.

Analyst Ratings Highlight Mixed Sentiment Following Repositioning

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Christopher Mcgratty maintained a Market Perform rating, while raising the price target from $29 to $30.
Baird analyst David George kept a Neutral rating but lowered the price target from $28 to $26.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on ASB?

Analyst Christopher Mcgratty (STIFEL) currently has the highest performing score on ASB with 4/5 (80%) price target fulfillment ratio. His price targets carry an average of $2.7 (10.27%) potential upside. Associated Banc-Corp stock price reaches these price targets on average within 94 days.

CSX Misses Q4 Estimates as Revenue and Earnings Decline; Reports Full-Year 2024 Performance

CSX reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating income of $1.11 billion, down from $1.32 billion in the prior year period. Net income for the quarter was $733 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, falling short of the analyst estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Quarterly revenue totaled $3.54 billion, below the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion and reflecting a 4% decline year-over-year.

The revenue decrease was driven by lower fuel surcharge and coal revenue, which offset growth in intermodal and merchandise volumes. Total volume rose slightly to 1.58 million units, a 1% increase compared to the same quarter last year. These results include a pre-tax, non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $108 million.

Adjusting for this charge, operating income was $1.21 billion, and net income was $815 million, or $0.42 per diluted share. The operating margin for the quarter was 31.3%, or 34.3% on an adjusted basis.

For the full year 2024, CSX reported operating income of $5.25 billion, down 5% from 2023. After adjustments, operating income was $5.35 billion. Full-year net income was $3.47 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share, compared to $3.67 billion, or $1.82 per share, in the prior year. Adjusted net income was $3.55 billion, or $1.83 per share. Annual revenue decreased 1% year-over-year to $14.54 billion.

Analyst Downgrades and Price Target Reductions After Q4 Results

Citigroup analyst Ariel Rosa maintained a Buy rating but lowered the price target from $40 to $39.
Baird analyst Benjamin Hartford kept an Outperform rating, while reducing the price target from $39 to $38.
Raymond James analyst Patrick Tyler Brown lowered the price target from $38 to $37.
Barclays analyst Brandon Olgenski adjusted the price target to $38.
Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker lowered the price target to $28.
RBC Capital analyst Walter Loeb revised the price target down to $33.
UBS analyst Thomas Wadewitz lowered his price target to $39.
Wells Fargo analyst Christian Wetherbee adjusted the price target to $34.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on CSX?

Analyst Cherilyn Radbourne (TD COWEN) currently has the highest performing score on CSX with 4/4 (100%) price target fulfillment ratio. Her price targets carry an average of $1.91 (5.77%) potential upside. CSX stock price reaches these price targets on average within 416 days.

Intuitive Surgical Reports Q4 Results, Surpassing Revenue and EPS Estimates; Provides 2025 Outlook

Intuitive Surgical reported its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024, achieving an EPS of $2.21, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75. Additionally, revenue generated amounted to $2.41 billion, surpassing the analyst forecast of $2.2 billion.

This represents a 25% increase in revenue compared to $1.93 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by a rise in da Vinci procedure volumes and an expansion in the installed base of surgical systems. Specifically, worldwide da Vinci procedures grew 18%, while Intuitive Surgical placed 493 da Vinci surgical systems, a 19% increase from 415 in the same period last year.

As a result, the installed base of da Vinci systems grew 15% to reach 9,902 by the end of Q4 2024. Additionally, instruments and accessories revenue saw a 23% increase to $1.41 billion, and systems revenue rose 36% to $655 million.

For the quarter, GAAP net income attributable to Intuitive Surgical increased to $686 million, or $1.88 per diluted share, compared with $606 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, in Q4 2023. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $805 million, or $2.21 per diluted share, up from $574 million, or $1.60 per diluted share, a year earlier. Cash position reported with $8.83 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments at the end of Q4, an increase of $521 million during the quarter.

Looking ahead to 2025, Intuitive expects worldwide da Vinci procedures to grow by 13% to 16%, compared to 17% growth in 2024. Intuitive Surgical also projects a non-GAAP gross profit margin of 67% to 68%, down from 69.1% in 2024, and anticipates non-GAAP operating expenses will grow by 10% to 15%, compared to a 10% increase in 2024.

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Increases Reflect Confidence Q4 Performance

Citigroup analyst Joanne Wuensch maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $640 to $711.
JP Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus maintained an Overweight rating and increased the price target from $575 to $675.
BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman kept a neutral rating and raised the price target from $561 to $622.
Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar raised the price target to $580.
Stifel analyst Rick Wise lifted the price target to $670.
Oppenheimer analyst Suraj Kalia reiterated a Perform rating.

Which Analyst has the best track record to show on ISRG?

Analyst Ryan Zimmerman (BTIG) currently has the highest performing score on ISRG with 17/17 (100%) price target fulfillment ratio. His price targets carry an average of $19.77 (3.65%) potential upside. Intuitive Surgical stock price reaches these price targets on average within 169 days.