Analysts Stocks

      Selected stock price target news of the day - May 19, 2023

      By Matthew Otto

       

      AMAT

       

      Applied Materials reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter, but the management said the memory semiconductor market remains difficult. The chip equipment maker reported adjusted earnings of $2.00 a share for the April quarter, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.84 among Wall Street analysts tracked by FactSet. Revenue came in at $6.63 billion for the quarter, above analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion.

      Segment-wise, the company reported the following:

      • Semiconductor Systems: Net sales were $4.977 billion, with operating income of $1.764 billion. Foundry, logic and other accounted for 84% of sales, while DRAM was 11% and Flash memory was 5%.
      • Applied Global Services: Net sales of $1.428 billion, with an operating income of $414 million.
      • Display and Adjacent Markets: Net sales were $168 million, with an operating income of $21 million.

       

      Shareholder returns: Applied Materials returned $1.02 billion to shareholders, including $800 million in share repurchases and $219 million in dividends.

       

      Applied Materials also forecast a range of potential revenue for the current quarter with a midpoint of $6.15 billion, compared with the consensus view of $6.06 billion. “Our longer-term outlook is very positive as semiconductors become a larger and more strategically important market globally and major technology inflections are enabled by materials engineering,” CEO Gary Dickerson said in a news release.

       

      Wall Street Action

       

      • Toshiya Hari of Goldman Sachs has maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $120 to $135.
      • Krish Sankar of TD Cowen has also kept an Outperform rating with a price target increase from $145 to $150.
      • Joseph Quatrochi from Wells Fargo maintained an Overweight rating and pushed the price target up from $135 to $150.
      • Brian Chin of Stifel kept his Buy rating, and hiked the price target from $140 to $150.
      • Harlan Sur of JP Morgan has also stuck with his Overweight rating while raising the price target from $140 to $145.
      • Quinn Bolton of Needham continues to recommend a Buy rating adjusting the price target from $135 to $140.
      • Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho maintained a Buy rating and nudged the price target from $136 to $140.
      • Atif Malik of Citigroup has also kept a Buy rating with a significant price target raise from $136 to $160.
      • In contrast, Raimo Lenschow from Barclays has an Underweight rating although he did raise the price target from $90 to $100.

       

      Looking at AnacHart we see that indeed Raimo Lenschow from Barclays is indeed that only analyst with a bearish outlook on AMAT while it is rebounding from last year low of $74.

       

      LSPD

       

      Lightspeed Commerce announced its financial results for Q4 and the full fiscal year 2023, while also providing an outlook for the fiscal year 2024.

      For fiscal 2023, the company’s total revenue grew to $730.5 million.

      The Gross Payments Volume for Q4 2023 increased by 70% YoY to $3.8 billion. Meanwhile, the number of customer locations processing more than $500,000/year in GTV grew by 13% YoY in the same quarter.

      The company also reported that its Adjusted EBITDA loss for Q4 was significantly better than their previously-established outlook, and they expect to break even for Fiscal 2024. This indicates ongoing progress towards achieving profitability.

      For Fiscal 2024, Lightspeed plans to accelerate adoption of its financial services and reap the benefits of its simplified product portfolio, thereby increasing the adoption of its solutions amongst more complex merchants, improving sales productivity, and quickening the pace of creating new products and features that drive value for customers.

      The company expects the fiscal year 2024 to bring in a revenue of approximately $875 million – $900 million, with growth stronger in the second half of the year as unified payments roll out. They also expect to break even or better Adjusted EBITDA, inclusive of the costs incurred for the unified payments initiative.

      In terms of Q1 2024, they anticipate revenue of $195 million – $200 million and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $10 million. This loss outlook includes costs associated with launching the unified POS and payments initiative, as well as approximately $4 million in costs associated with their annual sales summit.

      Wall Street Action

      • Thanos Moschopoulos from BMO Capital maintains an Outperform rating, but he lowers the price target from $24 to $19.
      • Andrew Jeffrey of Truist Securities keeps a Buy rating, while he brings down the price target from $30 to $20, still a wall street high.
      • Josh Baer from Morgan Stanley holds an Equal-Weight rating, and he cuts the price target from $18 to $17.
      • Timothy Chiodo from Credit Suisse sustains a Neutral rating, but he reduces the price target from $18 to $15.
      • Raimo Lenschow at Barclays sustains an Overweight rating, but he decreases the price target from $20 to $17.
      • Koji Ikeda from B of A Securities retains a Neutral rating, while he trims the price target from $20 to $18.
      • Clarke Jeffries at Piper Sandler holds a Neutral rating, and he reduces the price target from $18 to $15.
      • Josh Beck of Keybanc keeps an Overweight rating, and he lowers the price target from $18 to $16.
      • Daniel Perlin from RBC Capital revises down the price target from $24 to $21.

      Looking at AnaChart we see that although a few analysts had success with the stock rise in 2021 none had predicted it’s downfall after from $151 to $20 since. All the analysts still carry a positive outlook Lightspeed with positive potential upside.

       

      WMT 

       

      Walmart’s Q1 report beat Wall Street expectations, posting adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share on a revenue of $152.3 billion against the expected $1.32 per share on a revenue of $148.9 billion. Same-store sales in the U.S. also climbed 7.4%, beating analysts’ estimates of 5.5%.

      Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon highlighted the strong quarter, particularly the robust growth of their eCommerce business which rose by 26%. As a result, the retailer increased its financial forecasts for fiscal 2024, expecting adjusted earnings of between $6.10 to $6.20 a share. However, its Q2 guidance was slightly lower than consensus, forecasting earnings between $1.63 and $1.68 a share, with FactSet analysts expecting $1.71.

      The report contrasts with mixed pictures from other retailers, making Walmart’s strong full-year outlook a standout performance. Other retailers like Target (TGT) and TJX Cos. (TJX) have reported muted earnings and cautious financial forecasts.

      Walmart’s performance has also been bolstered by its evolution into other profitable segments. It has seen significant growth in its e-commerce sector, with a 26% increase in the quarter, and a 30% surge in its global advertising business. The company also reported attracting new, younger, higher-income customers and noted that subscribers to its Walmart+ services tend to spend more.

      Wall Street Action

       

      • RBC Capital analyst Steven Shemesh maintained his Outperform rating for Walmart and raised the price target from $160 to $164.
      • UBS analyst Michael Lasser keeps a Buy rating on the stock, raising the price target from $170 to $173.
      • Scot Ciccarelli from Truist Securities maintained his Hold rating on the stock but increased the price target from $160 to $166.
      • BMO Capital’s Kelly Bania kept an Outperform rating and raised her price target from $165 to $170.
      • Robert Ohmes from B of A Securities maintained his Buy rating and lifted the price target from $165 to $175.
      • Paul Lejuez from Citigroup kept a Buy rating and raised the price target from $169 to $174.
      • Christopher Horvers of JP Morgan maintained a Neutral rating but increased the price target from $155 to $157.
      • Finally, Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman maintained his Outperform rating and raised the price target from $160 to $168.

      Looking at AnaChart we see the Walmart stock climbing steadily with all analysts carrying a potential upside on the stock even with more conservative views such as those of Scot Ciccarelli and Chris Horvers.

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