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IBM initiated at overweight by Oppenheimer analysts
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IBM gets a Wall Street-high price target from Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer slapped a price target of $360 on the stock as it initiated coverage.

Oppenheimer analysts published a bullish initiation of coverage on IBM on Friday, spotlighting software sales growth as a bright spot and the potentially rich growth in AI-related businesses to develop as reasons for their “overweight” rating:

Our bullish stance is predicated upon the following: (1) IBMs software portfolio should see sustained double-digit revenue growth driven by strength in Automation (primarily HashiCorp) and improving growth in RedHat; (2) Consulting should grow at a sustained low-single-digits with recovery in application development/management; and (3) additional revenue optionality with creation and management of AI applications (incl. Generative AI).

We believe these drivers will result in strong expansion activity with existing customers, and drive continued gross (on higher software mix) and pre-tax margin expansion. The stock should also re-rate higher when IBMs pivot to software is more widely appreciated.

Investors have seemed to focus on IBM’s software business, which merely met expectations last quarter, contributing to a post-earnings stock slide.

But beyond that, the Street’s view on the stock is pretty divided, with 11 of the 21 analysts covering the stock rating it a “buy” or the equivalent, while six have the stock at “neutral” — or as I like to call it, the gentleman’s “sell” — and four others officially branding IBM a “sell.”

Oppenheimer’s price target of $360 is indeed ahead of the consensus price target of about $292.50, which is roughly where the stock is currently trading. IBM is up about 34% this year, which is what it returned last year, as well.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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