(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.) Nvidia and three major U.S. airlines were among the top analyst calls Monday. Jefferies raised its price target on the artificial intelligence chipmaker, calling for more than 30% upside. HSBC, meanwhile, initiated coverage on Delta, United and American Airlines with buy ratings. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 5:53 a.m.: Mastercard and Visa have upside potential, Piper Sandler says Artificial intelligence and a handful of other growth drivers can boost Mastercard and Visa , according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Arvind Ramnani initiated coverage of both names with an overweight rating. Ramnani’s $531 price target implies upside of 16.2% for Mastercard, while he sees Visa shares advancing 14.7% to $322. “Both MA and V are attractive businesses to own, given their scale, hard to replicate network, extensive FinTech ecosystem partnership, and tethered to sustainable secular growth within digital payments,” Ramnani told clients. Technology offers a particular edge to the stocks, the analyst said. Ramnani pointed out the proprietary data sets and ability in invest in generative AI as factors that can drive upside to fundamentals. For Mastercard specifically, he said the company should be able to post revenue growth above 12% and have earnings per share increase in the mid-to-high teens percentage range over the next three years. Meanwhile, he said Visa should record top- and bottom-line margins at 11% and 12%, respectively. Mastercard and Visa shares have both climbed more than 7% in 2024. Visa rose slightly before the bell on Monday. — Alex Harring 5:39 a.m.: HSBC names top airline ideas As some airline stocks show reason for optimism, HSBC has recommendations on how to play the space. Analyst Achal Kumar initiated coverage on Delta , United and American Airlines with buy ratings. Kumar said Delta was his preferred stock in the sector. These stocks should be helped by a recovery in corporate travel, strength in demand for international vacations and tighter capacity, according to Kumar. Though cost pressures may not recede in the near-term, he said that can be balanced out by profitability increases and “manageable” capital expenditures. “We argue that a better traffic mix … a tight capacity environment, cost pressure and strong international demand should support better yields,” Kumar wrote to clients. “However, most of the indicators favour flag carriers … while low-cost carriers (LCCs) could face headwinds given rising cost pressures and limited opportunity to pass on the burden.” With a price target of $72.80, Kumar expects Delta to see 38.7% upside. His $17.90 target price reflects the potential for 24.3% upside for American, while Kumar thinks United can rally 31.3% to his target price of $69.20 per share. Delta and United have outperformed this year, climbing more than 30% and 27%, respectively. American has lagged, gaining less than 5% in 2024. — Alex Harring 5:39 a.m.: Jefferies raises Nvidia price target Nvidia’s gains won’t stop anytime soon, according to Jefferies. After an analyst change, the firm kept its buy rating and raised its price target to $1,200 from $780. The new forecast implies upside of 33.5% over the next 12 months. Nvidia shares have soared 81% year to date. However, they have struggled in the second quarter, falling slightly in that time. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date “We believe it’s too early to sift out winners and losers in the AI basket yet, but NVDA is our favorite,” Blayne Curtis wrote. “NVDA maintains control over the entire ecosystem and is taking more pieces of the pie. We expect a strong ramp for the GB200 NVL 36/72, which includes NVDA Arm based CPUs and more networking, which admittedly would come at the expense of others.” Curtis added that Nvidia’s GB200 chip, which is aimed at artificial intelligence and large language model use, could make up more than 40% of sales volumes next year. That’s “important as this would allow NVDA to control even more content decisions, particularly in the early ramp.” Nvidia shares ticked slightly higher in the premarket. — Fred Imbert
