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(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.) A chipmaker was among Monday’s biggest analyst calls along with a hospital stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Micron Technology and raised its price target on the stock — though it sees only limited gains ahead. Meanwhile, UBS raised its rating on Universal Health Services to buy and called for a 27% rally ahead. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:39 a.m.: Jefferies initiates U.S. Steel over ‘structural shift’ in market Jefferies said a “structural shift” in the steel market could benefit a handful of producers, including U.S. Steel . The firm initiated coverage of the steel producer with a buy rating and a $45 per share price target, implying more than 25% upside from Friday’s close. That shift is underpinned by a stronger-than-expected economy which has spurred “a metals-intensive fixed asset investment cycle in the U.S.” according to analyst Christopher LaFemina. “On a fundamental basis, X looks attractively valued as the company is the cheapest of the US steel majors on both 2024E and 2025E EV/EBITDA metrics, and is trading well below the 7.4x EV/EBITDA implied valuation in Nippon Steel’s $55/sh bid,” LaFemina wrote. U.S. Steel shares have dropped more than 26% year to date. — Brian Evans 6:12 a.m.: Analysts increase Nvidia price targets ahead of earnings Several analysts on Wall Street raised their price targets on artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia ahead of the company’s first-quarter results on Wednesday. Stifel raised its target to $1,085 from $910, implying upside of more than 17%. “We believe that NVDA is well positioned in markets that combine to yield an overall TAM of more than $100 billion exiting 2025 and a longer-term opportunity funnel that could approach $1 trillion,” Stifel analyst Ruben Roy said. Baird moved its price target to $1,200 per share from $1,050 and maintained an outperform rating. Stifel’s forecast implies nearly 30% upside moving forward. “Our channel checks suggest no competition in AI enterprise for Nvidia for the medium term,” analyst Tristan Gerra said. Elsewhere, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley stood by his overweight rating on Nvidia and increased his forecast to $1,100 per share from $850, implying about 20% upside ahead. “Our checks continue to point to billion+ of upside in April/July with calls for an air pocket seemingly overblown,” the analyst said. A FactSet consensus shows analysts on average expect a profit of $5.59 per share on $24.57 billion in revenue. That implies 8.3% earnings growth from the previous quarter and an 11% revenue expansion over the same time horizon. NVDA YTD mountain NVDA year to date — Brian Evans 5:45 a.m.: Morgan Stanley upgrades Micron Technology Morgan Stanley is turning more bullish on Micron Technology . The bank upgraded the computer memory stock to equal weight from underweight and increased its price target to $130 per share from $98. Morgan Stanley’s forecast implies about 4% upside from Friday’s close. “We overestimated how much significant CY23 losses would weigh on valuation, and underestimating both the economic and narrative elements of AI [memory],” analyst Joseph Moore wrote on Monday. Moore added that the company’s high bandwidth memory products continue to “drive sentiment from memory buyers” while “leading to sustained pricing strength; could see positive preannouncement this quarter.” “[W]e should have foreseen the fundamental and narrative implications of the strength in AI specialty memory,” he added. Shares have climbed nearly 47% in 2024. — Brian Evans 5:45 a.m.: UBS upgrades Universal Health Services It’s time to load up on shares of Universal Health Services , according to UBS. Analyst AJ Rice upgraded the hospital management stock to buy from neutral. He also raised hi 12-month price target to $226 from $189, implying upside of 27% from Friday’s close. Rice cited for the upgrade “enhanced visibility we have into upside to earnings given recent supplemental payment developments, as well as improving operational results.” “We expect UHS to return to its longer term trend of 3-4% volume growth in the segment. Pricing should also remain strong, which will make up for any bumps in the road on the volume side,” he said. Shares were up more than 1% in the premarket after the rating change. Year to date, the stock has climbed more than 16%. UHS YTD mountain UHS year to date — Fred Imbert
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