Although Oracle missed top-line estimates during Q3, the company’s sales still increased by 18% on a year-over-year basis.  The company’s management team highlighted its ongoing cloud growth and market share expansion.  Oracle also announced that it was increasing its dividend by 25% alongside its third quarter numbers.  

Nobias Insights: 65% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Oracle shares offer a “bullish” bias.  1 out of the 2 credible Wall Street analysts who cover ORCL believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Oracle by these credible analysts is $101.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 20.1% relative to the stock’s current share price of $84.07.

Bullish Take: Vladimir Dimitrov, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Given Oracle's high margin growth and strong competitive advantages, I'm still optimistic on the long-term attractiveness of the stock. With a forward non-GAAP P/E ratio of only 18x and sell-side analysts still have a lot of catching-up to do, Oracle remains as one of my highest conviction ideas.”

Bearish Take: Andrew Kessel, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “The cloud computing company posted revenue of $12.4 billion in the quarter ended February 28, up 18% year-over-year, just short of the Street's expectations of $12.43 billion.”

Altria announced this week that it is acquiring eVapor company, NJOY, for $2.75 billion, in the company’s latest attempt to move away from a cigarette-centric business model.  
Nobias Insights: 66% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Altria shares offer a “bullish” bias.  The credible Wall Street analyst who covers MO believes shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Altria by these credible analysts is $59.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 26.6% relative to the stock’s current share price of $46.61. 

Bullish Take: Dividend Sensei, a Nobias 4-star rated author,  said, “Altria Group, Inc. is one of the most celebrated dividend kings in history. Not just for its incredible 53-year dividend growth streak, but also because it's the single best-performing stock in history.”

Bearish Take: Tradevestor, a Nobias 4-star rated author,  said, “I hope Altria Group, Inc. is proceeding with more caution as well this time after e-"vapor"-ating $13 Billion last time around.”

Broadcom continues to execute on its growth plans, resulting in strong fundamentals.  These fundamentals have trickled down to shareholders’ pockets, with AVGO becoming a favorite stock amongst dividend investors.  Yet, there is M&A risk at play here, with Broadcom’s proposed ~$60 billion acquisition of VMWare still up in the air.  

Nobias Insights: 90% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Broadcom shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  3 out of the 4 credible Wall Street analysts who cover AVGO believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to AVGO by these credible analysts is $626.25, which implies downside potential of approximately 1.0% relative to the stock’s current share price of $632.76.  

Bullish Take: Nobias 4-star rated author, Jonathan Wheeler, said, “I've long admired Broadcom from afar, but haven't opened a position. I think that's going to change here in the near future. The more I dig into the company, the more I like it.”

Bearish Take: Vladimir Dimitrov, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, However, organic growth is slowing down, and Broadcom Inc.'s more aggressive movement into infrastructure software also holds a number of risks. These risks were not as pronounced in the company's prior deals. Thus, investors should not rely so heavily on Broadcom Inc.'s prior success. Although I see Broadcom Inc. as one of the best-positioned semiconductors stocks, I have a hard time turning bullish on the stock.

After a strong post-pandemic rally (since during 2020, 2021 and 2022, Lowe’s earnings-per-share increased by 55%, 35%, and 15%, respectively) Lowe’s highlighted poor 2023 growth guidance, causing its shares to sell-off this week.  Yet, even so, credible authors and analysts have pointed to Lowe’s historically cheap valuation as a source of bullish sentiment moving forward.  

Nobias Insights: 70% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Lowe’s shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  4 out of the 7 credible Wall Street analysts who cover LOW believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Lowe’s by these credible analysts is $223.86, which implies upside potential of approximately 12.2% relative to the stock’s current share price of $199.73.

Bullish Take: Jonathan Wheeler, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “The company is trading right around 15X earnings, and for right around a 2% dividend yield. Combine that with a normal earnings growth rate of nearly 15% over the long-term, and I think LOW is a very attractive stock currently, even considering the macro short-term risks.”

Bearish Take: Shawn Johnson, a Nobias 4-star rated author,  said, “The two largest home improvement retailers, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW), warned of market weakness in recent earnings reports, indicating that the year ahead is likely to be difficult as inflation weighs on consumers.”

Although Target’s sales were on the rise during Q4, its margins continue to suffer, coming in well below pre-pandemic levels.  However, the company’s management team highlighted a $5 billion capex program with a goal to resolve these margin related issues.  

Nobias Insights: 52% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Target shares offer a “Neutral” bias.  After the stock’s 9.4% year-to-date rally, only 38% credible Wall Street analysts who cover TGT believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to TGT by these credible analysts is $179.57, which implies upside potential of approximately 8.2% relative to the stock’s current share price of $166.00.

Bullish Take: Mark Soloman, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Earlier this month, Target said it would invest $100 million through 2026 to add more than half a dozen additional sortation facilities to its U.S. network. Its goal is to reach 15 sort centers within the next four years, up from the current level of nine.”

Bearish Take: Mariane Wilson, a Nobias 4-star rated author,  said, “For fiscal 2023, Target expects that comparable sales will range from a low single-digit decline to a low single-digit increase. The retailer expects full-year earnings per share of between $7.75 and $8.75, below Wall Street’s expectations of $9.23 per share.”

Home Depot’s trailing earnings were essentially in-line with expectations and the company announced a 10% dividend increase during its Q4 report; however, management forward guidance, which called for negative mid-single digit EPS growth during 2023, spooked investors, causing a -2.0% sell-off on the week.  

Nobias Insights: 58% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Home Depot shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  Yet, just 2 out of the 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover HD believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Home Depot by these credible analysts is $323.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 8.9% relative to the stock’s current share price of $296.66. 

Bullish Take: Mark Roussin, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “HD also happens to be one of my favorite dividend growth stocks as they have proven to generate tons of free cash flow which has led to a fast growing dividend.”

Bearish Take: Marianne Wilson, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “For fiscal 2023, Home Depot expects sales to be flat versus fiscal 2022 and earnings per share to fall in the “mid-single digits” percentage range.”

Realty Income continues to invest heavily in its property portfolio, putting $9.0 billion to work acquiring new buildings during 2022.  Fears of higher interest rates are hurting the sentiment surrounding the stock, but Realty Income continues to reward shareholders with a growing dividend.  This company is one of only 3 REIT dividend aristocrats (companies that have raised their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years).  

Nobias Insights: 83% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Realty Income shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  7 out of 9 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover O believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Realty Income by these credible analysts is $73.22, which implies upside potential of approximately 11.1% relative to the stock’s current share price of $64.98.

Bullish Take: Samuel Smith, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Realty Income is undervalued at present and offers investors good total return potential. That said, we believe the stock also remains highly appealing for income investors looking for a secure payout with steady dividend growth.”

Bearish Take: Brent Nyitray, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “Realty Income stock saw a 25% drop in price between mid-August and mid-October over concerns about whether the REIT could manage the accelerated interest rate increases going on at the time”. 

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, highlighted the stock’s growth potential related to Artificial Intelligence during the Q4 earnings conference call, sparking bullish sentiment.  

Nobias Insights: 49% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Nvidia shares offer a “Bearish” bias.  After the stock’s 62% year-to-date rally, only 1 out of 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover NVDA believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to NVDA by these credible analysts is $206.75, which implies downside potential of approximately 11.2% relative to the stock’s current share price of $232.86

Bullish Take: Nobias 4-star rated author, Shawn Johnson, said, “CEO Jensen Huang claimed that Nvidia’s GPUs have increased AI processing performance by no less than a millionth over the past 10 years.”

Bearish Take: Cavenagh Research, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “I understand that, as a business, Nvidia has lots of potential. However, I also would like to point out that the potential has an excessively rich price tag attached.”

75% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Cisco shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  1 out of 3 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover CSCO believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to CSCO by these credible analysts is $58.33, which implies upside potential of approximately 14.9% relative to the stock’s current share price of $50.77.

Bullish Take: Yuvraj Malik, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O raised its full-year revenue growth forecast on Wednesday, banking on its ability to push backlog orders quickly and rapid adoption of 5G technology to keep demand upbeat.”

Bearish Take: Nobias 5-star rated author, Reinhardt Krause said, “Cisco's pivot to subscription software revenue has stalled.”

48% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Coca-Cola shares offer a “Neutral” bias.  2 out of 2 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover KO believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to KO by these credible analysts is $73.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 21.4% relative to the stock’s current share price of $60.12.

Bullish Take: Tradevestor, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “But as I've written in the past, stocks like Coca-Cola are my homeowners and car insurance. I don't really pay attention to them until I need them. But when I need them, boy am I glad I had them! 2022 proved this emphatically, as Coca-Cola outperformed the market by more than 20% at various points.”

Bearish Take: Jonathan Wheeler, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “I just don't see the case for an investment today. There are much better opportunities out there for income, dividend growth, or just growth in general. There are also much cheaper ones. KO stock is a hold, I won't be buying any.” 

51% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Roku shares offer a “Neutral” bias.  1 out of the 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover ROKU believe shares are likely to rise in value. However, the average price target being applied to ROKU by these credible analysts is $99.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 38.3% relative to the stock’s current share price of $71.56.

Bullish Take: Luke Lango, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Year-to-date, shares are already up about 75%, marking the stock’s sharpest rally of all time. Roku stock joins a long list of rocketing tech stocks that have returned from the dead in 2023. And in less than two months, they’re scoring a decade’s worth of returns for their investors.”  

Bearish Take: Shawn Johnson, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “The operating loss represents a 1,270 percent decline from last year, when Roku reported operating income of $21.4 million during the holiday season.”  

Chipotle’s same-store-sales missed expectations during Q4, coming in at 5.6% compared to consensus estimates of 7.0%.  CMG continued to grow its store count, however, opening 100 new stores during Q4, signaling future revenue growth. 

Nobias Insights: 67% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Chipotle shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  Also, 100% of the credible Wall Street analysts who cover CMG believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Chipotle by these credible analysts is $1871.67, which implies upside potential of approximately 18.2% relative to the stock’s current share price of $1583.89.

Bullish Take: Margaret Moran, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “Chipotle has been posting sector-leading growth for several years now, more than doubling its store count over the past decade from around 1,400 to over 3,100 while also improving its same-store sales consistently.”

Bearish Take: Muslim Farooque, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Investors must pay a premium to wager on Chipotle, but with economic uncertainty and bearish market sentiment, I think it would be best to avoid such an overvalued option.”

49% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Disney shares offer a “Neutral” bias.  However, 100% of the credible Wall Street analysts who cover DIS believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to DIS by these credible analysts is $129.50, which implies upside potential of approximately 19.8% relative to the stock’s current share price of $108.06.

Bullish Take: Shanthi Rexaline, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Walt Disney Company DIS shares took off after the entertainment giant reported above-consensus fiscal year 2023 first-quarter earnings.”

Bearish Take: Ian Lyndal, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Peltz had previously expressed criticism over Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox in 2019 and its lack of succession planning.”

PayPal beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom-lines and raised 2023 full-year guidance during its Q4 report; however, the company's CEO also announced that he was leaving that position at the end of 2023, leading to leadership uncertainty.  

Nobias Insights: 52% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on PayPal shares offer a “Neutral” bias.  2 out of the 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover PYPL believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to PYPL by these credible analysts is $88.33, which implies upside potential of approximately 9.3% relative to the stock’s current share price of $80.80.

Bullish Take: Nobias 4-star rated author, Royston Yang, said, “It may take some time for the company to get back on its feet, but PayPal still possesses a long growth runway as its total addressable market remains at $110 trillion.”  

Bearish Take: Reinhardt Krause, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “Total payment volume processed from merchant customers climbed 5% to $357.4 billion. Analysts had projected total payment volume of $360.38 billion.”

A slowdown in digital advertising during today’s tough economic environment is hurting Alphabet’s sales.  The company’s YouTube segment struggled the most, falling by 7.7% on a year-over-year basis.  Also, as credible Nobias author Growth at a Good Price points out, this company also faces antitrust scrutiny from United States regulators.  

A slowdown in digital advertising during today’s tough economic environment is hurting Alphabet’s sales.  The company’s YouTube segment struggled the most, falling by 7.7% on a year-over-year basis.  Also, as credible Nobias author Growth at a Good Price points out, this company also faces antitrust scrutiny from United States regulators. 
Nobias Insights: 61% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Alphabet shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  9 out of the 9 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover GOOGL believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to GOOGL by these credible analysts is $131.56, which implies upside potential of approximately 25.6% relative to the stock’s current share price of $104.78.

Bullish Take: Growth at a Good Price, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Google today does not have the premium price tag you'd associate with a dominant player; it's actually one of the cheaper big tech names out there. So, it looks like a bargain.”

Bearish Take: Daniel Howley, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Google's ad revenue fell from $61.2 billion in Q4 2021 to $59 billion in Q4 2022. YouTube ad revenue, meanwhile, missed analysts' estimates, coming in at $7.9 vs estimate versus $8.2 billion.”

It wasn’t META’s Q4 results which caused the stock to rally 24%, but instead, management’s commitment towards disciplined spending.  Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the  “Year of Efficiency” which caused the sentiment surrounding the stock to shift rapidly.  

Nobias Insights: 56% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Meta shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  7 out of the 8 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover META believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Meta by these credible analysts is $220.00, which implies upside potential of approximately 17.9% relative to the stock’s current share price of $186.53. 

Bullish Take: Shawn Johnson, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “Last year’s slump means the price-to-earnings ratio is only 17.17 (even with yesterday’s jump). For a tech giant, that’s pretty reasonable and gives me the confidence to buy. It also means that the share price can continue to rally without overvaluation.”

Bearish Take: Cavenagh Research, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “For Q4 2022, the firm's operating income fell to $6.4 billion, which is about only half the level achieved in 2021 (operating income margin in Q4 2022 was 20%, as compared to 37% in Q4 2021).”

Apple’s management cited foreign exchange issues, as well as ongoing production/demand issues in China as recent headwinds.  Yet, the company still generated $36 billion in operating income during the first quarter. 

Nobias Insights: 68% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Apple shares offer a “bearish” bias.  2 out of the 4 credible Wall Street analysts who cover AAPL believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Apple by these credible analysts is $169.67, which implies upside potential of approximately 9.8% relative to the stock’s current share price of $154.50. 

Bullish Take: Vlad Savov, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “Apple’s iPhone set a new high for its share of profits from global smartphone sales in 2022, after navigating a dire year for the industry better than competitors.”

Bearish Take: Deanna Walker, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Both Apple’s earnings and revenue missed analyst expectations, citing a strong dollar, production issues in China and a headwind in the macroeconomic environment for its various businesses.”

Chevron posted record oil production and cash generation from operations during 2022.  Furthermore, the company raised its dividend by 6% this week, alongside a $75 billion buyback announcement.  

Nobias Insights: 80% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Chevron shares offer a “Bullish” bias.  2 out of the 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover CVX believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Chevron by these credible analysts is $198.50 which implies upside potential of approximately 10.6% relative to the stock’s current share price of $179.45.  

Bullish Take: Kit Norton, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “The energy giant reported record profits and cash flow for 2022, on top of its earlier announcement launching a massive $75 billion share buyback and raising its dividend.”

Bearish Take: Scott Levine, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “While there was a lot to celebrate, it seems investors are acutely focused on the lower-than-expected earnings.”

Microsoft’s cloud growth appears to be slowing; however, the company recently made a $10 billion bet on artificial intelligence, which could be the company’s next big growth driver.  

Nobias Insights: 55% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on Microsoft shares offer a “bullish” bias.  3 out of the 5 credible Wall Street analysts who cover MSFT believe shares are likely to rise in value. The average price target being applied to Microsoft by these credible analysts is $248.60, which implies upside potential of approximately 0.2% relative to the stock’s current share price of $248.16.  

Bullish Take: Tradevestor, a Nobias 5-star rated author, said, “I believe Microsoft is perhaps the best big tech stock to own as it offers a unique mix of sticky existing businesses, exciting new prospects including AI and further cloud expansion, a bit of dividend income, and enormous potential for dividend growth.”

Bearish Take: Nobias 4-star rated author, Cavenagh Research, said, “Reflecting on a challenging growth outlook, I now downgrade my EPS expectations for Microsoft Corporation through 2025, and based on a 8.75 cost of equity, I now model a fair implied share price for MSFT equal to $211.06/share.”

Tesla maintained its former growth guidance and reassured investors, calling for strong profit margins in the face of recent price cuts.  

Nobias Insights: 94% of recent articles published by credible authors focused on TSLA shares offer a “Bearish” bias.  2 out of the 4 credible credible Wall Street analysts who cover Tesla believe shares are likely to fall in value. The average price target being applied to TSLA by these credible analysts is $138.67 which implies downside potential of approximately 22% relative to the stock’s current share price of $177.90.  

Bullish Take: Luke Lango, a Nobias 4-star rated author, said, “Tesla is sprinting into 2023 with better demand than ever, along with relatively stable profit margins. That’s a winning combination.” 

Bearish Take: 4-star rated Nobias author, Billy Duberstein, said, “Currently, shares go for 43 times trailing non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) and 73 times trailing free cash flow.”