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Citi is bullish on Merck , saying that the company's drug pipeline is underappreciated by the market. The exclusive license and collaboration agreement for ADC development helps Merck in developing more cancer treatment drugs — and Citi thinks it could rival its competitors' offerings. Citi anticipates further upside for Merck shares from the Inflation Reduction Act. To be sure, Baum noted a key downside risk to his valuation is if the ADC pipeline disappoints. Further risks include lower-than-anticipated value share capture by the company's Melanoma treatment drug Keytruda, and a slowdown in its animal health business.

Citi thinks it's time to buy Steven Madden shares. Lejuez raised his rating on Steven Madden shares to buy from neutral. The analyst praised the company's "resilient business model" as another reason why he likes the stock. Steven Madden shares were up 2.5% Thursday morning during premarket trading. SHOO 1Y mountain Steven Madden stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

It's time to take some profit in First Solar after the stock's big run-up, according to Deutsche Bank. To be sure, the analyst raised its price target on the stock to $230 per share from $190. Yet, we believe that the current stock price … represents an expensive entry point for investors; we would see a valuation range of below $200/sh as more attractive." "We would look to get more constructive if the share price sees a significant downside," Blanchard said. Deutsche named Enphase Energy as its top long-term buy name among solar energy companies.

ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by just over one basis point to 3.4074%. The 2-year Treasury was last trading at 3.9557% after falling by more than one basis point. The latest producer price index, which tracks wholesale inflation, is due Thursday. After its last meeting, the central bank indicated that, depending on economic data, interest rate hikes may be paused soon. Many investors are, however, expecting a further 25 basis point rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed's May meeting.

Retail traders are beginning to buy the dip in some financial stocks that were hit hard during the banking crisis, according to JPMorgan. Strategist Peng Cheng said in a note to clients Wednesday evening that, while retail traders are pulling back from individual stocks in general, two financial names are surprisingly popular: Charles Schwab and Truist . "At the single stock level, retail traders net sold -$1.8B this past week. However, half of Wall Street analysts who cover Truist have a hold rating on the stock, according to Refinitiv. The majority of analysts who cover Schwab have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock, according to Refinitiv.

The Federal Reserve has gone too far with its interest rates hikes — creating a difficult upcoming three-to-six months for stocks, Wharton School professor Jeremy Siegel said Wednesday. Siegel said he was bullish on stocks in January. And that's the official forecast of the Fed," Siegel said. It could be more severe than that, which could lead to more decline in earnings," he added. To be sure, Siegel is still bullish on equities for the long term and thinks the markets will tick up in 2024 and 2025.

The recent selloff of Global Payments shares presents a prime buying opportunity for investors, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Will Nance upgraded Global Payment shares to buy. The analyst thinks that recent mergers and acquisitions Global Payments has undertaken should simplify business and put it on track towards "the highest growth vertical." But, Goldman Sachs said investors have become too negative around the share loss narrative for the stock. GPN YTD mountain Global Payments stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Investors should park some of their money in Hyatt Hotels shares, as high-end leisure and a rebound in international travel drive growth, according to Bernstein. Analyst Richard J. Clarke named the hotel chain his top pick for 2023, noting that Hyatt's strength in luxury stays sets it apart for the biggest revenue acceleration amongst other big hotel groups. The analyst has an outperform rating on Hyatt shares. "Added to that is the highest exposure to the leisure tourists, especially high-end leisure, which gives Hyatt the greatest offset to a potential downturn. "In a blue sky scenario, we would argue that Hyatt's exposure to luxury should deserve a multiple premium even, as we see in the luxury car and goods sectors."

Morgan Stanley thinks it's time to get back on board the MongoDB train, saying it sees a "pivot to profitability" for the company. Analyst Sanjit K Singh upgraded the cloud database stock to overweight from equal-weight. He also increased his price target to $270 per share from $230 per share, implying upside of 27.6% from Tuesday's closing price. Morgan Stanley now believes that many of its prior concerns have been addressed by the company and is now "getting back on board a secular beneficiary." Singh thinks that much of MongoDB's headwinds from cloud digestion should be behind it by the end of the current fiscal year.

Goldman Sachs is attractively priced with minimal risk ahead, according to UBS. UBS thinks that heightened levels of uncertainty in the market — particularly surrounding banking stocks — presents a tailwind for the banking giant's trading businesses. Analyst Brennan Hawken upgraded shares to buy from neutral in a Tuesday note. The analyst noted that even as revenue in the investment banking sector declined last year, the strength of Goldman Sachs' trading business helped offset that slowdown. Total trading was up 16% in 2022, which Hawken notes was the best among U.S. big banks, while investment banking revenue dropped 48%.

Shopify shares have big upside potential as the company gains traction with larger enterprise businesses, according to JMP. Analyst Andrew Boone upgraded Shopify shares to market outperform from market perform. His price target of $65 per share implies 45.1% upside from Tuesday's close price. SHOP YTD mountain SHOP in 2023 To be sure, the analyst said Shopify, as well as other website builders, can engage in greater expense discipline. "In 2023, we expect R & D to represent ~19% of Shopify's revenue, up from ~16% in 2019.

Stocks with steady earnings growth are the play to manage an upcoming economic downturn, according to David Kostin, Goldman Sachs' chief U.S. equity strategist. Goldman Sachs projects that there is a 35% probability that the U.S. economy will enter a recession within the next 12 months. What's perhaps not priced in our view, would be the stable growth companies." The equity strategist named household products company Colgate-Palmolive and biotechnology name Amgen as examples of stocks with low variability of earnings growth in an environment that's laden with recession risk. The firm also picked pest-control company Rollins and consumer goods company Procter & Gamble in its basket of steady earnings growers.

As Wall Street gears up for another earnings season, analysts see some stocks better positioned than others for gains. Against this backdrop, CNBC Pro used FactSet data to screen for stocks that Wall Street analysts think have the largest potential upside heading into a new earnings season. And more than half of analysts covering Booking Holdings still rate it a strong buy or buy, according to Refinitiv data. BKNG YTD mountain Shares of Booking Holdings Another stock expected to outperform during earnings season is Paccar . Salesforce's earnings per share are estimated to climb by 24% over the next six months.

Mohawk Industries — Shares of the flooring manufacturer gained 5% after Loop Capital upgraded the company to buy from its previous hold rating. WisdomTree — Shares of the financial firm gained 3% after the company said it had $1.9 billion of net flows in March. New York Community Bancorp — Shares of the regional bank gained 2.7% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy from hold. LendingClub — The lending stock gained 5% after JPMorgan initiated coverage of the stock at overweight. Murphy Oil — The natural gas company's shares gained 2.6% after Truist upgraded shares to buy from hold.

Increasing global demand for liquefied natural gas over the next few years will help shares of New Fortress Energy more than double, according to Deutsche Bank. The firm initiated coverage of the natural gas company with a buy rating, and analyst Chris Robertson set his price target at $60 per share, implying 110% upside from last Thursday's close. "As such, we believe natural gas will be an important bridge fuel in the coming years as combustion of natural gas results in ~50% less carbon emissions [than] traditional coal combustion." Deutsche anticipates New Fortress Energy earnings will grow by more than 235% from 2022 to 2025. To be sure, Robertson's estimates assume that New Fortress Energy secures more of its volumes on period contracts rather than selling on the spot market.

Since 1977, the Federal Reserve has focused on creating maximum employment and maintaining stable prices, commonly known as the dual mandate. "[Maximum employment is] this more sort of amorphous thing," Rucha Vankudre, a senior economist at labor market analytics firm Lightcast, told CNBC. However, at the Federal Open Market Committee news conference in January 2022, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced that "labor market conditions are consistent with maximum employment." Maximum employment is also difficult to quantify because existing measures of employment, such as the unemployment rate or the labor force participation rate, often do not account for certain groups of people. Watch the video above to learn more about what maximum employment really means and how inflation impacts employment.

RBC Capital Markets anticipates that the next quarter could be choppy for stocks, but the firm shared its list of high-conviction names to navigate the volatility. With these concerns in mind, RBC shared a list of high-conviction stocks that it says are well-positioned to offer upside this quarter. Below are 10 of the names: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and biotech engineering stock Boston Scientific are new additions to RBC's list of high-conviction names. RBC analyst Shagun Singh said Boston Scientific is "positioned to drive consistent double-digit EPS growth," with upcoming device launches and trial data readouts to act as catalysts. On the energy front, RBC named oil company Diamondback Energy as one of its top picks for the quarter.

Gamification and artificial intelligence are "a winning combination" for language-learning app maker Duolingo , according to Bank of America. Analyst Nat Schindler, who reiterated his buy rating on the company, boosted his price target on Duolingo shares to $160 from $105. The analyst highlighted a new AI-driven paid subscription, Duolingo Max, that could boost the company's growth prospects, according to a Wednesday research note. The service includes new AI features powered by GPT-4, including a role-play function to allow users to practice conversations. To be sure, the analyst noted potential risks to his valuation include competition from peers adopting new technology or formatting.

Raymond James is optimistic on FedEx after the shipping giant announced Wednesday a cost-cutting restructuring plan. He retained his price target of $285 per share, which implies almost 24% upside from Wednesday's close price. DRIVE is FedEx's comprehensive $4 billion cost-cutting plan which includes consolidating FedEx Ground, FedEx Express and other operating companies into FedEx Services. Analyst Thomas Wadewitz has a buy rating on shares and sees the stock rising 13%. FedEx shares were up 1.3% Thursday before the bell.

Raymond James is bullish on Pinterest , saying that the social media company is on path toward steady long-term growth. It set its price target at $33 price target per share, which implies 20.7% upside from Wednesday's close price. Kessler said Pinterest's high-intent audience can help the company outperform other digital advertising platforms during a macro slowdown. "We expect double-digit long-term revenue growth driven by continued product improvements for both Pinners and advertisers, increasing focus on Shopping/eCommerce, video, and international," Kessler said. Shares of Pinterest were up less than 0.1% Thursday before the bell after falling by 2.3% during the prior trading session.

JPMorgan is moving to the sidelines on Comerica ahead of its first earnings announcement following the banking sector crisis. The bank lowered its rating on Comerica shares to neutral from overweight. However, he notes that if the Fed decides not to cut rates, Comerica could have increased revenue growth potential and see its stock outperform the sector. Comerica shares were up 1% during premarket trading Thursday. CMA YTD mountain Comerica shares —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Now is the time to buy shares of Sealed Air , according to UBS. He maintained his price target of $59 per share, suggesting a 28.8% rally for the stock from Tuesday's close price. Shares have tumbled 30% during the past 12 months, as the company struggled with supply chain issues, a post-pandemic demand reset and industrial destocking. Roughly three-fifths of analysts covering Sealed Air rate it a hold, Refinitiv data shows. The average price target on shares, however, implies 24.5% upside over the next 12 months.

Raymond James says there's a "textbook buy-on-the-dip opportunity" for shares of Clean Energy Fuels — it could be a volatile ride for investors. The firm upgraded Clean Energy to outperform from market perform. It set a price target of $6 per share, which implies 42.8% upside from Wednesday's close price. Analyst Pavel Molchanov thinks the renewable energy company could see gains as natural gas fuels, including those derived from biogas, play a role in the decarbonization of fleets. Shares of Clean Energy were up 3.3% before the bell Wednesday.

There may be more upside to Dutch Bros in 2023 investors expect, according to Wedbush. Analyst Nick Setyan upgraded shares of the drive-thru coffee franchise to outperform from neutral. "We view BROS' current valuation as an overly pessimistic assessment of its medium- and long-term annual growth algorithm," Setyan added. Setyan also thinks that Dutch Bros' strong rewards program will also help drive revenue. Shares of Dutch Bros were up 3.8% Wednesday morning following the upgrade.

UnitedHealth shares are well-positioned to have a strong 2023, according to Raymond James. Analyst John Ransom upgraded shares of UnitedHealth to strong buy from outperform. UnitedHealth shares are down 7% in 2023, lagging the S & P 500's 6.8% advance. UNH YTD mountain UNH in 2023 Ransom said that many of the policy overhangs on UnitedHealth, which accounted for his previous downgrade in December, are now past the company. Raymond James sees these measures as "a win for the industry as it buffers the initial impact and buys time for behavior changes.

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