(This is CNBC Pro’s live coverage of Wednesday’s analyst calls and Wall Street chatter. Please refresh every 20-30 minutes to view the latest posts.) Tesla and a major bank were in focus Wednesday as part of the day’s analyst chatter. The EV maker got a price target cut from Citi, citing concern round the company’s upcoming delivery numbers. Wells Fargo was downgraded to market perform by KBW, which noted the stock is due for a consolidation phase after outperforming recently. Check out the latest calls and chatter below. All times ET. 6:12 a.m.: BMO upgrades mining company to outperform Precious metals mining company Royal Gold has a compelling valuation, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Jackie Przybylowski upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. She also raised her price target to $158 from $148, implying the stock could rally 45% from where it closed on Tuesday. “Royal Gold’s valuation is now more compelling under our new commodity price assumptions and with modest relative underperformance of Royal Gold share price year to date,” Przybylowski said in a Wednesday client note. Przybylowski cited a positive environment for new stream and royalty deals for the company in 2024. Royal Gold’s asset quality and portfolio is also strengthening, the analyst added. “We see strong potential for this business model this year,” Przblyowski said. “Even smaller deals will still ‘move the needle’ for Royal Gold. … [which is] large enough to compete and small enough to show growth,” she added. Shares are down 9% in 2024. — Hakyung Kim 5:49 a.m.: Tesla partnership with battery maker potentially a ‘game changer,’ per Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas says a partnership between Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle battery maker CATL could “recharge” the U.S. EV market. According to reports earlier in the week, Tesla and CATL are working together on a fast-charging battery in Nevada. Although CATL is “effectively barred” from directly selling into the U.S. market due to geopolitical tensions, it supplies automakers by licensing its technology to partners. If a partnership materializes, this “battery ‘power couple'” could “re-charge the U.S. EV market,” which is “in need of high quality, cheap battery tech,” Jonas wrote in a note on Tuesday. “Tesla-CATL could be a game changer,” said Jonas. “In our view, Tesla is in a very strong position to ‘on-ramp’ Chinese EV tech to the U.S. In leveraging Chinese manufacturing know-how, Tesla can deliver a $25k EV and drive EV adoption in the US.” Jonas has an overweight rating and $320 price target on shares, which suggests more than 85% upside potential for the shares. Tesla’s stock has declined nearly 29% in 2024 as the company grapples with slowing demand and higher competition, particularly from Chinese EV manufacturers. — Hakyung Kim 5:31 a.m.: Citi cuts Tesla price target Citi thinks there’s not much upside potential for Tesla ahead of the release of its Q1 production and delivery numbers. As a result, the firm lowered its price target on shares to $196 from $224. This suggests shares rising 10.3% from Tuesday’s close. Analyst Itay Michaeli also retained his neutral rating on the stock. “While buy-side Q1 delivery estimates (we believe in the low 400s range) sit well-below the sell-side consensus (460-470k, but coming down), the setup remains challenging with street estimates still looking too high, not only for 2024 but also 2025,” Michaeli wrote in a Tuesday note. “Given recent datapoints and the heavy reliance on March, we see somewhat more downside than upside potential to our numbers. Year to date, Tesla shares have slumped 28.5% as the company struggles with weak EV demand and increased competition in the market. TSLA YTD mountain TSLA year to date — Hakyung Kim 5:31 a.m.: KBW downgrades Wells Fargo Wells Fargo is due for a pause after the bank’s strong run-up, according to KBW. Analyst David Konrad downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform. He did, however, raise his price target to $62 from $56, with the new forecast calling for 9% upside. Wells Fargo shares are up more than 15% in 2024. Over the past year, they have rallied 51.3%. WFC YTD mountain WFC YTD Konrad noted the outperformance comes amid “renewed investor enthusiasm for the asset cap to be lifted. Although we share this enthusiasm, we believe the stock is set for a consolidation phase given expectations for [net interest income] to underperform peers and trough in 1H25.” — Fred Imbert
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