Market Maker Stock Picks  – what are the market maker suggestions for this week.

Take a look at these market maker stock picks, some of them we are following others we are not.  If you do not trade and don’t know how to manage your risk, do not trade.  It is very high risk.

AEGIS Stock picks:

• AMZN init buy and $953 tgt – An investment in Amazon today is a bet that: a) Amazon will continue to take share of retail sales, Prime will continue to add subscribers, and retail top-line growth will continue in the high-teen to low-20% range; b) AWS will continue to grow at a healthy pace, and margins continue to expand, despite rising competition; c) overall company margins will expand despite aggressive investments in digital content, infrastructure, India and others; and d) the current valuation will withstand potential macro shocks as well as quarterly variations in earnings versus consensus

BANK AMERICA stock picks:

• NE upgraded to neutral from underperform – contract extensions were “somewhat anticipated,” yet “strong” rate and extensions seen as “undoubtedly” positive signs for overall jackup market
• ATI downgraded to underperform from buy and cut tgt to $16 from $20 – o reflect deterioration in narrow body production outlook and the global nickel price.
• CUBE downgraded to neutral from buy – more cautious on the 2017 outlook for Self-Storage REITs due to new supply, renter fatigue, and a peak in occupancy
• CF upgraded underperform to buy and raise tgt to $40 from $21

BARCLAYS stock picks:

• AXP – with AXP’s enhancement to its Platinum card (5x MR points on airfare) and more planned enhancements in the future, rewards expense should continue to creep up, and impact the bottom line. So while 2017 earnings expectations seem reasonable to us, longer-term pressures have not changed
• SLM – We see additional upside to growth and earnings if the federal government scales back on direct lending or if the federal corporate tax rate is reduced, though these catalysts are not necessarily reflected in current numbers
• LULU – believe LULU’s digital acceleration with an improved CRM system should not be overlooked as it can prove instrumental in the company’s goal of reaching $4.0 billion in revenue by 2020
• Restaurants – We don’t believe valuation a major overhang, with the sector below recent averages. To start ’17, our best ideas are PNRA in fast casual, MCD in QSR, & BLMN in casual

BMO CAPITALstock picks :

• IBM – We thought IBM had a very mixed Dec Q, with weak margins being offset by higher royalty income and a lower tax rate. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the comments around PTI growth (off easy comparisons in Q1), and strategic revenues reaching 44% of the total in the Dec Q, which suggests reaching 50% of revenues sometime in 2018, depending on M&A cadence. We are raising our target price to $170 from $165 but maintaining our Market Perform rating
• SLM – Following SLM’s 4Q16 beat, we raise our forward core EPS estimates by 4%-5% and we raise our target price to $10. Among U.S. specialty finance stocks, however, we favor COF over SLM shares because COF shares offer upside to both valuation and earnings
• SWKS – Skyworks’ results were ahead of our/Street expectations, while guidance for revenues was in line with our expectation but ahead of the Street’s. Results and outlook set a decent enough tone for the wireless supply chain, in our view.

BUCKINGHAM stock picks:

• ROK upgraded to buy from neutral saying it fits a recovery thesis better than most and risk/reward is attractive; has $162 tgt

BTIG  stock picks:

• SGYP – Yesterday after the close, the FDA granted final approval to SGYP’s Trulance. With a once-daily dosing profile, and a low incidence of side effects, we believe Trulance will become a meaningful new product in the GI treatment category
• BBBY – lowering our 2017 and 2018 EPS estimates to reflect our continued cautious view on Bed Bath’s comp and margin trajectory. Disappointing Holiday 2016 sales reports from a number of retailers including Ethan Allen (ETH, Not Rated), Target (TGT, Not Rated) and the department stores point to weak brick & mortar trends with e-comm growth insufficient to offset margin and comp pressure

CANACCORD stock picks :

• SWKS – We believe management’s strong execution capabilities and continued increasing filter in-sourcing will lead to increasing gross margins longer-term. We are increasing our pro forma C2017 and C2018 EPS estimates following the stronger than anticipated results and guidance from $6.28/$6.99 to $6.50/$7.37. With the $500M buyback and strong guidance, we anticipate continued strong cash flow generation and returns to shareholders; raise tgt to $96 from $92
• TEAM – Our view remains bullish with an acknowledgment that investors remain wary that Atlassian will need to change its business model to a more sales-heavy structure. We believe this view is more likely than not to be overwrought
• SGYP – maintain our BUY rating and $13 PT based on our expectation for FDA approval in IBS-C, as well as a successful eventual commercial launch for Trulance (plecanatide). We model $625M US peak sales by 2020 and very conservatively assume a royalty to Synergy.

CANTOR stock picks:

• AMAG – tgt to $25 from $33 – believe Rekynda could be a potential value creator and its strategic fit within AMAG’s women’s health franchise could provide opportunities to realize operational synergies. Over the near term, we believe investors will keenly focus on the Makena auto-injector development milestones and the extent to which it may have marketing lead time ahead of Orphan exclusivity expiration on February 3, 2018
• FX impact on Internet – estimate that the top three companies with the most negative impact are FB, PCLN and PYPL, while the three with the least impact are SFLY, YELP and SSTK.
• WNS – maintain our Overweight rating on WNS, as we believe the company has the proper pieces in place to drive shareholder value. The pipeline remains broad-based and healthy along with contract signings and new project ramps. FY17 guidance was raised, but still implies the expected significant impact from currency

CITIGROUP stock picks:

• Oil services – Within SMID, we still like sand where we see estimates for both FMSA and SLCA as too low. RES and PTEN pumping consensus revenues are well short of where the horizontal rig count ended up for the quarter. SPN could see downward EBITDA revisions for 2017. For the Offshore Drillers, we expect a (relatively) upbeat tone on the earnings calls. We think RIG appears most vulnerable to disappoint in numbers and guidance
• HSY – We like HSY going into 4Q16 earnings as we see momentum building in its US chocolate business, with 4Q $ share up +50 bps. Further, with HSY likely to give cost savings numbers associated with its upcoming restructuring, we see the 4Q report as a catalyst for the stock

COMPASS POINT stock picks:

• WU downgraded to sell from neutral

COWENstock picks :

• BMY downgraded to market perform from OP

CREDIT SUISSE stock picks:

• CBS reinstated OP and $75 tgt – trim 2017/18 EPS by 4%, to $4.49/$5.31, driven by slightly more conservative assumptions on advertising, but remain bullish on the company’s long term growth trajectory and believe the valuation looks compelling after the recent pull-back.
• JBHT – have raised our FY17 and FY18 estimates to $5.73 and $6.49, from $5.68 and $6.47, respectively. We are also introducing our FY19 estimate of $5.73. Our 12-month target price rises to $118 (from $117) on account of higher base year (2017) EBIT in our DCF model
• NE – released a FSR today (AMC) which was highlighted by two five year Jackup contract extensions with Aramco. While we expect Rowan to gain market share in Saudi Arabia longer term owing to its JV with Aramco, in the near term other operators look to be able to breathe a sigh of relief. NE now has two jackups with Aramco into 2022

DEUTSCHE BANK stock picks:

• CSX downgraded buy to hold – shares are within 10% of our unchanged $42 price target following yesterday’s 23% gap up, and more importantly, within 5% of our “Blue Sky” scenario. So while we still think CSX is well positioned, relatively value considerations favor UNP and NSC, in our view
• Aluminum – AA and CENX PT raised; CENX from 8 to 9 and AA from 26 to 30
• IBM – expect bulls to argue that IBM is close to reaching an inflection point in sales, with low double-digit growth in Strategic Imperatives soon to offset the declines in the core business. However, we continue be bothered by the lack of organic growth, continued declines in profitability, and the low quality of earnings, thus we maintain our wait-and-see view
• TCB downgraded to hold from buy – While we continue to view TCB as possibly benefiting relatively more from deregulation and any mitigation of CFPB authority in the new admin., we are faced with the reality that the CFPB lawsuit filed today could generate enough uncertainty on fee/exp. trends near-term to limit share upside near-term, prompting us to move to the sidelines following the strong outperformance post-election
• NTES – Volatile sentiment, stable business growth; reiterating Buy; despite investor concerns, NetEase’s game business is running smoothly, with a stable performance for key titles

GOLDMAN SACHS stock picks:

• Frac sand sector – Upgrade EMES to Buy as tightening sand supply makes EMES’s Wisconsin based mines the marginal suppliers; Downgrade SND to Neutral as it reaches our target price
• EFX downgraded to sell from neutral
• DNB upgraded to neutral from sell

JEFFERIES stock picks:

• Paper & Packaging – As we position for 2017, we are reshuffling our ratings by upgrading IP to a Buy and downgrading GPK to a Hold. With the group seeing multiple expansion, we are picking our spots where there is good value (IP, WRK, PKG), structural improvements in the industry (BLL, CCK), volumes accelerating (IP, WRK, PKG), and favorable cost backdrop (BERY).
• Software – Software is well positioned to return to outperformance in 2017 (nearly +400 bps vs. S&P YTD) and beyond given favorable macro & secular trends, catalysts for increased M&A, and reasonable valuations; however, rising int. rates may be just a head fake for the market unless the economy responds in kind, which is not in current economists’ forecast. Our top BUYs are ORCL, CHKP and our small cap value pack (APTI, RNG, CVLT). Underperforms (MSFT, CTXS)
• Payment services – After underperforming between Election Day and year end, Buy-rated V/MA have been stronger stocks YTD. We think this is in part due to optimism regarding C4Q earnings. Based on our analysis of leading indicators, we share this positive view, and are comfortable owning with the stocks into earnings, but aren’t expecting the prints to be big catalysts. Our modest preference remains with V, given F17 tailwinds and relative valuation

JMP SECURITIES stock picks:

• AXP – current year remains a transitional and “show-me” period for the company, in our view, with respect to delivering on recent investment initiatives, and we see the shares as fairly valued after the post-election rally given ongoing rewards pressures, liability sensitivity, uncertainties in the macro outlook in many international markets and FX volatility, among other factors
• IBM – maintain our Market Outperform rating on International Business Machines (IBM) and raise our price target to $175 from $169 after the company reported 4Q16 results with revenue of $21.8 billion, down 1% yoy, but ahead of consensus of $21.6 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $5.01 versus consensus of $4.88
• WU – maintain MP – We remain cautious on the global remittance industry based on secular challenges from price competition in key markets, technological challenges to the agent based model, the worrisome global trend toward tightening immigration policies in developed nations, weak oil prices that impact many economies with guest workers, and FX volatility
• MYOV – Recent updates do not impact our view on the competitive landscape for relugolix or our confidence in the drug’s blockbuster commercial potential; reiterate our Market Outperform rating and $23 price target

JP MORGAN:

• ENDP downgraded to neutral from OW saying the generic operating environment remains challenging.
• TEVA downgraded OW to neutral – analyst does not see fundamentals bottoming until the second half of 2017 at the earliest.

KEYBANC:

• DPZ upgraded to overweight with incrementally constructive view on the Co.’s growth outlook, which we believe warrants a premium valuation. We suspect many investors are skeptical of the domestic system’s ability to lap strong 2016 SRS (Street est. of 6.5% in ’17 vs. 9.8% in ‘16).
• Hardlines – reiterate our Overweight ratings on DLTR ($98PT), OLLI ($35PT), FIVE ($50PT), & BIG ($58PT). Conversely, we see the greatest risk to fundamentals in the home furnishings, rent-to-own and office products categories. We reiterate our Underweight rating on BBBY ($35PT) as we expect continued sales challenges, the need for more investments, and margin pressure.

MKM PARTNERS:

• PCLN init buy and $1,950 tgt – consider PCLN the premium asset in an important area of secular growth with best-in-class management.
• EXPE – init buy and $145 tgt – view EXPE as a solid number two in an important area of secular growth as consumer trends drive global travel demand and online migration continues to favor digital platforms
• WHR – remain Neutral given our cautious view on steel prices and FX and some concern over FY17 and FY18 guidance, which we expect the company to provide on its earnings call.
• Homebuilding – CAA, DHI, NVR, and PHM will begin reporting calendar 4Q16 earnings next week; For 4Q, we believe expectations have risen on order growth, with a view that the market may have experienced some demand pull-forward due to the spike in mortgage rates. However, gross margin guidance remains a concern, as input cost pressures do not appear to be abating. We continue to prefer CAA for medium to longer-term focused investors

MORGAN STANLEY:

• BBT – UW rated & Raise PT to $45 from $42 – 2017 EPS up 2c to $3.12, 2018 EPS up 1c to $3.53 on better PPoP and lower provisions, partly offset by higher share count. BB&T restructured $2.9B in FHLB advances to reduce funding costs and drive up NIM.
• AXP – EW rated & Raise PT to $79 from $76 – 2017 EPS up 4c (1%) to $5.58, 2018 EPS up 6c (1%) to $6.09. We tweaked our EPS slightly higher on a combination of increased conviction in stronger loan growth playing out and faster than expected progress on the $1 billion expense initiative, even with marketing/promotional driven expense miss this quarter
• SWKS – UW & Raise PT to $66 from $61 – Skyworks surprised by guiding sales 2.7% above the Street. On the other hand, GMs were guided ~100 bp below the Street and down q/q despite favorable broad market mix and Skyworks’ plan to keep inventory and utilization flat
• UNP – OW rated & Raise PT to $99 from $97 – UNP managed to beat slightly elevated expectations going into the quarter despite pricing falling to a new low of +1% y/y. Despite more bearish commentary on pricing (which is not a UNP specific issue), the overall 2017 outlook should be enough to keep investors engaged in the stock.
• HOLI – OW & Lower PT to $24.00 from $27.50 – Slow order tendering for Automatic Train Protection (ATP) will hamper Hollysys’s delivery in F2017. However, we believe it is set to recover strongly in F2018 and we maintain our view that the company’s long-term growth outlook remains steady. F18e P/E of 8x also looks attractive

NEEDHAM:

• ICPT downgraded to hold from buy saying that while IMS data suggests Ocaliva PBC launch is progressing well, a “substantial shift” upwards will be needed to drive investor enthusiasm in 2017

OPPENHEIMER:

• PTLA init Perform and $28 tgt saying while “optimistic” about Portola’s two differentiated drugs for blood-related conditions, wants to wait for more clarity before recommending the shares given the company’s “history of turmoil.”

PACIFIC CREST:

• Internet initiations: OW rated on GOOGL ($1,030), FB ($150 tgt), sector weight on TWTR (14 tgt)
• AXP – Returns from elevated marketing spending are difficult to gauge and thus we remain neutral. If Amex attracts high-lifetime-value customers, the $92 bull case is intact. If competition pressures return, the $56 bear case comes into play
• SWKS – Results and guidance were slightly better than expected, driven mostly by Chinese demand and Samsung share gains, while overall Apple demand was largely in line. Despite robust mobile results, management appears somewhat cautious about a possible correction, which could affect FQ3 (June). Despite solid results, we remain Sector Weight given uncertainty regarding content growth at Apple and concerns about price pressure.

RAYMOND JAMES:

• LAZ downgraded strong buy to OP
• IPCC downgraded OP to MP

RODMAN & RENSHAW

• KLDX – We are reiterating a Buy rating and $6.25 per share price target on Klondex Mines; expect to revisit our valuation for Hollister and Aurora later this year, primarily once more information is gained with respect to operating parameters.

SANDLER:

• KEY downgraded to hold from buy and cut tgt to $19 from $20
• ATH init hold and $50 tgt

STIFEL:

• WMT init hold and $70 tgt

UBS:

• TEAM – In our view, TEAM remains a premium mid-cap franchise that provides investors with a balanced profile of sustainable 30 +% revenue growth, margin expansion (from 17% in FY16 towards 25 +% over time) and meaningful FCF generation (est. 50% FCF CAGR over next 2 yrs).
• IBM – Earnings and the outlook didn’t dramatically change the narrative. The quarter at $5.01 beat but actually was soft in benefitting by $0.30 from a low tax rate. Guidance was better than we expected with EPS up to at least $13.80 and free cash flow flat. However, the tax rate will be low at 15% plus or minus three points, and flat FCF requires about a 100% realization rate

WEDBUSH:

• Credit cards – Upgrading V & MA and assuming coverage in PYPL; All 3 companies are benefiting from a number of secular growth trends
• MA (MasterCard) – Assuming Coverage and Upgrading to OP from Neutral and price target is raised to $96 from $77
• V (Visa) – Assuming Coverage and Upgrading to OP from Neutral and price target $126 from $99
• PYPL (PayPal) with an Outperform rating and $54 Price Target.

Remember these Market Maker Stock Picks are not a recommendation.  Trade them at your own risk.  If you are not familiar with trading do not trade them at all.