Here’s What Analysts Are Saying About NVIDIA, Herbalife, Walt Disney Co, and More

After rallying overnight, crude futures are once again in the red this morning as investors factor in the strong dollar, upcoming interest rate hikes, and increasing U.S. shale production. Perhaps more jarring is the news that Saudi Arabia had increased its production over 10 million barrels per day for the month of February. Among the stocks that are in the spotlight due to analyst commentary are NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Nexstar Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:NXST), Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY).

Let’s take a closer look at what Wall Street analysts are saying about each one and see how elite funds were positioned among them in the fourth quarter.

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NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is on many watch-lists today after Toshiya Hari of Goldman Sachs reiterated that the stock remains his top pick in the semiconductor sector. Hari has a $130 price target and a ‘Conviction Buy’ rating due to his expectation of solid earning reports for the quarters to come. In addition to Hari, financial magazine Barron’s has positive things to say about Nvidia, opining that Intel’s purchase of Mobileye is ‘good news’ for Nvidia and could put the company “back in the driver’s seat”. Of the 742 elite funds that we track, 35 top funds owned shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) at the end of December, down 16 funds from the previous quarter.

Traders are watching Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) after Beth Kite of Citi initiated a $58 price target and ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock. Although many bulls believe the government won’t inflict any more damage on Herbalife for the next four years and maybe more, Kite estimates that Herbalife’s gross margin will fall this year due to forex. Due to that expectation, Kite thinks Herbalife should trade at a relative discount. Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP and associated entities recently reported a 24.57% stake in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF).

On the next page, we take a look at analyst commentary over Nexstar Media Group Inc, Walt Disney Co, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation.Bulls are keeping a close tab on Nexstar Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:NXST) after analyst Leo Kulp of RBC Capital initiated a $83 price target and an ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock. Nexstar has been a solid performer over recent quarters, rallying 10% year-to-date and 46% over the last twelve months as expectations that less regulation could allow for more industry consolidation increase. If the industry consolidates, Nexstar could have higher margins and an even more favorable FCF profile. 43 elite funds were long Nexstar Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:NXST) at the end of December, down 2 funds from the previous quarter.

Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is trending after Michael Morris of Guggenheim raised his price target on the multimedia conglomerate to $128 from the previous $118 per share. Morris also upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’, citing potential upside due to the company’s film, parks, and consumer products segments. The number of elite funds with holdings in Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) rose by 16 quarter-over-quarter to 67 at the end of December.

Although crude prices have been heading south lately, Edward Westlake of Credit Suisse upgraded Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) to ‘Outperform’ from the previous ‘Neutral’, citing his belief that the company’s low cost and extremely competitive Permian reserves have not been given enough credit for by the market. Westlake has a $79 price target, up from the past $70. 40 elite funds had a bullish position in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) at the end of the fourth quarter, unchanged from that of the previous quarter.

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