Earnings
season
is
kicking
into
high
gear,
and
Morgan
Stanley
named
a
few
stocks
to
buy
ahead
of
results.
The
firm
said
this
week
that
several
companies
slated
to
report
soon
are
offering
an
attractive
entry
point.
CNBC
Pro
combed
through
top
Morgan
Stanley
research
to
find
overweight-rated
stocks
ahead
of
earnings.
They
include
Apple
,
Colgate-Palmolive,
Datadog,
Spotify
Technology
and
Nu
Holdings.
Colgate-Palmolive
There’s
no
shortage
of
positive
catalysts
ahead
for
top
pick
Colgate-Palmolive,
according
to
analyst
Dara
Mohsenian.
The
consumer
products
company
is
scheduled
to
report
second-quarter
earnings
on
July
26
.
Mohsenian
said
Colgate-Palmolive
seemingly
has
it
all,
from
pricing
power
to
share
gains.
The
stock
is
up
23%
in
2024,
but
it
has
plenty
of
room
to
run,
according
to
the
analyst.
“Corporate
visibility
is
also
high
given
recent
strong
balance
in
CL’s
results,
which
gives
us
more
confidence
in
sustainability,
as
well
as
CL’s
greater
defensiveness
than
peers,”
he
wrote.
Further,
Mohsenian
said
tailwinds
abound
for
Colgate’s
pet
business,
which
is
underappreciated
by
investors.
The
company
owns
Hill’s
Pet
Nutrition.
“However,
more
so
than
just
Q2
where
the
bar
is
already
high,
our
enthusiasm
for
the
stock
comes
from
increasing
visibility
that
CL’s
LT
[long
term]
structural
advantage
is
building
vs
peers,
which
should
continue
in
H2
and
beyond,”
he
said.
Apple
Analyst
Erik
Woodring
elevated
the
tech
giant
to
top
pick
status
earlier
this
week.
He
said
Apple
Intelligence
,
the
company’s
take
on
generative
artificial
intelligence,
is
well
positioned
to
be
a
key
catalyst
in
the
months
ahead
as
the
iPad
and
iPhone
cycle
ramp
up.
“Apple
Intelligence
is
set
to
drive
record
device
upgrades,”
the
analyst
wrote.
Woodring
went
so
far
as
to
say
that
investors
have
underappreciated
this
powerful
tailwind
for
Apple.
“However,
what
we
had
previously
underestimated,
and
what
the
market
still
underappreciates
today,
is
just
how
material
the
impending
upgrade
cycle
can
be,”
he
said.
“Apple
Intelligence
is
a
clear
catalyst
to
boost
iPhone
and
iPad
shipments,
and
our
deep
dive
into
the
iPhone
installed
base,
upgrade
rates,
and
mix
shift
now
points
a
record
cycle
ahead,”
he
added
Apple
is
scheduled
to
report
its
fiscal
third-quarter
results
on
Aug.
1
.
Shares
are
up
16.5%
in
2024.
Datadog
Shares
of
the
cloud-scale
applications
software
company
are
down
nearly
2%
this
year,
but
analyst
Sanjit
Singh
said
the
dip
is
worth
buying
ahead
of
quarterly
results.
The
company
is
set
to
report
on
Aug.
8
.
Singh
acknowledged
that
the
stock’s
valuation
has
been
less
attractive
as
of
late,
with
shares
down
8%
in
July
alone.
Nevertheless,
the
analyst
is
sticking
with
his
overweight
rating
for
the
long
term
—
and
he
advised
investors
to
do
the
same.
“Our
intra-quarter
conversations
suggest
that
DDOG
is
executing
well
in
a
tight
spend
environment
which
we
see
as
translating
to
sustained
growth,”
he
said.
In
addition,
Singh
sees
margin
upside
potential
along
with
a
slew
of
new
products
in
the
company’s
pipeline.
“Datadog
continues
to
be
positioned
as
the
best
house
in
a
tough
infrastructure
software
neighborhood,”
he
added.
Colgate-Palmolive
“Corporate
visibility
is
also
high
given
recent
strong
balance
in
CL’s
results,
which
gives
us
more
confidence
in
sustainability,
as
well
as
CL’s
greater
defensiveness
than
peers.
…
However,
more
so
than
just
Q2
where
the
bar
is
already
high,
our
enthusiasm
for
the
stock
comes
from
increasing
visibility
that
CL’s
LT
[long
term]
structural
advantage
is
building
vs
peers,
which
should
continue
in
H2
and
beyond.”
Apple
“Apple
Intelligence
is
a
clear
catalyst
to
boost
iPhone
and
iPad
shipments,
and
our
deep
dive
into
the
iPhone
installed
base,
upgrade
rates,
and
mix
shift
now
points
a
record
cycle
ahead
…
Apple
Intelligence
is
set
to
drive
record
device
upgrades.
…
However,
what
we
had
previously
underestimated,
and
what
the
market
still
underappreciates
today,
is
just
how
material
the
impending
upgrade
cycle
can
be.”
Datadog
“Our
intra-quarter
conversations
suggest
that
DDOG
is
executing
well
in
a
tight
spend
environment
which
we
see
as
translating
to
sustained
growth.
…
While
NT
risk-reward
screens
less
compelling,
we
see
a
LT
share
gain
opportunity
that
should
deliver
sustained
growth
and
attractive
margins.
…
Datadog
continues
to
be
positioned
as
the
best
house
in
a
tough
infrastructure
software
neighborhood.”
Spotify
Technology
“We
raise
estimates
to
incorporate
the
earlier
and
larger
than
expected
US
price
increases
and
the
higher
than
expected
incremental
margins
on
these
increases.
Our
OW
thesis
remains
Spotify’s
1)
long
runway
ahead
for
user
growth,
2)
leading
product
position,
and
3)
underappreciated
earnings
power.”
Nu
Holdings
“We
came
away
from
our
meeting
with
even
more
confidence
in
our
bullish
view
—
Nubank
could
reach
US$100
billion
valuation
by
2026.
The
payroll
loan
book
in
Brazil
is
poised
to
accelerate
meaningfully
later
this
year,
the
Mexico
story
seems
to
be
progressing
nicely,
and
the
Open
Finance
agenda
—
if
executed
well
—
can
allow
for
even
faster
market
share
gains
at
NU.
At
the
same
time,
consensus
is
still
underestimating
the
opportunity
ahead,
in
our
opinion.”
