Morgan Stanley says there are still plenty of stocks that offer attractive upside for investors heading into earnings. The investment bank says companies like Spotify have more room to execute heading into their next quarterly report. Other stocks rated Buy by Morgan Stanley and screened by CNBC Pro include Datadog, Warner Music Group, S&P Global and Starbucks. According to S&P Global Morgan Stanley, continued macroeconomic uncertainty is not a concern for capital markets firms. Analyst Toni Kaplan said S&P Global remains the top idea ahead of next week’s earnings. “We view SPGI as a leading information services provider with a unique position among its peers in expanding in high-growth areas,” she wrote. The Wall Street bank lowered its price target on S&P Global to $556 per share from $580, but said the stock remains too attractive to ignore at current levels. “We are bullish on SPGI given its portfolio diversification, margin execution and return on capital,” he said. The stock has risen more than 6% in the past month. Analyst Sean Diffley says Spotify is also firing on all cylinders. “SPOT continues to add positive, meaningful, and interactive engagement, including more videos, algo controls, mixing tools, and (real-life) moments,” he wrote. Morgan Stanley says it likes how Spotify continues to innovate by adding new ways for users to interact with the platform. As a result, Diffley believes Spotify is on track to surpass 300 million paying users. Other positive catalysts include the upcoming Investor Day. “At our first Investor Day in four years, SPOT is able to provide investors with concrete examples of how we are improving and iterating on products in a world of AI in a label-friendly way,” he says. The Swedish company is scheduled to report results on April 28, and its shares have risen 7% over the past month. “There’s a lot to like” about Warner Music Group, analyst Cameron Manson Perrone wrote in a recent note on the music company. Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target to $38 per share from $37 ahead of earnings in early May. “Our (over)theory is based on the view that WMG remains one of the three concentrated owners of music (intellectual property) in Western markets and that music remains undervalued,” he said. Manson-Perrone also called for investors to remain calm, saying concerns about AI are overdone. “We see Warner Music’s accelerating revenue and earnings support multiple reratings, and believe that concerns about AI are overblown.” The stock has risen more than 22% in the past month. Spotify “SPOT continues to add positive, meaningful, and interactive engagement, including more videos, algo controls, mixing tools, and (real-life) moments… At its first Investor Day in four years, SPOT is introducing AI in a label-friendly way. “We can provide investors with concrete examples of how we are improving and iterating our products in the world of products. So far, we think SBUX has been successful in bringing customers back into our stores, and on the top line we expect a better quarter than consensus. In our view, year-to-date stock performance and investor views reasonably reflect this, but the bearish case is less convincing at this point in the short term. “We still see a favorable bias.” Warner Music Group: “There’s a lot to like….Our (over)thesis is based on the view that WMG is one of the three most concentrated owners of music IP in Western markets, and that music remains undervalued…We see Warner Music’s accelerating earnings and earnings support multiple reratings, and believe that concerns about AI are overblown.” S&P Global “We view SPGI as a leading information services provider with a unique position among its peers for expansion in high-growth sectors. We are bullish on SPGI given its portfolio diversification, margin execution, and return on capital.” Datadog “Datadog is on track to profitability with core business momentum, with 30% growth in Q1 and 26% growth in FY26 We have improved visibility and prospects for an upward revision to our quarterly forecast. We are cautiously positioned given the recent pullback and believe we are in an attractive position.”
