Wall Street analysts weighed in on a host of companies Thursday, offering fresh insights and updated recommendations. Key calls included Bank of America reiterating ‘Buy’ on Microsoft with a raised target, Morgan Stanley naming Carvana a ‘Top Pick’, and Goldman Sachs reaffirming ‘Buy’ for Apple and ServiceNow. Meanwhile, Alphabet saw a downgrade from Citizens while JPMorgan maintained ‘Overweight’.
Emerging tech players like Palantir and Rubrik received ‘Overweight’ initiations, with biotech firms Absci and Kardigan also entering coverage with positive ratings. Energy giant Chevron and geothermal companies Fervo Energy and Ormat Technologies also received bullish initiations. Nvidia, Tesla, and Anthropic were also among the companies highlighted in Thursday’s analyst reports.
Wall Street's leading analysts delivered their latest verdicts on a diverse range of companies this Thursday, with tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia taking center stage alongside energy titans and emerging biotech firms. From upgraded price targets to new "top pick" designations, these calls are set to influence market sentiment.
Microsoft: Bank of America Reaffirms 'Buy' with Increased Price Target
Following a robust earnings report, Bank of America reiterated its 'Buy' rating for Microsoft, significantly boosting its price target from $600 to $630 per share. The firm highlighted Microsoft's "strong 1Q27 results," particularly the impressive 48% year-over-year constant currency (cc) Azure growth, which surpassed expectations by approximately 300 basis points. Furthermore, optimistic 2Q guidance of 49-50% Azure growth (compared to the Street's 45%) fueled the positive outlook.
ServiceNow: Goldman Sachs Stands Firm with 'Buy'
Goldman Sachs maintained its 'Buy' rating on ServiceNow post-earnings, emphasizing the company's potential to convert its pivotal role in enterprise AI into tangible revenue growth. The firm believes that a sustained rerating of the stock will depend on evidence of incremental revenue expansion, alongside stabilization in organic growth and upward estimate revisions.
Carvana: Morgan Stanley Crowns as 'Top Pick'
Morgan Stanley elevated Carvana to a 'Top Pick' status after its recent earnings release. The analysts cited "improving growth visibility, an attractive setup, and compelling risk/reward" as key factors. The price target for CVNA remains unchanged at $88, signaling strong conviction in the online used car retailer's future.
Chevron: William Blair Initiates with 'Outperform'
William Blair initiated coverage of energy giant Chevron with an 'Outperform' rating, anticipating significant upside. The firm praised Chevron's "differentiated upstream and downstream portfolio," which, combined with strong cash margins, is expected to drive "continued record earnings and FCF" (free cash flow).
Apple: Goldman Sachs Reiterates 'Buy' After Product Launches
Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its 'Buy' rating for Apple, expressing optimism about the company's recent product announcements. New MacBook, iMac, and iPad models featuring next-generation M6 and A20 Pro processors, coupled with recent broad-based price increases, are expected to bolster Apple's revenue growth and competitive standing. Favorable premium product mix is seen as a factor offsetting near-term supply constraints and a softer PC and tablet market.
Palantir: JPMorgan Initiates with 'Overweight'
JPMorgan began coverage of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) with an 'Overweight' rating, adding the stock to its focus list. The firm set a December 2027 price target of $262, suggesting over 30% upside from recent levels, highlighting Palantir's significant growth potential.
Hilton: Mizuho Upgrades to 'Outperform'
Mizuho upgraded Hilton from 'Neutral' to 'Outperform,' raising its price target to $421. The analysts lauded Hilton as "one of the highest-quality businesses" within their coverage, signaling increased confidence in the hotel giant's performance.
Oracle: Wells Fargo Maintains 'Overweight'
Wells Fargo reiterated its 'Overweight' rating on Oracle, confident in the stock's continued upside following its AI World Day event. The firm noted that "AI World put ORCL's silicon-agnostic strategy front & center" and addressed key investor concerns, reaffirming long-term targets and providing clarity on funding ($20B), CapEx plans, and the path to positive free cash flow.
Alphabet: Citizens Downgrades to 'Market Perform', JPMorgan Reiterates 'Overweight'
Alphabet saw a split in analyst sentiment. Citizens downgraded the stock to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform,' citing a slowdown in search growth by approximately 5 points from 2Q to 3Q. Conversely, JPMorgan maintained its 'Overweight' rating, acknowledging the "margin for error when a hyperscaler spending hundreds of billions on the AI infrastructure buildout and flipping to negative FCF posts disappointing results in the core," but sticking with its positive long-term view.
Wintrust Financial: UBS Upgrades to 'Buy'
UBS upgraded Wintrust Financial (WTFC) to 'Buy', citing its "rerating potential." The firm believes WTFC checks all the boxes for 2027: "above-peer growth, NIM [net interest margin] upside, and the capital optionality that should benefit if M&A activity picks up."
Rubrik: Morgan Stanley Initiates with 'Overweight'
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of cybersecurity firm Rubrik with an 'Overweight' rating. Analysts believe that as the cost of cyberattacks approaches zero, "backup and data resiliency becomes more important than ever." They see Rubrik, with its growing data security platform, poised to capture a larger share of the IT/Security wallet.
Ares Capital Corp: UBS Upgrades to 'Buy'
UBS upgraded Ares Capital Corp (ARCC) to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' with a $21 price target, advising investors to "buy the weakness." The firm noted that valuation has compressed while seeing "improving earnings as a catalyst from higher base rates."
Fervo Energy & Ormat Technologies: Morgan Stanley Initiates with 'Overweight'
Morgan Stanley expressed bullishness on both geothermal companies, initiating Fervo Energy (FRVO) and Ormat Technologies (ORA) with 'Overweight' ratings. Ormat, an established conventional geothermal leader, received a $123 price target, highlighted for its attractive growth and emerging Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) upside. Fervo Energy, an EGS pure-play, received a $23 price target, noted for its visible path to commercial rollout and cost reductions, albeit with higher execution risks.
Absci: Jefferies Initiates with 'Buy'
Jefferies initiated coverage of clinical-stage biotech company Absci Corp (ABSI) with a 'Buy' rating. The firm believes Absci is "well positioned" due to its expertise in artificial intelligence, deep learning, protein engineering, and disease biology for discovering and developing novel therapeutics.
Constellium: JPMorgan Upgrades to 'Overweight'
JPMorgan upgraded recycling company Constellium to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral' following its earnings report. The firm rates shares with a $35/share December 2027 price target, anticipating that the company's "end market exposure, pricing power, and margin-accretive investments should support incremental EBITDA growth and improved FCF generation into CY27/28."
Tesla: Bank of America Reiterates 'Buy'
Bank of America maintained its 'Buy' rating on Tesla with a $460 price objective. The firm sees the core business progressing beyond early autonomy monetization, with robotaxi becoming a "meaningful earnings driver by YE27." A potential merger with SpaceX is also viewed as "additive optionality."
MSG Rangers: BTIG Initiates with 'Buy'
BTIG initiated coverage of Madison Square Garden Rangers (MSGR), owner of the New York Rangers, with a 'Buy' rating and a $257 price target, expressing bullishness on the sports entity.
Afya: Bank of America Upgrades to 'Buy'
Bank of America upgraded educational services company Afya from 'Neutral' to 'Buy', suggesting investors "buy the dip." The firm believes the recent sell-off was "exaggerated" given Afya's exposure to a resilient student base and low leverage of 0.8x.
Kardigan: Cantor Fitzgerald Initiates with 'Overweight'
Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of biotech company Kardigan (KARD) with an 'Overweight' rating and a 12-month price target of $50, favoring its heart treatments.
Nvidia: StoneX Reiterates 'Buy'
StoneX maintained its 'Buy' rating on Nvidia, highlighting the company's expanding network of customer investments and financial backing. The firm cited "this week's Broadcom-backstopped financing for Anthropic compute" as a clear illustration of "frontier deployments funded through assembled capital stacks rather than the buyer's own balance sheet."
Prosperity Bancshares: StoneX Upgrades to 'Buy'
StoneX upgraded Prosperity Bancshares to 'Buy' from 'Hold' post-earnings, setting an $85 price target. The upgrade is based on 11.5x their forward estimate, representing "a one multiple discount to its median 5-year FY1 PE."
Anthropic: Seaport Initiates with 'No Rating'
Seaport initiated coverage of AI company Anthropic but deferred assigning a rating "pending the company's IPO." While acknowledging the company's "leading AI model capabilities," Seaport also noted "considerable risks from its growing capital intensity and very complicated governance structure."
