Wall Street analysts delivered a wave of influential calls on Thursday, impacting stocks from tech giants to specialized industry players. Key moves included JPMorgan’s upgrade of CoreWeave and Morgan Stanley’s bullish stance on Nvidia, citing strong catalysts. Meanwhile, Dropbox faced a downgrade from Citi due to valuation concerns. The day’s analysis covered a wide spectrum of the market, with firms adjusting ratings on companies like Meta Platforms, Tesla, and SpaceX.
Wall Street analysts were busy on Thursday, issuing a flurry of ratings changes and price target adjustments for a range of high-profile companies. Key among the day's calls were significant upgrades for Core Weave, Old National Bancorp, and Welltower, while Dropbox faced a downgrade.
CoreWeave Earns Top-Tier Rating from JPMorgan
JPMorgan has upgraded CoreWeave to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral', citing an improving pricing environment for compute power driven by robust demand. The firm noted the company's willingness to engage in short-term contracts at premium rates as a key factor in their bullish outlook.
Quanta Services Sees Upgrade Amid Valuation Reset
Bernstein upgraded Quanta Services to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform', suggesting the stock has been unfairly de-rated. The analyst firm highlighted Quanta's ability to capture greater scope at higher margins, with strong free cash flows supporting acquisitions that expand access to scarce craft labor and execution capacity.
Old National Bancorp Initiated at Overweight by Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo has initiated coverage of Old National Bancorp with an 'Overweight' rating and a $30 price target. The firm anticipates organic growth, stating that the bank has yet to experience a typical post-acquisition re-rating following its deal with Bremer. With M&A activity likely paused, the focus on profitability, capital return, and organic growth supports a higher valuation multiple.
NeOnc Technologies and Energy Services of America Receive Buy Ratings
Roth Capital initiated coverage on NeOnc Technologies with a 'Buy' rating and a $20 price target, believing the life sciences company is nearing an inflection point. Roth also initiated coverage on Energy Services of America as a 'Buy', praising its diversified end markets and multi-year growth opportunities, projecting 7-10% revenue growth.
Meta Platforms Price Target Raised by JPMorgan
JPMorgan reiterated its 'Overweight' rating on Meta Platforms and increased its price target to $920 from $820, following the Meta Connect event. The firm sees positive momentum for the tech giant.
Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on Carlyle Group and Ares Management
Piper Sandler launched coverage on both Carlyle Group and Ares Management with 'Overweight' ratings, citing substantial upside potential for both asset managers.
Royal Caribbean on Positive Catalyst Watch by Citi
Citigroup added Royal Caribbean to its 'Positive Catalyst Watch' list. The firm views the company's recent acquisition of a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts as a solid, albeit unremarkable, move into the all-inclusive resort business.
Nvidia Remains a Top Pick for Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley maintained its 'Overweight' rating on Nvidia, citing numerous positive catalysts. The firm highlighted Nvidia's exposure to exciting content stories, including fast inference with Groq, burgeoning CPU demand, CPO solutions, and a compelling product cycle with its Blackwell platform offering significant performance improvements over the current generation.
Imax Initiated at Overweight by Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley also initiated coverage on Imax with an 'Overweight' rating, asserting that the movie experience company is firing on all cylinders. The firm pointed to Imax's growing network and broader film slate as drivers of a flywheel effect, leading to increased screens, more releases, and higher box office revenue, ultimately boosting earnings and free cash flow.
Dropbox Downgraded to Sell by Citi
Citigroup downgraded Dropbox to 'Sell' from 'Neutral' with a $29 price target. While acknowledging the intriguing opportunity in the AI storage infrastructure pivot, Citi believes the current valuation prices in too much success too early.
The Brink's Company Initiated at Outperform by Wolfe Research
Wolfe Research initiated coverage on The Brink's Company with an 'Outperform' rating and a $138 price target, implying approximately 29% upside for the cash management services provider.
Tesla Maintained at Neutral by UBS
UBS reiterated its 'Neutral' rating on Tesla ahead of its upcoming delivery numbers. The firm noted that while the buyside may not be overly focused on auto units, expectations have risen recently, with estimates ranging between 460,000 and 480,000 vehicles.
BayCom and Avidbank Initiated at Buy by StoneX
StoneX initiated coverage on BayCom with a 'Buy' rating and a $35 price target, anticipating solid loan growth for the banking company. StoneX also initiated coverage on Avidbank with a 'Buy' rating and a $40 price target, viewing the community banking company as undervalued.
Arcturus Therapeutics Upgraded to Buy by Citi
Citigroup upgraded Arcturus Therapeutics to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' and raised its price target to $20, citing promising drug trial data for the biotech company.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Reinstated at Buy by Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of Jazz Pharmaceuticals with a 'Buy' rating and a 12-month price target of $337, expressing confidence in the biopharma company's pipeline.
Dollar General Upgraded by HSBC
HSBC upgraded Dollar General to 'Buy' from 'Hold' and increased its price target to $160 from $125. The firm believes there is further upside potential for the retailer, with current targets appearing achievable.
Welltower and Macerich Earn Upgrades from JPMorgan
JPMorgan upgraded Welltower to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral', citing 'outsized growth' potential, despite the real estate investment trust trading at a low implied cap rate. Additionally, JPMorgan upgraded Macerich from 'Neutral' to 'Overweight', also citing significant growth prospects.
MiniMed Initiated at Buy by Truist
Truist initiated coverage on MiniMed with a 'Buy' rating, viewing the shares as compelling following its recent IPO and upcoming split-off from Medtronic.
SpaceX Remains Outperform for Mizuho
Mizuho reiterated its 'Outperform' rating on SpaceX with a $200 price target, emphasizing that Starlink is the company's 'cash engine'. Mizuho views SpaceX not merely as a rocket company, but as the infrastructure layer of the orbital economy, with three distinct businesses sharing a launch platform and compounding independently.
