Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, SpaceX, Tesla, Alphabet, Meta, Salesforce, CrowdStrike & more
Here are Thursday’s biggest calls on Wall Street: Truist initiates DigitalOcean as buy Truist said the company is riding the “AI wave.” “The market for GPU availability and inference management is developing rapidly, with offerings from the behemoths that dominated the cloud era as well as a host of newer entrants that have entered the fray. DigitalOcean has been a core independent player in serving compute to small and mid-size businesses through multiple cloud eras.” Citi downgrades Abercrombie & Fitch to neutral from buy Citi said the risk/reward is more balanced. “We are downgrading ANF from Buy to Neutral. 2Q was an all-around impressive quarter, and 3Q/2H guidance is very encouraging. However, with the stock +36% yesterday and only 6% upside to our new TP of $156, we view the risk/reward as balanced.’ Baird upgrades Synopsys to outperform from neutral Baird upgraded Synopsys following earnings. “We upgrade our recommendation as FY27 can see the return to double-digit% organic revenue growth and upside to revenue/FCF estimates, and we would be surprised if this goes towards multiple compression instead of lifting the stock.” Citi upgrades SQM to buy from neutral Citi said the stock has an attractive valuation. “We are upgradi ng SQM to Buy from Neutral with a new TP of US$95/sh (previously US$97/sh). This is based on: 1) the lithium market likely to remain in deficit in 2026 and return to balance in 2027; 2) positive near-term outlook as restocking and further export front-loading support a recovery in prices, while we maintain our long-term price forecasts;…” Deutsche Bank downgrades Celsius to hold from buy Deutsche said it sees a “challenging road to recovery.” “We upgraded CELH to Buy in March based on our view that execution risks surrounding the core Celsius brand, Alani Nu integration, and portfolio transition were becoming increasingly reflected in the share price.” Barclays reiterates Tesla as equal weight Barclays said it thinks Tesla’s upcoming cybercab event is largely overdone. ” Tesla’s Robotaxi efforts have recently garnered increased attention following Tesla’s announced Cybercab event next Thursday (September 3rd) in Austin. While we expect limited incrementals from the event, with it largely serving as the initial launch of Tesla’s purpose built ‘Cybercab’ AVs, Tesla’s events often generate hype/momentum given the ‘meme’ nature of the stock.” BMO upgrades Extra Space Storage to outperform from market perform BMO said shares are compelling. “We upgrade EXR to OP with a $170/sh target on valuation, greater confidence in storage’s recovery, declining supply with housing/rates a potential positive unknown.” Deutsche Bank reiterates Salesforce as buy Deutsche said the company is firing on all cylinders. “F2Q provided the clearest evidence yet that Salesforce’s organic revenue growth has troughed and its second-half reacceleration is more clearly in sight, while also pushing back on concerns that AI will disintermediate core applications.” Wolfe reiterates Alphabet as outperform The firm said the stock is a top idea heading into 2027. “Our Outperform rating is based on our long-term view that the company’s scale, AI investments, category leadership position, and product catalysts should enable Alphabet to outgrow the digital advertising market, gain share in Cloud computing, generate new sources of revenue, and remain highly competitive in the Gen AI race.” Evercore ISI reiterates SpaceX as outperform Evercore said political risks for SpaceX i n November are largely overdone. “SPCX screens well against the tests that states are now writing. It generates behind the meter, runs what it believes is the world’s largest battery storage network, designs sites to limit the effect on local power prices, and has pledged to pay for the grid upgrades its data centers require so households do not.” Compass Point initiates Horizon Technology as buy Compass said the business development company is a turnaround story. “We initiate coverage of Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) with a Buy rating and $5.50 price target. HRZN is a turnaround story, and we believe the current valuation provides an attractive risk/reward while the turnaround develops.” Piper Sandler upgrades Macerich to overweight from neutral Piper said it has increasing conviction. “We are upgrading MAC t o OW from Neutral as our revised 2027 estimate on the same target multiple implies > 20% upside.” Deutsche Bank downgrades Regions to hold from buy Deutsche said it sees no meaningful upside ahead for Regions. “Despite a solid long-term track record it’s unclear to us what could drive meaningful further upside to either earnings or the stock.” Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy The firm said Nvidia is “raising the bar” in the AI race following earnings. “Significantly raising FY28/CY27 YoY sales growth guidance to ~70% YoY, well-above consensus at 45%, with demand 2x YoY…” Read more. Piper Sandler upgrades Waters to overweight from neutral Piper said it sees improving demand for Waters. “We believe demand is recovering, while a major analytical-instrument replacement cycle adds upside.” Deutsche downgrades Novo Nordisk to sell from hold Deutsche cited a slew of negative catalysts for the rating change. “All points highlighted give us less assurance NOVO management will be able to address the Ozempic/Wegovy US patent cliff in 2032.” Deutsche Bank upgrades LTC Properties to buy from hold Deutsche said it sees earnings growth for the real estate investment trust. “We are raising our price target on the improved earnings growth outlook in outer years to $55 from $38. We are upgrading LTC to a Buy rating from our prior Hold rating.” Bank of America reiterates Meta as buy Bank of America said it’s bullish on the company’s teen safety legal settlement. “As part of the settlement, Meta also agreed to implement multiple additional teen-safety measures and parental controls, including default daily usage limits, nighttime restrictions and muted notifications during school hours. The company expects to accrue a legal expense of ~$10bn in 3Q’26.” Bank of America upgrades Everpure to buy from neutral The firm said it sees “breakout growth.” “We upgrade Everpure Inc. to a Buy (from Neutral) given the following: 1) we expect estimate revisions to continue to be positive, 2) as the business becomes more meaningful for internal hyperscaler use, revenues and TAM for the company will continue to grow…” Bank of America upgrades Okta to neutral from underperform Bank of America upgraded Okta following earnings. “2Q27 results were solid across the board and especially where it counts.” Citi reiterates CrowdStrike as buy Citi raised its price target to $260 per share from $250 and says investors should keep buying CrowdStrike following earnings. “Reaffirm Buy ahead of 9/2 investor-briefing, with raised CitiE lifting PT to $260.” BMO upgrades First Solar to outperform from market perform The firm said a solar threat by Tesla is overdone fo r First Solar. “When Opportunity Knocks. Our upgrade comes down to three primary factors: a compelling post-232 valuation, a multi-year runway to re-rate bookings, and a Tesla threat we think is more than priced into the stock at this point which together outweigh what we believe is a transitory 2026–27 margin trough.” Bank of America initiates Amkor Technology as buy Bank of America said the semis assembly company is undervalued. “We initiate coverage of Amkor Technology with a Buy rating and $70 PO (reflecting 45% upside potential from 8/26/26 closing price of $48.40). We see AMKR as an underappreciated beneficiary of rising semiconductor packaging complexity…”
