Apple, Starbucks upgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

Top 5 Upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Apple (AAPL) to Hold from Underperform with a price target of $167.88, down from $202.33. Jefferies’ base case remains that Apple would be exempted from U.S. tariffs, given its commitment to invest $500B in the U.S. over the next four years, and its belief that it would make additional manufacturing investment commitment in the U.S.
• Jefferies upgraded Starbucks (SBUX) to Hold from Underperform with an unchanged price target of $76. The stock has quickly retreated 29% since the February market high and is near the price target, pointing to limited near-term downside, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Piper Sandler upgraded Bath & Body Works (BBWI) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $35, down from $38. The company’s business is “fairly well-insulated” from macro pressures relative to peers, with minimal outside the U.S. sourcing, a vertically integrated structure, and accessible price-points, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Travelers (TRV) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $247, up from $225. The firm says its analysis of the statutory reserve triangles including prior-year development and current picks by accident year and line make it more positive on Travelers.
• Scotiabank upgraded Public Storage (PSA) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $305, down from $333. The firm sees attractive valuations in the self-storage real estate investment trust space. Scotiabank also upgraded Extra Space Storage (EXR) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Monness Crespi downgraded MasterCard (MA) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The firm views the stock’s valuation as “rich” and highlights MasterCard’s sensitivity to volume and transaction growth.
• Monness Crespi downgraded Fiserv (FI) to Sell from Neutral with a $145 price target. Given the stock’s “rich valuation” and sensitivity to volume and transaction growth expectations in increasingly uncertain conditions makes the firm “circumspect the quality halo can hold for much longer,” the firm tells investors.
• Bernstein downgraded Ford (F) to Underperform from Market Perform with a $7 price target. The firm says tariffs are impacting Ford just as consumer confidence wanes.
• KeyBanc downgraded Bio-Techne (TECH) to Sector Weight from Overweight without a price target. With federal government funding cuts in academic research, the firm sees increased risk stemming from Bio-Techne’s high exposure to this market.
• UBS downgraded RxSight (RXST) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $16, down from $45. The firm cites the company’s lower near-term sales growth and longer path to profitability for the downgrade.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Stephens initiated coverage of Boot Barn (BOOT) with an Equal Weight rating and $100 price target. The firm calls Boot Barn “an old school, unit growth story with compelling economics that are improving,” but adds that last week’s new tariffs create short-term uncertainty and lower baseline profitability “a significant amount.”
• Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Couchbase (BASE) with a Buy rating and $20 price target. The firm believes the company is positioned for healthy annual recurring revenue growth over the next few years as its cloud-based Capella database platform becomes more widely adopted by new and existing customers, customers significantly expand their database consumption levels with more application workloads, and emerging AI applications add to the mix.
• UBS initiated coverage of Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) with a Buy rating and $49 price target. The firm sees upside to the company’s synergy targets and growth profile driving a multiple re-rating of the shares. UBS also started coverage of United Parks & Resorts (PRKS) with a Neutral rating.
• Guggenheim initiated coverage of Cigna (CI) with a Buy rating and $384 price target. The payors and providers of care are still emerging from the “upheaval” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the fallout of varying health coverage changes combined with elevated utilization and pricing developments “effectively tossing long-term growth targets aside,” the firm tells investors in a research note. Guggenheim also started coverage of Acadia Healthcare (ACHC), Humana (HUM), Tenet (THC), United Health (UHS), Ardent Health (ARDT) and Elevance Health (ELV) with Buy ratings, and Centene (CNC), Community Health (CYH), HCA Healthcare (HCA) and Molina Healthcare (MOH) with Neutral ratings.
• Barclays initiated coverage of Lineage (LINE) with an Overweight rating and $59 price target. The firm acknowledges the macro and tariff risk, but says sentiment on the shares has shifted too negative, providing an attractive entry point.