Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls this week

What has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 Buy calls and the top 5 Sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the week of October 28-November 1.

Find all top-rated stocks by the best-rated analysts on TipRanks.

Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. Benchmark upgrades “best in breed” Wingstop to Buy following pullback

Benchmark upgraded Wingstop (WING) to Buy from Hold with a $340 price target after the recent 21% pullback in shares of the “best-in-breed operator” following the company’s Q3 earnings report. The firm believes that “the angst” behind the selloff is “largely misplaced” as concerns about slowing same-store sales growth, while real, are more representative of Wingstop lapping four consecutive quarters of 20%-unit growth in the upcoming four quarters versus there being any evidence of brand related issues, the firm tells investors.

Wingstop upgraded to Buy at BTIG

BTIG upgraded Wingstop to Buy from Neutral with a $370 price target. The firm cites the post-earnings selloff in the shares for the upgrade. The decline below $300 represents an attractive opportunity for long-term investors willing to look past the “hyper-analyzing over what guidance implies” for Q4 comps, the firm tells investors in a research note. BTIG believes Wingstop has a strong brand with “ample resources to reaccelerate” same-store sales, including increased advertising, menu innovation with chicken sandwich or tenders, and promotions like the boneless bundle. It also believes management could at some point increase the royalty rate on new units to capture further earnings potential.

2. First Solar upgraded to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott ahead of earnings

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to Buy from Neutral with a $260 fair value estimate ahead of the company’s report due after today’s close. Shares are down about 32% from their $300 high seen in mid-June, reflecting increased uncertainty related to project push-outs, AD/CVD tariff rulings and post-election worries, notes the firm, which sees a “much improved risk-reward profile” given the current valuation. Visibility should improve after the election and a Trump win would put a bigger focus on tariffs, which the firm thinks would be a positive for long-term pricing assumptions, Janney added.

3. Wells starts Trade Desk at Overweight on positive industry trends

Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Trade Desk (TTD) with an Overweight rating and $150 price target. The firm sees “multiple factors benefiting” Trade Desk, including Amazon (AMZN) accelerating shift of advertising spend to connected TV, new partnerships ramping and Google distracted with regulatory woes. Wells is looking past the stock’s “lofty valuation” in light of positive industry trends and its above Street estimates. The firm believes introducing ads on Prime Video accelerated connected TV industry growth, benefiting Trade Desk, “contrary to initial buy side fears.”

4. Guggenheim starts Six Flags with Buy with “positive catalysts ahead”

Guggenheim initiated coverage of Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) with a Buy rating and $52 price target. Six Flags operates a portfolio of 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks, and nine resort properties across North America, the firm tells investors in a research note. Guggenheim believes the company has built a “strong differentiated theme park business with multiple growth levers and positive catalysts ahead.” Catalysts include management successfully integrating and realizing synergies from the new combined portfolio and attendance growing back towards historical levels, the firm contends. Guggenheim also sees room for Six Flags’ per-cap growth as regional theme parks remain an “entertainment bargain.”

5. Coinbase initiated with a Buy at Monness Crespi

Monness Crespi initiated coverage of Coinbase (COIN) with a Buy rating and $245 price target. The firm sees Coinbase as a long-term crypto exchange, custody and services winner given its “first-mover advantage, superior technology, and leading compliance.” As long as crypto can retain value based on its utility in decentralized finance, development in a multi-chain future remains likely and Coinbase should prosper off of these activities, Monness Crespi tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. Trade Desk downgraded to Sell at New Street on difficult post-election comps

New Street downgraded Trade Desk to Sell from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $86. Enthusiasm for the stock is “understandable” as smaller walled gardens continue giving Trade Desk more access to their premium inventory and the company’s top competitor, Google’s (GOOGL) DV 360, continues to give share according to all of the firm’s recent industry conversations, says New Street, which adds that “there’s no change to our view that TTD is best-in-class for vision, strategy and execution.” However, the challenge is 2025 as consensus implies about 30% core spend growth excluding political, up from 19% in 2024. The firm believes that core spend growth can accelerate in 2025, just not to the level that consensus implies, arguing that 2025 consensus is not properly reflecting the difficult comps that will follow the U.S. election.

2. Arm downgraded to Underperform at Bernstein

Bernstein downgraded Arm (ARM) to Underperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of $100. While the story has remained relatively unchanged in an overall “gloomy” semiconductor environment, Arm’s share price has rallied nearly 40% since Bernstein’s upgrade less than a quarter ago, the firm tells investors in a research note. Bernstein’s believes Arm’s long term equity story “remains very appealing,” but questions at what price? Despite using a “generous and merited” valuation, it struggles to find upside from current share levels.

3. Celanese downgraded to Sell at Vertical Research as fundamental pressure mounts

Vertical Research downgraded Celanese (CE) to Sell from Hold with a $130 price target. Shares have underperformed in 2024, but the firm’s research suggests that fundamental pressure continues to mount in both of the company’s two segments of Engineered Materials and “especially” Acetyl Chain, the firm tells investors. The firm also has not been encouraged by recent “reads across” from chemical industry peers in the early part of the Q3 earnings season, Vertical Research added.

4. First Interstate downgraded to Underweight at Barclays

Barclays downgraded First Interstate (FIBK) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $30, down from $32. Fundamentals are improving on “several fronts” for the mid-cap banks as 2025 net interest margin looks better than expected, loan production remains strong, and credit continues to outperform, the firm tells investors in a research note. Barclays reshuffled ratings in the group. Banc of California (BANC) and Valley National (VLY) have made good progress on turning around their balance sheets and had relatively clean Q3 results, contends the firm. On the other hand, Barclays sees little strategic change occurring at First Interstate in the near-term and notes the bank’s credit results have lagged peers in recent years.

5. Lyell Immunopharma double downgraded to Underperform at BofA 

BofA downgraded Lyell Immunopharma (LYEL) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $1, down from $6, following the company’s pipeline reorganization and discontinuation of CAR-T LYL797. The acquisition of ImmPACT Bio for its CAR-T IMPT-314 “raises eyebrows” and complicates the story, says the firm, which recognizes ‘314’s value proposition but thinks the program risks becoming a distraction with resources limited and competition growing.