CVS Health upgraded, Mobileye downgraded: 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:

• TD Cowen upgraded CVS Health (CVS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $85, up from $59. The release of 2025 Medicate Advantage plan benefits show CVS saw meaningful reductions in over-the-counter benefits and dental allowances, as well as an apparent increase in 4-star-plus enrollment for 2025, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• HSBC last night upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $118, up from $103. The firm believes the stock’s “long period of underperformance could be ending.”
• BMO Capital upgraded Diamondback Energy (FANG) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $215, up from $205. Following completion of the Endeavor acquisition, Diamondback, along with Exxon Mobil (XOM), is now the dominant player in the Midland Basin, the analyst says.
• Raymond James upgraded Jacobs (J) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $160 price target. The spinoff simplifies Jacobs’ strategy and messaging as a pure play on climate transition solutions, enables a faster growing and higher margin business than its predecessor, and creates the foundation for a higher trading multiple, says Raymond James.
• Wolfe Research upgraded M&T Bank (MTB) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $210 price target. The firm upgraded the mid-cap bank sector to Overweight, saying despite “still elevated” macro uncertainty, it is “incrementally more bullish” on the fundamental outlook for the mid-cap banks than it has been in years.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• UBS downgraded Mobileye (MBLY) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $14, down from $20. The company holds long-term value as a partner for non-Chinese automakers, but a return to growth is further out, and 2025 looks to be a transition year, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• BofA downgraded Warner Music (WMG) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $30, down from $33. The stock’s “premium multiple appears stretched,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• HSBC downgraded GE Vernova (GEV) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $255, up from $240. The stock’s valuation is already pricing in a strong gas equipment and service cycle, and HSBC sees cost overrun risks to GE Vernova’s remaining offshore wind deliveries in 2025 and 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• BofA downgraded Hartford Financial (HIG) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $121, up from $113. Shares are up 47% year-to-date, notes the analyst, who thinks there could be additional upside, but “not enough to justify” a Buy rating.
• RBC Capital downgraded Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a price target of $4, down from $10. The firm sees a low likelihood that dalzanemdor will show clear, clinically meaningful effects in Huntington’s or Alzheimer’s in its year-end Phase II readouts.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of iRhythm Technologies (IRTC) with a Neutral rating and $78 price target. The firm is constructive on the long-term continuous monitoring market but sees potential risk to consensus estimates for iRhythm.
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of aTyr Pharma (ATYR) with an Overweight rating and $17 price target. The analyst believes efzofitimod’s odds of success in its Phase 3 sarcoidosis trial are much higher than investor estimates and the stocks’ risk/reward is “meaningfully skewed to the upside.”
• Scotiabank started coverage of Waste Connections (WCN) with a Sector Perform rating and $196 price target as the firm resumed coverage on five leading North American environmental services companies. While the firm has a positive thesis on the sector, it is “also mindful of some key risks,” including the potential for compression in valuation multiples given they are rich in a historical context, the analyst tells investors.
• Piper Sandler assumed coverage of Peoples Bancorp (PEBO) with an Overweight rating and $39 price target. Peoples Bancorp’s high-quality deposit base, solid organic loan growth opportunities, coupled with likely core net interest margin stability in 2025, above average core fee income growth and well-controlled costs with its peer-leading tech stack, should drive superior operating leverage over the near-term and potential EPS upside, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage of Cameco (CCJ) with a Buy rating and $60 fair value estimate. The firm recommends buying shares in the global nuclear fuel and services company as it thinks Cameco is well positioned to generate strong EBITDA and free cash flow.