Lyft upgraded, Baidu 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:

• Nomura upgraded Lyft (LYFT) to Neutral from Reduce with a $13 price target, down from $15. Lyft shares are down 22% year-to-date while peer Uber (UBER) is up 19%, and during this time, the cost cuts and operational overhaul executed by Lyft’s management in order to focus on improving profitability and staunching cash burn “have started to show results, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Guggenheim upgraded Roku (ROKU) to Buy from Neutral with a $75 price target, representing 21% potential. The analyst expects investor enthusiasm for the Roku story to grow into the Q3 earnings report in November as the company makes progress toward broadening video inventory advertising sales via third-party demand-side platforms and improved home screen monetization.
• Piper Sandler upgraded Chewy (CHWY) to Overweight from Neutral with a $35 price target following a transfer of analyst coverage. While the company’s sales trends are likely still muted, Chewy appears to be at profitability inflection aided by both gross margin expansion and spending leverage, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• JMP Securities upgraded Warby Parker (WRBY) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $20 price target. The analyst believes consensus estimates for Warby’s 2025 and 2026 are too low, given early signs of mix-shift toward corrective eyeglasses, the company’s consistent market share dynamics, and anticipated operating leverage.
• Wells Fargo upgraded BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $92, up from $75. The analyst cites the post-Q2 share pullback and the company’s “encouraging” strategic shift for the upgrade.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Bernstein downgraded Baidu (BIDU) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $97, down from $130. On the earnings call, Baidu talked about going straight to a cost-per-sale advertising method for artificial intelligence monetization, which is a “significant change,” the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• UBS downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $49, down from $70. The analyst believes the recovery in Las Vegas Sands’ Macau EBITDA “gets more protracted.”
• JPMorgan downgraded Peloton (PTON) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $5, down from $7. JPMorgan downgraded the shares, believing the return to growth in Connected Fitness subscribers and revenue remains challenging, while visibility is limited given secular and macro pressures.
• Raymond James double downgraded Topgolf Callaway (MODG) to Underperform from Outperform without a price target. The analyst applauds management’s openness to a potential spinoff of the business, but says the company’s levered balance sheet “appears to limit its opportunities.”
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Bill (BILL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $54, down from $86. The company’s fiscal Q4 results were solid, but the guidance was mixed, with revenue guidance coming in below the Street and the company calling for significantly higher levels of investments in the coming year to reposition it for growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Piper Sandler assumed coverage of Nike (NKE) with a Neutral rating and $80 price target. As Nike accelerates planned reductions in key classic franchises, competition in the footwear space “isn’t getting any easier,” the analyst tells investors.
• Morgan Stanley assumed coverage of Autodesk (ADSK) with an Overweight rating and $305 price target. The analyst sees shares benefiting from a lowering interest rate environment, new product introductions and go-to-market changes to support growth, as well as an opportunity to accelerate shareholder returns.
• Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Smurfit Westrock (SW) with a Buy rating and $60 price target. The firm believes cyclical upside in corrugated packaging, multiple expansion from the relisting of shares on the New York Stock Exchange and enhanced pro forma free cash flow generation “combine for significant upside potential.”
• Piper Sandler assumed coverage of Crocs (CROX) with an Overweight rating and $170 price target. Shares have rebounded after the Q2 report, but are still down about 15% from the June highs, notes the analyst, who views valuation levels as “too punitive” considering Croc’s growth levers and “industry-leading margins.”
• B. Riley initiated coverage of Varex Imaging (VREX) with a Buy rating and $21 price target. The firm says the company’s competitive advantage is its expertise in designing, building, and assembling highly complex components that are able to withstand extreme conditions.