Visa upgraded, MasterCard 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:

• Seaport Research upgraded Visa (V) to Buy from Neutral with a $359 price target. The firm expects upside-to-consensus revenue and EPS expectations for Visa this year and argues that the company’s upcoming investor day should “also be a positive catalyst.”
• BTIG upgraded Instacart (CART) to Buy from Neutral with a $58 price target. The immediate catalyst for the upgrade is a step-up in estimates with BTIG’s tracking pointing to strong order growth, putting it above consensus for Q4 and 2025, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Seaport Research upgraded Fiserv (FI) to Buy from Neutral with a $240 price target. The firm likes Fiserv’s earnings power and stock price have proven to be highly durable in numerous macro environments, which it views as “increasingly valuable in ’25.”
• DA Davidson upgraded Clearwater Analytics (CWAN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $32, down from $35. The company’s proposed merger with Enfusion (ENFN) is “very strategic” and is likely to advance Clearwater’s technology road map by several years, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Truist upgraded Monarch Casino (MCRI) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $100, up from $82. The company’s “best-in-class assets” should benefit as Reno renovations complete in Q2 while its “best-in-class” balance sheet puts it in strong positioning for acquisitions, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Seaport Research downgraded MasterCard (MA) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The firm continues to like the MasterCard story but sees the shares as relatively fairly valued and the company’s revenue upside in 2025 more limited.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $51, down from $54. The firm is downgrading the stock to reflect two new factors, namely a “more guarded house view” on China GDP, which may limit continued outperformance and plateauing trends in Singapore just as a significant capital investment is beginning.
• BTIG downgraded Match Group (MTCH) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The firm cut estimates to align with Match’s investor day outlook and sees “no real line of sight” on a Tinder turnaround.
• Baird downgraded General Dynamics (GD) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $283, down from $345. The firm cites the company’s “poor” execution, G700 delivery headwinds, Naval shipyard delays, and Department of Government Efficiency headline risk for the downgrade.
• Raymond James downgraded Fortinet (FTNT) to Market Perform from Outperform without a price target. The stock is up nearly 70% since the company’s billings growth broke even in Q2, and Raymond James is now forced to reevaluate its view as expectations for a “supercycle” in network security “are increasingly becoming part of the narrative.”

Top 5 Initiations:

• Citi initiated coverage of Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) with a Neutral rating and $430 price target. The firm views Zebra as a beneficiary of longer-term automation and digitization adoption trends, but mixed to cautious consumer sentiment and capex budget tightness combined with the discretionary nature of automation spend temper Citi’s enthusiasm for the shares.
• Truist initiated coverage of Lockheed Martin (LMT) with a Buy rating and $579 price target. The firm believes Lockheed’s recent 25% pullback off its recent high “has created a compelling entry point.” Truist also started coverage of Northrop Grumman (NOC) with a Buy rating and $544 price target.
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of FIS (FIS) with an Equal Weight rating and $88 price target. While FIS delivered an “impressive turnaround” in 2024, medium term estimates and the stock’s multiple “appear well calibrated,” the firm says.
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Jack Henry (JKHY) with an Underweight rating and $155 price target. Despite positive business prospects, potential headwinds from bank acquisition resumption presents risk to Jack Henry’s medium-term estimates, the firm tells investors in a research note
• Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Pony AI (PONY) with a Buy rating and $20 price target. The firm expects Pony’s “Robotaxi” and “Robotruck” businesses to continue to generate a rising share of total revenue – from 58% in 2024 to 97% in 2030.