Wingstop upgraded, Estee Lauder 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:

• Benchmark upgraded Wingstop (WING) to Buy from Hold with a $340 price target after yesterday’s 21% pullback in shares of the “best-in-breed operator” following the company’s Q3 earnings report. BTIG also upgraded Wingstop to Buy from Neutral with a $370 price target.
• BofA upgraded L3Harris Technologies (LHX) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $300, up from $240. The firm had previously been more conservative in giving credit to the prospect of growth through cutting back, but since the company announced the transformation initiative “LHX next” at their 2023 Investor Day, BofA says it has viewed the results favorably.
• Wolfe Research upgraded Danaher (DHR) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $285 price target. The shares have fallen over 10% in the past week, a move that is unwarranted as Danaher’s “fundamental setup remains unscathed,” the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Meritage Homes (MTH) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $235, up from $205. Meritage’s strategy of offering quick close, move-in ready new homes leaves it well positioned for above average growth as it offers a more compelling alternative to existing units, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Regions Financial (RF) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $28, up from $27. The shares are trading at a 6% discount to peers on 2026 estimates despite return on tangible common equity expectations north of 18% versus peers at 15.4%, the firm notes.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Citi downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $80, down from $105. The firm says that even though the bar was very low, Estee’s fiscal Q1 results and guidance update were much worse than expected, with the removal of fiscal 2025 guidance, Q2 well below expectations, and a dividend cut. Stifel also downgraded Estee Lauder to Hold from Buy with a $125 price target following “disappointing” fiscal Q1 results and the withdrawal of FY25 guidance.
• Argus downgraded Supermicro (SMCI) to Hold from Buy. The firm cites the resignation of the company’s auditing firm Ernst & Young Global in the wake of the “serious allegations” from a short seller, which in turn has led to a Department of Justice investigation.
• Rosenblatt downgraded Monolithic Power (MPWR) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $880. While the firm sees Monolithic “capturing the pole position in power delivery to accelerator sockets” with many other GPU/ASIC solutions going forward, the Nvidia (NVDA) roadmap looks to have Texas Instruments (TXN) and perhaps Analog Devices (ADI) in the mix for the Rubin cycle in 2026.
• BMO Capital downgraded Brinker (EAT) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $105, up from $80.. The shares now better reflect the strength of Chili’s turnaround after appreciating over 200% in the last 12 months. JPMorgan also downgraded Brinker to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $100, up from $67
• 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 notes.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Macquarie initiated coverage of Braze (BRZE) with a Neutral rating and $30 price target. The firm continues to view artificial intelligence as an important catalyst to Braze shares, but says the company’s recent growth slowdown suggests this shift may take longer and move slower than current estimates forecast.
• Mizuho reinstated coverage of EnLink Midstream (ENLC) with a Neutral rating and $15 price target. The firm says its valuation is generally comparable to an eventual purchase price from Oneok (OKE), which purchased 43% of common units for $14.90 plus $300M for 100% for interests of the company’s managing member.
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Oric Pharmaceuticals (ORIC) with an Overweight rating and $20 price target. The firm likes the setup for the shares heading into 2025 as it expects “several de-risking catalysts” for ORIC-114 and ORIC-944 programs in the next 12 months.
• Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Terns Pharmaceuticals (TERN) with an Outperform rating and $17 price target, representing 150% potential upside. The firm is optimistic about the company’s clinical pipeline with lead assets TERN-701 for chronic myeloid leukemia and TERN-601 for obesity.
• H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) with a Buy rating and $18 price target. The firm says Vanda “possesses five key attractors,” including a well-established commercial portfolio with multiple line extension and life cycle management opportunities, and a track record of execution from a sales and marketing standpoint.