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The S&P500 (SP500) closed in the green, after the week saw a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran, a wave of fresh economic data, and a robust outlook from Micron Technology suggesting rising demand for its AI-related chips.
For the week, Nasdaq (COMP:IND) rose 2.7%, while Dow (DJI) advanced 1.9%.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
Melius upgrades AMD on inferencing potential
Melius Research upgraded AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) to Buy from Hold, citing its potential in inferencing.
Melius analyst Benjamin Reitzes, who also upped his PT to $175 from $110, said that even though shares have gained nearly 25% year-to-date, he has “increased conviction” that investors will gain more confidence in AMD’s GPU prospects throughout the year.
“Investors are about to envision even bigger GPU figures in 2026-2028 given a sustainable surge in inferencing, where investing in AMD’s platform seems to be more attractive for hyperscalers and Sovereigns,” noted Reitzes.
CFRA analyst Angelo Zino also raised his rating to Strong Buy from Buy and upped PT to $165 from $125, citing upcoming products and sales.
Uber downgraded on ‘unclear’ future, Lyft bags bullish rating
Canaccord downgraded Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) to Hold from Buy, saying that the future is “truly unclear” for the San Francisco-based company.
While Uber was noted to be strong on the ground operations and other tactical elements, analyst Michael Graham warned that the future is unclear as an alternative scenario is that the new world is dominated by a few AV behemoths that control the value chain and leave both Uber and Lyft reflecting on the golden days of the past.
On the other hand, TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge upgraded Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) to Buy from Hold and named the stock his “best smidcap idea for 2025.”
Blackledge, who also hiked PT for LYFT by 30% to $21, calls Lyft’s customer-focused innovations like Price Lock and partnership with DoorDash “catalysts for growth.”
Roth projects double-digit earnings growth for EA
Roth Capital upgraded Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) to Buy from Neutral, with analyst Eric Handler projecting that the video game giant could see double-digit earnings growth over the next three years.
Handler, who raised PT on EA to $185 from $175, thinks a successful launch of the Battlefield game would be a major near-term catalyst to its stock.
“Sports remains a blue-chip cornerstone for the company’s growth story, but a successful release of a new Battlefield game could materially change investor sentiment,” he said in the research note.
Bank of America, JPMorgan downgraded by Baird
Baird downgraded Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), saying that risk/reward trade-off in mega-cap banks is not attractive.
JPM was cut to Underperform from Neutral, with a price target of $235. Baird analysts think that “expectations are super high here” and returns “will likely not be what they’ve been the last several years at these valuation levels”.
Bank of America was lowered to Neutral from Outperform, with a PT of $52.
“Regionals look better to us on a risk/reward basis, as expectations are relatively low compared with the mega caps,” added Baird.
Goldman Sachs says Dollar General is fairly priced
Goldman Sachs downgraded Dollar General (NYSE:DG) to Neutral from Buy, warning that an intense competitive environment could impact same-store sales, and pointed to ongoing investment needs in stores and supply chain infrastructure.
The brokerage said while Dollar General was credited for improved fundamentals, the stock’s valuation is seen as already pricing that in.
Loop Capital Markets raised PT on Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to a new Wall Street high of $250 from $175. Analyst Ananda Baruah cited the belief that hyperscale and AI factor spending could reach $2T by 2028. The brokerage believes Nvidia could hit a $6T market cap on the view that the company essentially has a monopoly in “critical tech” and has strong pricing power.
Wells Fargo maintained its Overweight rating on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) but raised the PT to $585 from $565, highlighting the company’s ‘AI Ambitions’ while noting that it is ‘still early days.’ Analysts led by Michael Turrin said their analysis for Microsoft’s AI business suggests over $100B upside case by fiscal year 2029.
UBS gave a triple-digit price target hike to $812 from $683 to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), saying the social media and tech giant stands to benefit from consumer and advertiser demand for AI.
Deutsche Bank upgraded The Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) to Buy from Hold and set a street-high PT of $95, citing improving fundamentals. The brokerage believes many of the root causes of decline for the company have now been addressed and looking forward, Estée Lauder’s ability to be more agile and utilize innovation are seen as advantages.
Jefferies downgraded the Dutch semiconductor equipment companies ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) and ASM International (OTCQX:ASMIY) to Hold from Buy, citing spending concerns.