The S&P 500 (SP500) closed in the green on Friday, after the week saw the start of another earnings season and news of a framework deal as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe.
For the week, Nasdaq (COMP:IND) and Dow (DJI) rose over 2% and 1.8%, respectively.
Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:
Bernstein downgrades Amgen, says 2026 could be ‘waiting year’
Bernstein has downgraded Amgen (AMGN) to Market Perform from Outperform, arguing that 2026 could be a “waiting year” for the pharma giant and its stock will remain within 15% of its $335 per share target for the rest of the year.
While Amgen’s obesity candidate MariTide can generate above-consensus expectations, analyst Courtney Breen argued that any upside revisions to the once-monthly drug are unlikely until its first Phase 3 trial generates data, potentially in Q1 2027.
Breen also cited competitive pressure on Amgen’s cholesterol drug, Repatha, from Merck’s (MRK) oral PCSK9 inhibitor, Enlicitide, which is expected to launch in H2.
JPM upgrades Chevron, Suncor; ConocoPhillips, Cenovus receives cut
Chevron (CVX) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral with a $176 PT at J.P. Morgan, based on the view that the company is in an attractive phase of its investment cycle following the completion of the Hess merger, while structural cost reduction efforts are on track to deliver $3B-$4B in annual run-rate savings by 2026.
Analyst Arun Jayaram moved ConocoPhillips (COP) to Neutral from Overweight with a $98 PT, saying the stock trades at premium FCF/EV yields to Big Oil peers in 2026-27. Meanwhile, he upgraded Suncor Energy (SU) to Overweight from Neutral with a C$75 PT, citing “remarkable” execution progress under the current management team.
The brokerage also lowered Cenovus Energy (CVE) to Neutral from Overweight with a C425 price target on the stock, saying the company has hit its stride from an execution standpoint both upstream and downstream.
JPMorgan gives bullish rating to Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded by JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral and assigned a price target of $165 on the stock.
Analyst Andrea Teixeira believes the company is poised to accelerate organic sales growth, improve margin rates in the medium term, and see re-rating back to historical valuation multiples.
“We believe there is upside to consensus longer term as categories are recovering growth in the U.S. We believe PG will regain market share given its strong brand equity, marketing capabilities, and supply chain excellence/resilience positively in the current operating environment,” wrote Texeira.
Netflix in focus after quarterly report
Analysts, in general, found Netflix’s (NFLX) quarterly results as somewhat “mixed” and “underwhelming”. However, they said that the streaming giant is poised for long-term growth and that the current weakness ‘a buying opportunity’ for investors.
Even though Wedbush and Jefferies made no change in their ratings and PT, Needham, Morgan Stanley and Canaccord Genuity cut price target for the stock.
Needham maintained Buy rating and views the strong content slate the platform has for 2026, its focus on international growth and diversification into complementary businesses as reasons for the bullish rating. The brokerage lowered PT by $30 to $120.
Similarly, Morgan Stanley continued to stay bullish for its ability to drive adj. EPS growth over 20% annually through 2028E as it continues to scale the world’s largest streaming business. It cut PT by $10 to $110. Canaccord Genuity cut PT by $27.50 to $125.
Deutsche Bank joins bull camp on Applied Materials
Deutsche Bank became the latest Wall Street firm to upgrade Applied Materials (AMAT) as it hiked the semiconductor equipment maker to Buy from Neutral and put a $390 price target on the stock.
Analyst Melissa Weathers said the upgrade reflects a “much more constructive [wafer fab equipment] environment entering 2026 and 2027.” She also noted that memory sellers are “accelerating” the construction and expansion of new DRAM fabs, which should drive DRAM wafer fab equipment spending higher in the medium term.
Susquehanna also upgraded British semiconductor firm Arm (ARM) to Positive from Neutral and upped its PT to $150, as it has “increased confidence” it can scale its data center and networking revenue.
Jefferies upgraded Ramaco Resources (METC) to Buy from Hold with a $30 price target, saying the risk to consensus met coal price forecasts is clearly to the upside while ongoing and escalating geopolitical risks related to critical minerals are positive for the stock.
Stifel upgraded Datadog (DDOG), citing an “attractive” risk-reward profile. Analyst Brad Reback, who raised his rating to Buy from Hold, but cut his price target to $160 from $205, added that the company is seeing an acceleration in its core business, citing recent commentary from Datadog management at an investor conference.