Recent analyst actions feature notable shifts in the technology and retail sectors, with Cloudflare (NET) and Target (TGT) receiving upgrades based on competitive positioning and potential acquisition catalysts respectively. Meanwhile, analysts have turned more cautious on Palantir (PLTR) and Pfizer (PFE), with the AI software company facing valuation concerns amid macroeconomic uncertainty and the pharmaceutical giant grappling with declining revenue guidance and recurring charges that mask true earnings weakness.
Upgrades
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Cloudflare, Inc. (NET): Upgrade Hold to Buy by Star Investments. The analyst upgraded Cloudflare following strong Q3 FY2025 results, citing the company’s ability to compete directly with hyperscalers for AI-driven workloads and its shift from CDN to an AI inference platform that offers enterprises lower costs and eliminates egress fees.
“The company has benefited significantly from a change in its business model over the last several years, which is among the reasons investors have assigned the stock a premium valuation.”
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Target Corporation (TGT): Upgrade Hold to Buy by YR Research. The analyst upgraded Target based on an attractive risk/reward profile, with acquisition or asset monetization as key potential catalysts following activist investor Toms Capital taking a stake in the company.
“From what I’ve found, Toms Capital had invested in Kenvue and Kellanova, both of which have reached agreements to get acquired later on. … At a $45 billion market cap and a $62 billion enterprise value, Target is a possible acquisition candidate for a similar acquisition by certain types of companies.”
Downgrades
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Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Oliver Rodzianko. The analyst downgraded Palantir due to extreme valuation multiples and macro-driven risks as AI-capex exuberance fades, with the stock’s beta of 1.5 making it particularly vulnerable to sentiment shifts.
“The risk here is not a crash in AI demand, which is extremely unlikely, but instead the market beginning to view the AI spending curve as linear or logarithmic rather than exponential. … Logically, and from first principles, the above macro map explains that Palantir is prone to multiple compression even without fundamental earnings revisions for its company directly, because the de-rating would be macro-sentiment driven.”
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Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Downgrade Hold to Sell by Hunting Alpha. The analyst downgraded Pfizer citing disappointing FY26 guidance that sets the stage for another year of revenue decline, with recurring unusual charges eating into cost-saving benefits and masking how weak earnings really are.
“Whatever costs are saved here seem to be offset by the recurring ‘unusual charges,’ which on average eat away more than 10% of overall revenues every quarter. … Hence I believe the unadjusted EPS of $1.90-2.1/share is the right number to focus on. Clearly, this uncovers a much more dire picture of Pfizer’s earnings prospects.”