Monday’s Top Wall Street Calls: Upgrades, Downgrades, and New Coverage for Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, and More

Monday’s trading session brought a fresh wave of analyst commentary across technology, defense, retail, and industrial sectors. Major firms including Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Goldman Sachs issued new ratings, price targets, and initiations covering high-profile names such as Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Lockheed Martin, and Dollar General.

Jefferies maintained its underperform rating on Apple ahead of earnings. The firm expects fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share to beat consensus by 4% and 5%, respectively, driven by strong pulled-in iPhone sales ahead of the September 9 price hikes. However, Jefferies forecasts a miss for the December quarter, citing weaker-than-expected iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max demand as evidenced by early order cuts, along with rising memory prices that could pressure gross margins. Separately, Jefferies upgraded CACI International to buy from hold, highlighting its impressive defense technology portfolio and high-single-digit organic growth.

Bank of America initiated coverage of Installed Building Products with a buy rating and a $225 price target, implying roughly 14% upside, citing expected margin resilience. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Accelevation with a buy rating and a $22 price target, expressing a bullish outlook on the data center supplier.

Morgan Stanley upgraded Lockheed Martin to overweight from equal weight, describing the company’s recently announced 10-year framework agreement to deliver 156 F-35 aircraft annually as a significant derisking event. Meanwhile, Bernstein reiterated its outperform rating on SpaceX and raised its price target to $268 from $248, citing terrestrial AI build plans and the potential for orbital data centers to support a multi-trillion-dollar valuation.

Piper Sandler reiterated Nvidia as overweight ahead of earnings later this quarter. Despite recent volatility, the firm noted a pivot by some investors back to Nvidia and stated that the Vera Rubin ramp appears on track, with the company already guiding for roughly 70% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal 2028.

Barclays upgraded Tesla to overweight from equal weight, citing merger and acquisition opportunities, a stronger core business outlook, and signs of Robotaxi inflection. The firm also mentioned a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger driven by vertical integration and Elon Musk’s ownership considerations, noting that such a deal would require a shareholder vote.

BMO initiated coverage of FirstEnergy as outperform with a $50 price target, citing expected EPS upside. TD Cowen upgraded Booz Allen Hamilton to buy from hold with a $95 price target, pointing to a funded backlog, federal civilian sales, and improving fixed-price trends. Guggenheim initiated coverage of Nutanix with a buy rating and a $100 price target, implying approximately 42% upside potential.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Block to equal weight from overweight, citing bullish expectations, modestly lower EBIT assumptions, and pressure on near-term loan origination growth and credit losses from longer-duration borrower loans. Barclays initiated Life Time Group as overweight, highlighting its position at the intersection of growing consumer focus on health and wellness and the continued strength of higher-income consumers.

UBS upgraded Ross Stores to buy from neutral, expecting meaningful upward EPS revisions. The firm stated that recent same-store sales momentum can persist and that new CEO strategies should help close a store productivity gap versus TJX. Raymond James upgraded ConnectOne Bancorp to outperform from market perform with a $37 target price, following favorable third-quarter results highlighted by solid loan and deposit growth, expense discipline, and stronger fees.

Wells Fargo upgraded NorthWestern Energy Group to overweight from equal weight and raised its price target to $90. Barclays also upgraded LKQ to overweight from equal weight, citing an improving risk/reward profile. JPMorgan added Dollar General to its focus list, projecting margin expansion with third-quarter gross margin expected to expand 40 basis points year over year to 30.3%.

StoneX initiated coverage of Coherent with a buy rating and a $425 twelve-month price target. The firm also initiated Lumentum as buy, noting earnings leverage but stressing that execution is required to earn the multiple. Monness Crespi Hardt initiated SoFi as buy, calling the stock cheap and describing it as compelling tuck-in value for an incumbent bank or tech platform.

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