Wall Street Analyst Roundup: Key Upgrades and Downgrades for Nvidia, Apple, and More

Wednesday’s market activity saw several significant analyst shifts across various sectors. Here are the primary calls from Wall Street:

Baird downgrades Nvidia to Neutral from Outperform
Baird noted several emerging negative catalysts for the chipmaker. The firm cited a lack of visibility regarding 2027 data center forecasts, driven by potential supply constraints and softening demand. Additionally, uncertainties regarding CEO tenure heading into 2027 are expected to impact near-term trading ranges.

UBS reiterates Apple as Neutral
UBS reported that its data indicates a downward trend in iPhone wait times. According to Evidence Lab tracking across more than 30 geographies, average wait times for the Pro, Pro Max, and Duo models have seen weekly decreases.

Goldman Sachs reiterates CoreWeave as Buy
Following Tuesday’s earnings, Goldman Sachs encouraged investors to continue accumulating CoreWeave shares. The bank believes the company’s technological differentiation, ability to scale capital expenditure, and favorable contract economics will drive significant equity returns over the next year, suggesting buying opportunities near year-to-date lows.

Piper Sandler upgrades Alpha Tau Medical to Overweight from Neutral
Piper Sandler highlighted the company’s unique market position, upgrading its rating due to the potential of the Alpha DaRT local alpha-radiation platform across various solid tumors.

Morgan Stanley reiterates Nvidia as Overweight
While maintaining its Overweight rating and twelve-month price target, Morgan Stanley removed Nvidia from its “top ideas” list, citing near-term uncertainties and the critical importance of CEO Jensen Huang’s leadership to the company’s strategy.

JPMorgan upgrades Republic Services to Overweight from Neutral
Citing robust growth in solid waste volumes, JPMorgan upgraded RSG to Overweight with a price target of $295 by December 27.

Piper Sandler initiates CareDx as Overweight
The precision diagnostics firm received an Overweight initiation with a $100 price target. Analysts believe the market is underestimating CareDx’s capacity to expand beyond annual transplant volumes by increasing testing frequency among its existing patient base.

TD Cowen initiates Mentari as Buy
TD Cowen launched coverage on the biotech firm with a Buy rating, noting its development of next-generation antibodies targeting PACAP and CGRP pathways for migraine prevention.

Deutsche Bank upgrades Unilever to Buy from Hold
Despite headwinds in the Staples sector, Deutsche Bank believes Unilever provides a balanced profile of long-term transformation potential, earnings confidence, and liquidity to hedge against AI-related risks.

JPMorgan upgrades Mercury Systems to Overweight from Neutral
Following recent earnings, JPMorgan upgraded MRCY to Overweight. While noting volatility in small and mid-cap defense stocks, the bank expressed confidence in management’s ability to drive value and sees potential for estimate upside.

Jefferies initiates several Buy ratings:

• Teradyne: Initiated at Buy with a $284.00 price target, noting the company’s role as a critical compute test provider for AI.
• FormFactor: Initiated at Buy with a $102.00 price target, suggesting investors buy the recent weakness.
• Corning: Initiated at Buy with a $134.00 price target, citing the company’s central role in the AI-driven fiber shortage.
• Cognex: Initiated at Buy, highlighting the attractiveness of its AI vision software and hardware for industrial automation.
• Littelfuse: Initiated at Buy, noting management’s successful efforts to expand the product portfolio beyond traditional circuit protection.
• Zebra Technologies: Initiated at Buy with a $382.00 price target, suggesting the stock is oversold and presents a “buy the dip” opportunity.

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