Apple upgraded, AMD downgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

Top Upgrades:

• MoffettNathanson upgraded Apple (AAPL) to Neutral from Sell with a $225 price target. A number of key headwinds have faded and the “worst-case scenarios are off the table,” the firm tells investors.
• Evercore ISI upgraded Brinker (EAT) to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $210, up from $190. The firm sees upside to consensus estimates in the near term and sustainable same-store sales growth potential from Brinker’s improving customer satisfaction measures.
• RBC Capital upgraded Leidos (LDOS) to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $210, up from $180. The firm’s bullish thesis is underpinned by continued strength and execution in Leidos’ Health Services business, strong defense portfolio positioning, increased confidence under CEO Tom Bell and the revised strategic direction, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• HSBC upgraded Copart (CPRT) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $62, up from $56. The firm says the stock’s 20% decline since the fiscal Q3 results bring an attractive entry point.

Top Downgrades:

• Seaport Research downgraded AMD (AMD) to Neutral from Buy with no price target. Recent supply chain checks point to AMD seeing slowing growth in its AI accelerator business, the firm tells investors.
• Gordon Haskett downgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to Reduce from Hold with a $95 price target. Following the Q2 earnings report, the firm remains concerned with Dollar Tree’s move into higher price points.
• Evercore ISI downgraded Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) to In Line from Outperform with a $190 price target. Texas Roadhouse continues to sustain strong same-store sales and traffic growth, but the firm is reducing its 2025 and 2026 EPS estimates as its base case now assumes double-digit beef inflation persists through the first half of 2026.
• BofA downgraded Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) to Neutral from Buy with a $68 price target. The firm views the asset manager as “not best positioned” among peers for U.S. retail and 401(k) opportunities after President Trump’s executive order; it calls Brookfield the “most expensive asset manager in the world” following the stock’s price performance since April; it notes that Brookfield’s capital intensity has increased; and it views the addition of the stock to the S&P 500 as “unlikely” over the near-term.
• DA Davidson downgraded Duolingo (DUOL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $300, down from $500. The firm’s proprietary data shows Duolingo’s active user growth continuing to decelerate and suggests that active users and subscribers are tracking below Q3 consensus estimates.

Top Initiations:

• Piper Sandler analyst Anna Andreeva assumed coverage of Elf Beauty (ELF) with an Overweight rating and $150 price target. With the category showing signs of stabilization, Elf’s pipeline of innovation robust, comparisons easing the rest of the year, with higher pricing as a tailwind, and contribution from Rhode still ahead, sell side estimates are upwardly biased, the firm says.
• Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Entegris (ENTG) with a Perform rating and $95 price target. The firm says Entegris is potentially a compelling investment, but its full promise is still unfolding, requiring patience, constrained by industry cycles and an extended balance sheet from the $6.5B purchase of CMC in June 2022, Oppenheimer argues.
• Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Middleby (MIDD) with an Outperform rating and $163 price target. The firm views Middleby as a “high-quality, defensive growth business” with strong margins and “underappreciated” free cash flow.
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Quanta Services (PWR) with a Neutral rating and $360 price target. The company is positioned to benefit from grid and electrification “super-cycle,” with secular growth in data centers, grid modernization, and clean energy, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Guggenheim initiated coverage of Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. If Summit’s HARMONi-3/7 first-line lung cancer trials are successful on PFS/OS in 2027-2028, the firm has “high conviction the stock still has multi-fold upside potential from today’s ~$20bn valuation.”