Apple upgraded, Qualcomm 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 5 Upgrades: 

• BNP Paribas upgraded Apple (AAPL) to Outperform from Neutral with a $300 price target. The memory price crunch should translate to low-to-mid tier demand destruction at the industry level for smartphones, but the firm sees an opportunity for Apple to drive share gains because while the company is impacted by higher memory prices, its “size availability is not an issue and it typically commands the best price,” the analyst tells investors.
• Mizuho upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Neutral from Underperform and STMicroelectronics (STM) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm believes strong AI server and industrial demand is driving the analog suppliers to raise prices in China 10% in April, which Mizuho views as positive for STM and Texas Instruments.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM)to Neutral from Underperform and Chevron (CVX) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm says “collapsing” oil and product inventories amid the Iran war will bring an extended oil upside price cycle.
• Stifel upgraded Onto Innovation (ONTO) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $350, up from $220. The firm is surprised by the “muted” share reaction to Onto’s positive preannouncement and the qualification of its new Gen5 Dragonfly system for 2.5D advance packaging.
• Seaport Research upgraded Quaker Houghton (KWR) to Buy from Neutral with a $175 price target. The outlook shifts from expecting improving demand to anticipating weaker consumer demand, higher inflation, and more volatile input costs following the Iran war, leading to reduced volume growth assumptions and higher pricing expectations, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• BNP Paribas downgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $120, down from $180, telling investors that the firm sees “no end in sight for smartphone woes.”
• Wolfe Research downgraded Qorvo (QRVO) to Peer Perform from Outperform with no price target. The firm cites the company’s pending acquisition by Skyworks (SWKS) for the downgrade.
• Stephens downgraded Shift4 Payments (FOUR) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $50, down from $65. Despite a discounted valuation, the firm sees “a low probability to multiple expansion” in the absence of clean beat and raise quarters and views the Q1 setup as complicated by the impact of the Iran conflict on Global Blue based on the impact of Middle East tourism on luxury sales in Europe.
• Mizuho double downgraded NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to Underperform from Outperform with a price target of $188, down from $255. NXP’s “big” auto exposure is a headwind in 2026 amid soft volumes, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• JPMorgan downgraded Clorox (CLX) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $99, down from $117, ahead of the fiscal Q3 report on April 30. The firm sees the company’s category growth being below historical trends for the foreseeable future due to “exogenous factors,” such as the low-income U.S. consumer remaining stretched.

Top 5 Initiations: 

• TD Cowen initiated coverage of Spire (SR) with a Hold rating and $101 price target. The company’s recent strategic shift as well as improved regulation in Missouri should lead to strong regulated earnings growth post-2027, with minimal equity needs in the near term, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Corvus Pharmaceuticals (CRVS) with a Buy rating and $40 price target. The shares trade at an attractive entry point given the company’s “leading emerging” oral option in the “large” post-Dupixent atopic dermatitis market, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage of Repligen (RGEN) with a Buy rating and $160 price target. The stock’s premium valuation is warranted given the company’s “sector-leading” mid-term revenue and adjusted earnings outlooks of 15% and 29% respectively, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Lucid Capital initiated coverage of SharonAI (SHAZ) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. Demand for AI infrastructure capacity is growing faster than new data centers can be built and SharonAI is “uniquely well positioned to supply AI compute to a supply-constrained Asia Pacific market,” the firm tells investors in a research note.
• RBC Capital initiated coverage of Woodward (WWD) with an Outperform rating and $450 price target. The firm sees long-term earnings upside for the company due to the “burgeoning” maintenance, repair, and overhaul activity.