Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls this week

What has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 Buy calls and the top 5 Sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the week of May 19-23. 

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Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. Stifel upgrades Home Depot to Buy on revenue acceleration

Stifel upgraded Home Depot (HD) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $425, up from $405, following the Q1 report. The firm is surprised the shares didn’t rally post earnings, with accelerating comparable sales through fiscal Q1 “the key positive takeaway,” with April U.S. comparable sales up nearly 2.5%. This performance demonstrates Home Depot’s “idiosyncratic advantages,” suggesting upside potential to its reiterated fiscal year guidance, Stifel tells investors in a research note. The firm now has increased conviction in the company’s revenue acceleration. It tells investors to “own the best house” in the sector.

2. Zoom Communications upgraded to Buy at Needham 

Needham upgraded Zoom Communications (ZM) to Buy from Hold with a $100 price target as coverage was transferred. The firm believes the company is at an “interesting inflection point” where revenue headwinds from Online are easing, dilution from stock-based compensation has peaked and the share count can decrease with buybacks moving forward. The pricing power of the business may be returning due to new embedded AI functionality, adds Needham, which believes Zoom is “well positioned for new products driven by AI to begin moving the needle on growth.”

3. Charter upgraded to Buy at Loop Capital 

Loop Capital upgraded Charter (CHTR) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $510, up from $430. The firm sees “enhanced growth prospects” from the company’s proposed merger with Cox Communications. The transaction is expected to be accretive, reduce leverage, and deliver scale efficiencies, positioning Charter as the largest domestic cable operator, Loop tells investors in a research note. Further, the firm believes Charter’s Life Unlimited rebrand, which provides a converged broadband/mobile offering as well as customer service guarantees, is showing early traction.

4. AutoZone upgraded to Buy at BofA ahead of Q3 report

BofA upgraded AutoZone (AZO) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $4,800, up from $3,900, to reflect increasing confidence in the company’s recession resilient history, ongoing share gains, potential inflation benefit from price increases, potentially more favorable dynamics in used versus new car sales and continued tailwinds from maturing commercial programs. AutoZone will report fiscal Q3 results on Tuesday, May 27 and the firm expects top-line strength given data and tax refunds, the firm tells investors.

5. HP Enterprise upgraded to Outperform at Evercore 

Evercore ISI upgraded HP Enterprise (HPE) to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $22, up from $17. The firm thinks the current risk/reward is “fairly attractive,” especially for investors that have some duration. Evercore sees four key scenarios for HP Enterprise and critically thinks the probability for upside is more likely, while the downside is protected around $15-$16.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. UnitedHealth downgraded to Reduce at HSBC 

HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth (UNH) to Reduce from Hold with a price target of $270, down from $490. The company’s CEO change, the pulled 2025 guidance, and alleged Medicare fraud have resulted in its market cap halving since the Q1 results, the firm tells investors in a research note. HSBC now sees risk to UnitedHealth’s earnings growth along with a policy overhang. The risks outweigh rewards at this juncture, contends the firm. It believes the company’s earnings cut cycle might continue.

2. Sunrun downgraded to Underperform at BMO Capital 

BMO Capital downgraded Sunrun (RUN) to Underperform from Market Perform with a price target of $4, down from $9. The firm says revisions to President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” if adopted, suggest Sunrun’s ability to claim the solar investment tax credit on residential solar leases under Section 48E in fiscal 2026 and beyond is in jeopardy. While the bill is not finalized and could undergo multiple iterations in the Senate, with the elimination of section 25D residential credits in last week’s draft, there is limited political will to claw back residential credits in any Senate version, BMO tells investors in a research note. The firm says that with over 90% of Sunrun’s customers under third-party ownership structures whereby homeowners’ lease or rent their solar equipment and the company retains tax credits, the termination of 48E for residential solar leases is a “material risk” to the company’s business model.

3. Asana downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley 

Morgan Stanley downgraded Asana (ASAN) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $14. Asana shares are up over 40% since the day after the company’s Q4 earnings versus the SMID-cap software group up 6%, the firm tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley says that over this period of time, its channel checks and the broader macro backdrop do not support the prospect of improving fundamentals. Partner checks continue to point to intensifying competition with Asana losing share to Monday.com (MNDY) and other private companies in collaborative work management, contends the firm. Morgan Stanley adds that Asana’s leadership uncertainty persists amid a CEO search, “adding risk to execution and strategic continuity.”

4. Jack in the Box downgraded to Sell at Northcoast 

Northcoast downgraded Jack in the Box (JACK) to Sell from Neutral with a $20 price target. The firm says it has lost confidence in the company’s potential to turn around the business. Del Taco sales and margins have deteriorated to levels that make refranchising or a sale unattractive. Northcoast believes that burdened with higher overhead and interest expense to carry Del Taco, Jack in the Box fasces structural headwinds amid competitive pressures that will be difficult to fix in the near term.

5. Zions Bancorp initiated with an Underperform at Jefferies 

Jefferies initiated coverage of Zions Bancorp (ZION) with an Underperform rating and $40 price target. Despite tariff uncertainty, several factors could positively impact banks, including a rebound in loan growth as the U.S. avoids a recession, net interest margin expansion with a steeper yield curve, “resilient” credit metrics, excess capital “to play offense or defense,” and attractive valuations, the firm tells investors in a research note. Jefferies says its Underperform on Zions reflects the company’s “below-average” earnings growth outlook, lower capital levels versus peers, and its “vulnerability to credit deterioration” with above-average commercial real estate exposure.