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 August 4-8.

Find all top-rated stocks by the best-rated analysts on TipRanks.

Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. Roth Capital upgrades Lyft to Buy on accelerating growth

Roth Capital analyst Rohit Kulkarni upgraded Lyft (LYFT) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $19, up from $16. The company’s ridesharing performance indicators as well as EBITDA and free cash flow margins reached all-time highs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Lyft’s Q3 guidance indicates accelerating growth as it integrates the Freenow acquisition and expands its presence overseas. Roth sees a “highly asymmetric investment opportunity” in the shares due to Lyft’s fundamental progress.

2. Instacart upgraded to Buy from Hold at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded Instacart (CART) to Buy from Hold with a $67 price target. The company’s Q2 results and outlook, including a GTV growth inflection, suggest “it may not matter” whether the company is not sustaining category share, as the firm suspects to be the case, since the company is riding “a secular tailwind gaining momentum each quarter,” the firm tells investors. Instacart continues to benefit from competitive pressures facing regional/smaller grocers that need its platform to compete with mass merchants and online players like Walmart (WMT) and Amazon Fresh (AMZN), so the trend appears sustainable, Benchmark added.

3. Piper upgrades Monster Beverage on better growth visibility

Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery upgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $74, up from $54. The company’s Q2 revenue growth was better than expected and its global July shipment figures were up over 20%, driven by better gains outside the U.S., the analyst tells investors in a research note. Piper cites better visibility on sustainable sales and margin momentum for the upgrade. It believes the stock re-rating for Monster is sustainable.

4. Peloton upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs upgraded Peloton (PTON) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $11.50, up from $7. In its better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the company succeeded in framing of strategic initiatives aimed at delivering differentiated product experiences with an emphasis of widening out beyond fitness and into elements of wellness as well as the potential for a product roadmap focus on personalization, the firm tells investors in a research note. Peloton also discussed how subscriber growth would likely be less important going forward than the dual goal of expanding the ecosystem of experiences and use cases while also examining paths to increased monetization, Goldman added.

5. Shift4 Payments reinstated with a Buy at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs reinstated coverage of Shift4 Payments (FOUR) with a Buy rating and $104 price target, which offers 20% upside, following the close of the Global Blue acquisition. The firm views Shift4 as a top growth story and is constructive on the company’s approach to acquisitions. The deals have driven high levels of growth without outsized customer acquisition costs for the company, Goldman tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. Trade Desk downgraded to Sell from Neutral at MoffettNathanson

MoffettNathanson downgraded The Trade Desk (TTD) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $45, down from $75. The firm views Trade Desk’s valuation halo as “forever tarnished by a multitude of rising threats.” As revenue growth and operating leverage moderates, the firm believes shares should trade on “more conventional valuation metrics” like GAAP earnings and free cash flow and using Netflix (NFLX) as a guide, it thinks that a stock price “closer to $45 would be appropriate” with such an approach.

Trade Desk double downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA

BofA double downgraded Trade Desk to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $55, down from $130. The company’s Q3 outlook that implies a deceleration in underlying growth makes it harder to dismiss concerns about competitive pressures and execution, says the firm. While BofA still believes Trade Desk can be a double-digit topline grower, it is challenging to justify the premium multiple it has historically received, especially against the backdrop of robust advertising growth and absolute dollars being reported by many of “the largest walled gardens.”

2. Compass Point downgrades Coinbase to Sell on waning retail interest

Compass Point downgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $248, down from $330. The firm remains constructive on the current crypto cycle, but expects a “choppy” Q3 with weak August and September seasonality along with waning retail interest in crypto treasury stocks. In addition, increasing stablecoin competition will weigh on both Coinbase and Circle Internet’s (CRCL) valuations in the second half of 2025, Compass tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Coinbase’s Q2 and Q3 trends show weakening earnings despite the ongoing crypto bull market. Compass sees limited valuation support for Coinbase if crypto markets sell off further.

3. Akamai assumed with Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded Akamai (AKAM) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an $85 price target following a transfer in analyst coverage. The company’s sales growth will remain in the single-digits range with limited opportunities for margin expansion over the next 12 to 18 months, the firm tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley believes Akamai’s transition to becoming a public cloud provider will bring a host of near-term challenges, causing the shares to be a relative underperformer.

4. Caterpillar downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar (CAT) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $350, up from $283. While the quarter contained some clear positives, the negatives indicate a “steady deterioration” in Caterpillar’s fundamentals and skew the stock’s risk to the downside, Morgan Stanley tells investors in a research note. The firm says the quarter raised its level of concern heading into the company’s second half of the year. The market may be underestimating the risk to Caterpillar’s price and margins amid a deteriorating non-residential construction market, contends Morgan Stanley.

5. Citi downgrades Opendoor to Sell amid slowing home sales

Citi downgraded Opendoor Technologies (OPEN) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of 70c, down from 80c. The firm cites its significantly reduced sales estimates, the 250% rally in the shares since July 1, and slowing home purchase and resell activity for the downgrade. Opendoor is keeping its fixed cost base amid the macro challenges, which is putting pressure on its profitability, Citi tells investors in a research note.