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 18-22.

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

Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. Wells Fargo double upgrades Cogent on revenue inflection point

Wells Fargo double upgraded Cogent (CCOI) to Overweight from Underweight with an unchanged price target of $45. The company is past the worst of the Sprint legacy declines and the stock’s risk/reward now skews favorable, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells also sees “upside optionality” from Cogent’s asset sales. The company’s core revenue growth should inflect positively in the second half of 2025 without meaningful wavelength sales, contends the firm. It believes Cogent has reached an inflection point with the vast majority of the unprofitable Sprint revenues behind it.

2. CVS Health upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

UBS upgraded CVS Health (CVS) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $79, up from $67. The company has posted to strong quarters of execution and early signs are emerging that its healthcare benefits segment fixes are on track, the analyst tells investors in a research note. UBS sees annual earnings growth of 14% through 2028 for CVS, above the consensus estimate of 12%. It sees a “compelling valuation” at current share levels.

3. Palo Alto Networks upgraded to Buy at BofA after “impressive” Q4 results

BofA upgraded Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Buy from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $215 following what the firm calls “impressive performance on all fronts” in fiscal Q4. Guidance was generally above expectations as well and at a high level, the company’s strategy “appears to be working well,” the analyst tells investors. Given the solid fundamentals, and with the stock down about 15% from the date of CyberArk (CYBR) M&A announcement and the firm’s price target suggesting 22% upside potential, BofA raised its rating.

4. Figma initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Figma (FIG) with an Overweight rating and $85 price target. The company combines a “differentiated” platform with an “attractive” business model, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Figma, despite approaching $1B in annual recurring revenue, is in the early stages of building an end-to-end platform optimized to turn ideas into digital products for companies of all sizes. It sees favorable secular tailwinds driving the company’s ARR to $3B by 2030.

5. H.C. Wainwright upgrades CoreWeave to Buy after recent selloff

H.C. Wainwright upgraded CoreWeave (CRWV) to Buy from Neutral with an $180 price target. The stock’s valuation “has sunk deep enough,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Arete also upgraded CoreWeave to Buy from Neutral with an $180 price target.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. Instacart downgraded to Underperform at Wedbush on competition concerns

Wedbush downgraded Instacart (CART) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $42, down from $55, arguing that Amazon’s (AMZN) expansion of its same-day perishable grocery delivery service has intensified competition. The firm, which believes that consumers will opt for value-driven services, says Instacart management must navigate this new dynamic to protect market share, which ultimately it sees eroding over time as Amazon and others compete more closely. The firm thinks Prime has become “even more compelling” for grocery shoppers, diminishing the appeal of Instacart, the analyst added.

2. BofA sees Redwire as less attractive than space peers, starts at Underperform

BofA initiated coverage of Redwire (RDW) with an Underperform rating and $10 price target. The firm sees growth in core offerings being limited by civil space funding exposure and argues that Redwire’s results “seem more emblematic of a low-volume program development than of a merchant supplier.” Earnings volatility and poor visibility, reliance on M&A, and concentrated ownership “make it less attractive than space and defense tech peers,” the analyst tells investors.

3. Novavax downgraded to Underperform at BofA on “murky outlook”

BofA downgraded Novavax (NVAX) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $7, down from $9, citing the recent share movement and “increasingly murky outlook” for Novavax’s key drivers. Sanofi’s (SNY) commercialization of the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine may face hurdles to meaningful revenue growth with a restricted U.S. label and continued rocky COVID sentiment, while the firm expects the higher burden of proof and cost under the new FDA framework may raise the bar for signing new partnerships, the analyst tells investors.

4. Li Auto downgraded to Underperform at Macquarie on competitive pressures

Macquarie downgraded Li Auto (LI) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $21, down from $28, citing rising competitive pressures. Li looks set to miss “lagging” sell-side Q2 estimates for volume and revenue, while the Q3 consensus volume estimate of 139,000 units “appears stretched,” the analyst tells investors. In addition, management needs to provide a clear strategy on how to reset growth ahead of the launch of the i6 in September, which will be competing directly with “best-sellers” like the Tesla (TSLA) Model Y and Xiaomi YU7, the analyst says. :the

5. South Bow downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

JPMorgan downgraded South Bow (SOBO) to Underweight from Neutral with a $27 price target. The firm’s initiation of the stock was highlighted by Keystone’s long-term take-or-pay contracts and key connectivity between growing WCSB crude oil production and U.S. demand centers, but a more muted EBITDA growth profile, paired with fewer near-term catalysts, collectively underpin a less attractive outlook for the stock relative to its midstream peers at this juncture, the analyst tells investors.