Carvana upgraded, Ulta Beauty 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: 

• Oppenheimer upgraded Carvana (CVNA) to Outperform from Perform with a $450 price target. The firm views Carvana as a “unique, digitally driven disruptor” in the “expansive and inefficient” domestic used car marketplace.
• Gordon Haskett upgraded Dick’s Sporting (DKS) to Hold from Reduce with a $220 price target, citing the belief that the stock could perform better than the firm previously thought as its Foot Locker (FL) fears could take time to play out.
• JPMorgan upgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $101, up from $62. The firm also placed the shares on “Positive Catalyst Watch” into the earnings report. Estee will report results at the top of its guidance given the “better than feared” 6.18 event and better performance online, JPMorgan tells investors in a research note.
• Mizuho upgraded Global Payments (GPN) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $114, up from $86. The company’s increased scale following the Worldpay acquisition and $600M of cost synergies could unlock $5B of annual free cash flow potential by 2028, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Raymond James upgraded MSCI (MSCI) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $650 price target. The firm believes the company still warrants a premium valuation despite its slower growth outlook relative to its history.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Loop Capital downgraded Ulta Beauty (ULTA) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $510. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade as opposed to a more bearish view on the company’s fundamentals.
• JPMorgan downgraded Sarepta (SRPT) to Underweight from Neutral without a price target, saying the shares are trading on investor sentiment and headlines instead of fundamentals. Nearly every headline this week related to Elevidys has had a negative skew, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Truist downgraded Molina Healthcare (MOH) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $180, down from $335. The firm cites the challenging medical cost trend environment for the downgrade.
• Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Accumulate from Buy with a price target of $50, up from $45. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the recent share rally.
• JPMorgan downgraded Procter & Gamble (PG) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $170, down from $178. The firm expects the company to report “another lackluster quarter” and normalization of category growth.

Top 5 Initiations: 

• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Palantir (PLTR) with an Overweight rating and $170 price target. The shares are richly valued but the company offers “one-of-a-kind” growth and margin potential, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Teladoc (TDOC) with a Neutral rating and $10 price target. The firm is encouraged by Teladoc’s growth in its Integrated Care segment but is concerned about the potential pace of BetterHelp attrition over the near term.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Chemed (CHE) with a Hold rating and $500 price target. The firm likes the hospice space and Chemed’s track record of execution and capital allocation, but says the recent issues related to the Medicare cap, particularly in Florida, will likely carry over into 2026.
• Citi resumed coverage of HP Enterprise (HPE) with a Buy rating and $25 price target. The firm sees the company as well positioned for secular artificial intelligence and enterprise networking growth drivers following the acquisition of Juniper.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) with a Neutral rating and $18 price target. The firm awaits clarity on Zoryve before recommending Arcutis shares.