Circle initiated, Disney upgraded: 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 Upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Disney (DIS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $144, up from $100. The firm now sees limited risk of a second half of 2025 Parks slowdown from Epic Universe and macro factors and is more positive on FY26 Cruise upside.
• Stifel upgraded Oracle (ORCL) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $250, up from $180. The recent “dramatic step-up” in capex and remaining performance obligation gains support management’s Cloud growth expectations and these Cloud gains should generate accelerating revenue increases in coming years, the firm tells investors.
• Wolfe Research upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to Peer Perform from Underperform and no price target. The firm still has long term concerns, but over the next few quarters, Wolfe skews to the view that FY26 estimates seem “a touch favorable.”
• Citi upgraded Linde (LIN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $535, up from $500. The company is seeing continued success with project execution and underlying price and productivity, says the firm, which also points to high-quality project backlogs with near-term opportunities and recent success on longer-dated clean hydrogen/ammonia as reasons to “get constructive” on Linde’s growth algorithm.
• Mizuho upgraded Consolidated Edison (ED) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $107, up from $105. Shares have been lagging the Utility group over the past three months and the firm views the recent selloff as one that represents “a compelling opportunity” for “a quintessential premium utility.”

Top Downgrades:

• More cautious on the name, Argus moved to the sidelines on Regeneron (REGN), downgrading the stock to Hold from Buy.
• D. Boral Capital downgraded CorMedix (CRMD) to Hold from Buy after CorMedix priced a public offering of 6.6M shares of common stock, raising gross proceeds of approximately $85M.
• BofA downgraded ProKidney (PROK) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $1, down from $3. The downgrade reflects more conservative peak sales for REACT, the company’s sole product candidate in development for treatment of diabetic chronic kidney disease, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• BMO Capital downgraded Tronox (TROX) to Underperform from Market Perform with a price target of $3, down from $7. Due to weak U.S. housing, soft China construction markets, and listless demand in Europe, the demand environment remains challenged, and pricing remains difficult even in tariff-protected areas owing to the soft demand and fierce competition, the firm says.

Top Initiations:

• Needham initiated coverage of Circle (CRCL) with a Buy rating and $250 price target. The firm’s thesis is underpinned by USDC dominance as the “reserve asset” in DeFi; share gains on USDT as the GENIUS Act comes into effect; international stablecoin adoption as a conduit for USD growth globally; upside in payments and remittances; operating leverage in the model with many expenses fixed. The firm believes Circle could be a company in a paradigm shifting segment that supports a premium valuation akin to a Tesla (TSLA) or dominant AI company. Meanwhile, JPMorgan started coverage of Circle with an Underweight rating and $80 price target. The firm views Circle as well positioned in the nascent stablecoin market with an early-mover advantage in “what has been a winner-takes-most market,” but cites Circle’s “elevated” current market capitalization for its Underweight rating.
• Seaport Research initiated coverage of Chime (CHYM) with a Buy rating and $37 price target. Chime has the “right recipe” for driving ongoing improvement in its financial performance in the coming years, including a strong brand, plenty of greenfield space and an opportunity to deepen its customer relationships, says the firm, which thinks Chime will grow its revenue in the high 20%-low 30% range on an annual basis over the next two years while also having opportunity to improve its profitability and margin profile.
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of KKR (KKR) with an Overweight rating and $150 price target. While growth of Global Atlantic is more and more turning KKR into a full-stack asset and liability originator, shares are currently attractively valued while increased capital markets activity powers realizing gross unrealized carried interest of $8.7B, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) with a Neutral rating and $60 price target. The firm cites valuation for the Neutral rating, telling investors that the multiple appropriately reflects a best-in-class return profile.
• Mizuho initiated coverage of Waystar (WAY) with an Outperform rating and $48 price target. Based on channel checks, the firm expects Waystar to maintain market share beyond this and capitalize on selling newer AI-driven solutions into the installed base.