EA downgraded, AppLovin initiated: 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:

• Seaport Research upgraded General Dynamics (GD) to Buy from Neutral with a $376 price target. General Dynamics’ valuation appears attractive and near-term budget battles and the associated stock weakness could provide a good entry point, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Lam Research (LRCX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $150, up from $100. The firm has a more constructive view of the wafer fab equipment group citing more favorable memory supply/demand conditions and momentum at second-tier foundries.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Amer Sports (AS) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $40, up from $38. With Amer Sports shares down 20% this past month, Wells says it would take advantage of the selloff following diligence/expert checks in China that point to little-to-no concern both near- and long-term over recent Arc social media backlash.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Citizens Financial (CFG) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $71, up from $53. The firm says Citizens is one of the “best profitability improvement stories” in the sector.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Innoviz Technologies (INVZ) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $2.50, up from $1.50. The firm cites the company’s design potential over the next six months and its “inexpensive” valuation for the upgrade.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Freedom Capital downgraded Electronic Arts (EA) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $195, up from $185, after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is in advanced talks to go private for around $50B, reflecting a 17% premium to the market capitalization based upon Thursday’s closing price.
• Seaport Research downgraded CarMax (KMX) to Neutral from Buy with no price target. The firm’s Buy rating had long been based on expectations for CarMax’s return to sustained growth in both comps and earnings, but the disappointment in both measures in fiscal Q2 leaves the firm believing the path to sustained growth is “now less clear and could take longer than expected.”
• Citi downgraded Merus (MRUS) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $97, down from $101, after the company entered into an agreement pursuant to which Genmab (GMAB) will acquire all the shares of Merus for $97.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a transaction value of $8.0B. Needham and Wells Fargo also downgraded the stock to Neutral-equivalent ratings.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Wells Fargo (WFC) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $95, up from $87. With the key catalyst of the asset cap removal now behind Wells the firm sees more limited upside from here relative to Overweight rated stocks in the big bank group.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $56, up from $52. The firm sees U.S. Bancorp benefiting into rate cuts, but with little visibility into deposit behavior this cycle acknowledges that deposit costs could remain elevated at times and create intermittent pressure on net interest income.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Phillip Securities initiated coverage of AppLovin (APP) with an Accumulate rating and $725 price target. The firm views AppLovin as a leader in performance-driven mobile games advertising with “impressive” operating margin of 76%.
• Citi initiated coverage of Pony AI (PONY) with a Buy rating and $29 price target. The firm believes the robotaxi sector is at an “inflection point.” Citi also started coverage of WeRide (WRD) with a Buy rating and $15.50 price target.
• Barclays initiated coverage of Oklo (OKLO) with an Overweight rating and $146 price target. The firm views Oklo as “levered way” to invest in the small modular reactor theme.
• UBS initiated coverage of Core & Main (CNM) with a Buy rating and $65 price target. UBS has seen early signs of improvement in residential and non-residential end market activity coupled with improved pricing trends, despite the recent pullback in the stock, which set up an attractive runway moving into 2026, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Jefferies initiated coverage of Atour Lifestyle (ATAT) with a Buy rating and $48 price target. The firm believes the company’s Planet Deep Sleep Solutions brand is well received with gross merchandise volume expected to increase by 60% year-over-year in 2025.