Gap downgraded, Ulta 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 5 Upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded Ulta Beauty (ULTA) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $589, up from $518. The firm believes the company’s return positive comps and margin expansion is sustainable.
• Wolfe Research upgraded Roblox (RBLX) to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $150 price target. The company is positioned to benefit from “platform flywheel effects,” including search improvements and pricing optimizations, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Loop Capital upgraded ESAB (ESAB) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $140, up from $130. The views the recent pullback in the shares as overdone and sees a buying opportunity at current levels.
• Jefferies upgraded Miniso (MNSO) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $26.20, up from $18.50. The company’s Q2 results were better than expected, with comps turning positive in China and store openings having resumed, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dayforce (DAY) to Equal Weight from Underweight with a price target of $70, up from $50, after the company entered into an agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $12.3B or $70 per share.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Barclays downgraded Gap (GAP) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $19, down from $24. The firm says its previous “blue-sky scenario” of Gap seeing double-digit operating margins by fiscal 2026 is now unattainable.
• Guggenheim downgraded Paramount Skydance (PSKY) to Neutral from Buy and removed the firm’s prior $13 price target following the “significant” run in the share price. With the stock up 58% since August 12, the firm contends that the valuation has gotten ahead of the fundamentals.
• Citi downgraded Volaris (VLRS) to Neutral from Buy with an unchanged price target of $7 following a transfer of coverage. The firm views the shares as fairly valued at current levels and the company’s more challenging operating conditions.
• Brookline downgraded Bioceres (BIOX) to Hold from Buy with a $26 price target. The firm views the timing of the CFO’s departure as concerning.
• 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.

Top 5 Initiations:

• DA Davidson assumed coverage of Workday (WDAY) with a Neutral rating and $225 price target. The company reported a healthy Q2 beat but effectively maintained guidance, sending shares lower afterhours, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• DA Davidson assumed coverage of GitLab (GTLB) with a Neutral rating and $50 price target. Shares are down about 22% year-to-date due to fears of competitive threats from new GenAI coding tools, leaving the stock trading at a steep discount to growth peers, the analyst noted.
• Stifel initiated coverage of Netgear (NTGR) with a Buy rating and $35 price target. The firm’s Buy thesis is based on a differentiated ProAV platform, incremental growth opportunities within Home Networking and enhanced subscription services, in addition to what it believes to be “an attractive current valuation,” the analyst tells investors.
• Benchmark initiated coverage of QXO (QXO) with a Buy rating and $50 price target. The firm thinks the market is “far too focused” on the first asset purchased by QXO, namely Beacon Roofing earlier this summer, and “not focused enough” on what this “could and likely will look like in relatively short order.”
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Immunome (IMNM) with an Outperform rating and $18 price target. The company is developing a deep ADC pipeline that should emerge as the primary driver of long-term value, but the nearer-term focus is on varegacestat ahead of Phase 3 desmoid tumor data that the firm expects late in the year, the analyst tells investors.