Seagate upgraded, Tractor Supply 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:

• Susquehanna upgraded Seagate (STX) to Neutral from Negative with a price target of $280, up from $150. The firm expects the hard disk drive industry’s surging demand to continue, creating strong growth trends for Seagate in the coming years.
• BNP Paribas upgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $77, up from $57. The firm’s prior bear thesis was predicated largely on U.S. market share erosion and valuation and while “these points are not without merit,” they have been overcome by strong industry growth and favorable demand elasticity to pricing, the firm tells investors.
• BNP Paribas upgraded PepsiCo (PEP) to Outperform from Neutral with a $179 price target. The firm, which raised its FY27 EPS estimate by about 5%, sees activist involvement at Pepsi driving a proverbial “win-win” set-up, the firm tells investors.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded BioNTech (BNTX) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $142, up from $115. With a broad, strategic suite of programs, the firm views BioNTech as “being at the nexus of significant developments occurring in the oncology field” and uniquely positioned to develop novel-novel combination approaches to transform cancer care.
• JPMorgan upgraded AutoNation (AN) to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $235. The company’s earnings revision trajectory “remains the most visible” in the auto dealer group, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Truist downgraded Tractor Supply (TSCO) to Hold from Buy with a price target of $55, down from $67. The firm thinks 2026 could be another below-algorithm earnings growth for the company.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $24, down from $27. The firm believes Kraft Heinz “faces particularly acute risk” given its outsized private label penetration.
• JPMorgan downgraded 3M (MMM) to Neutral from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $182. The firm is more cautious on 3M, saying its revenue growth could disappoint.
• JPMorgan downgraded Fortive (FTV) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $57, up from $55. The firm cites Fortive’s “lack of pickup” in organic growth and risk of disruption in software for the downgrade.
• Barclays downgraded HP Inc. (HPQ) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $18, down from $24. While the shares are “inexpensive,” secular challenges across both computers and printing, combined with a lack of catalysts, will keep HP pressured in 2026, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Seaport Research initiated coverage of Birkenstock (BIRK) with a Neutral rating and no price target. The firm views Birkenstock as a “12-month brand” with product extension opportunities, but says the company’s Google (GOOGL) search interest growth is slowing year-over-year and the U.S. search interest for the Boston was down significantly for holiday.
• Freedom Capital initiated coverage of Unity (U) with a Buy rating and $52 price target. The firm believes a premium valuation multiple is justified given promising early traction for Unity’s Vector AI technology, adding that relative to consensus, its Unity valuation multiple is under half of that of AppLovin (APP), which it adds “has been dominant within the mobile video space for years and is seeing early traction within ecommerce.”
• Freedom Capital initiated coverage of Phinia (PHIN) with a Buy rating and $82 price target. Phinia is a global supplier to OEMs and the automotive aftermarket, benefiting from a large installed base that drives recurring replacement demand and cyclical exposure to vehicle production across ICE and hybrid platforms, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Staar Surgical (STAA) with an Underweight rating and $13 price target after the company terminated its merger agreement with Alcon (ALC). While the EVO ICL technology is “impressive,” the firm thinks the product has always been a niche product best suited for a limited addressable patient pool and it believes expansion in the U.S. and other western markets will be difficult despite the company “executing the best it can.”
• B. Riley initiated coverage of Knife River (KNF) with a Buy rating and $92 price target. The firm believes the stock is “mispriced” following the recent underperformance versus peers.