Analysts are intrested in these 5 stocks: ( (AFRM) ), ( (DE) ), ( (BLK) ), ( (XYZ) ) and ( (BE) ). Here is a breakdown of their recent ratings and the rationale behind them.
Claim 30% Off TipRanks
New trading tool for BE bulls/bearsAffirm Holdings is drawing fresh attention as Baird initiates coverage with a Neutral (Hold) rating and a $55 target. The firm praises Affirm’s leadership in U.S. buy-now-pay-later, a market growing more than 20% annually but still just about 1% of U.S. electronic payments, giving it a long runway if adoption continues.
Analysts highlight Affirm’s appeal to both merchants and consumers, with nearly 377,000 merchants and 23 million users, most of them repeat buyers. Yet they flag macro risks: exposure to lower- and middle-income borrowers, larger average ticket sizes, and the potential for delinquencies as growth matures.
Deere, long seen as a structural winner in agriculture and machinery, now faces pushback on valuation as Jefferies downgrades the stock to Sell with a $550 target. The analyst notes the shares have more than doubled from their 2022 bottom and now trade at about 35 times earnings, well above historical peaks.
While the agricultural cycle may be nearing a trough, farmer incomes are expected to fall again in 2026, and past downcycles have been long. For current prices to make sense, Deere would need to reach an earnings peak above $50 per share by 2027–28, a scenario Jefferies views as optimistic given weak farm economics and gradual tech adoption.
BlackRock gets a more upbeat reassessment as UBS upgrades the asset manager to Buy, setting a $1,280 price target. The call rests on confidence that “stronger for longer” management-fee growth, combined with resilient margins, can support low- to mid-teens earnings expansion through 2030.
The analyst points to BlackRock’s broad product lineup—from ETFs and private assets to risk technology—as multiple ways to win in evolving markets. With the stock trading at a discount to both its history and the wider market, UBS sees room for a valuation rerating as investors better appreciate its organic growth and margin potential.
Block, Inc. is also back in favor as Morgan Stanley upgrades the stock to Buy with a $93 target, seeing an achievable path to roughly 17% revenue growth in 2026. The firm expects modest acceleration at Square thanks to a larger salesforce and new distribution, while Cash App could grow around 20% on the back of credit and card expansion.
Bulls are encouraged by cost discipline, AI-driven efficiency efforts, and evidence of share gains among merchants. Bears remain wary of management execution and macro headwinds, but the upgrade suggests that, if Block can deliver on growth and engagement metrics, sentiment and the stock could turn decisively.
Bloom Energy enters the spotlight as Citi initiates coverage with a Neutral (Hold) rating and a $162 price target, positioning it as a major beneficiary of the AI-driven power boom. The bank sees a revenue growth rate above 40% through 2030 as data centers scramble for new power sources and fuel cells gain share.
Citi believes Bloom is uniquely placed to serve behind-the-meter demand and could double capacity to 4GW by 2030, with margins rising into the mid-30s. Still, the stock already looks fairly valued and heavily owned, so the firm is waiting for either a better entry price or clearer evidence of market-share gains before turning more aggressive.