Here’s the biggest voice on Wall Street Wednesday: Baird launches Abbott Labs, outperforming Baird says the company has a robust portfolio. “Despite near-term pressures, ABT’s portfolio leverages (a) a portfolio of MedDevices with exposure (and leadership positions) in the largest and fastest-growing end markets, resulting in an approximately 8-10% increase in MedDevice growth over peers; ” Jefferies upgrades Murphy USA from hold to buy Jefferies said it expects fuel margins to improve. “We are upgrading MUSA to Buy as EBITDA outlook improves significantly due to improved fuel margins and stronger execution, and our estimates are up to 20-25% above our original 2026-2028 guidance and targets.”Jeffries upgrades Avivax to Buy Pending Jefferies said the upgrade of Avivax is based on strong data from the biotech company’s ulcerative colitis drug Abtect. “We believe the ABTECT Pt 2 update adequately addresses the significant overhang facing the stock, and we (return) to Buy. Read more. Evercore ISI outperforms Nvidia, says company says stock is best idea. “The seismic shift to the current parallel processing/IoT computing era started 5-8 years ago, with NVDA the dominant and only full-stack We believe it’s a chip.” Roth Upgrades Talos Energy from Hold to Buy Roth says the company’s balance sheet is healthy and upgrades Talos Energy (TALO) to buy from neutral and raises his target to $17, 6%. We rate Buy on its solid balance sheet, strong capital returns, low production declines, and below-average valuation.”Wedbush outperforms SpaceX, with the stock performing strongly on all cylinders, Wedbush said.“We initiate coverage of SpaceX with an Outperform rating and a price target of $190, and SpaceX is well-positioned to become a leading hyperscaler with a vertically integrated platform across connectivity, launch, and AI infrastructure.Read more.”Wolfe Wolfe puts Fox in a position to outperform its peers Wolfe says he likes the combination of the company and Roku. “Buy FOXA. Combining Fox and Roku should strengthen the competitiveness of both and double Fox’s long-term revenue growth.” UBS reasserts neutral stance on Apple UBS says its research shows that interest in Apple’s iPhone remains strong. “12-month purchase intent” indicates solid interest in the US and Europe. UBS Evidence Lab recently surveyed more than 7,500 smartphone users in the US, UK, China, Germany, and Japan to gauge smartphone demand. B. Reilly launches acquisition of Starz Inc. The company said it sees signs of turnaround for the media company. “We have initiated coverage of Starz Entertainment Corp. (STRZ), a leading provider of premium subscription video programming, with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $45 per share.”Goldman Sachs launches FedEx Freight to acquire Goldman on expected volume growth. “We are initiating coverage on FDXF with a buy rating and price target of $186, which represents approximately 26% upside.” Overweight Cantor Fitzgerald says both digital asset companies are well-positioned to form Forward Industries and Cipherpunk Technologies. “We begin coverage on FWDI and CYPH in OW.…The next big changes in financial infrastructure will happen on-chain, and digital assets are positioned to increase their share of payments, credit, trading and asset issuance.”Morgan Stanley upgrades Grindr from equal weight to overweight Morgan Stanley says the dating app has a unique offering. “GRND is a unique asset that has been significantly slower to monetize than its peers, but we are launching two products that could change that: an ultra-premium subscription ($100-$500 per month) and a DTC telemedicine brand.” Read more. Wells Fargo upgrades Advanced Energy Industries from equal weight to overweight Wells says the stock is very attractive. “We view recent stock price underperformance as a buy. We expect AE’s Q2 2026 earnings to highlight acceleration in semi and data center demand. We upgrade AE to OW and raise PT to $465 (from $345).” JPMorgan launches Allegiant Travel as overweight JPMorgan argues the low-cost carrier is well positioned. “We initiate coverage of Allegiant Travel Company with an Overweight rating and a December 2027 target price of $156.” UBS upgrades DLocal to neutral buyout UBS says the fintech company has a “strong growth trajectory.” “We have upgraded dLocal to Buy, with new PT of $20 (from $16). Given increased market confidence following a series of solid results, we expect a combination of strong growth trajectory with improved operating leverage and potential rerating.” Raymond James launches Amplitude after strong acquisition Raymond James says he expects multi-year growth for the software company. “We begin Amplitude with a Strong Buy rating and a $10 price target. We believe Amplitude is entering a multi-year period of accelerated growth and strong earnings growth should support valuation multiple expansion and attractive stock returns. ” Evercore Upgrades ISI, Old Dominion, Saia, and XPO to Deliver Better Performance than Existing Products Evercore said multiple trucking and transportation companies were persuaded. “But while LTL Q2 gains may not be as large as some bulls expect, volumes and weights are starting to accelerate, and the rate of change in EPS growth is likely to be even higher from Q3, which is exactly the time to buy this sector, with an end-of-quarter pullback providing an even more attractive entry point. In fact, we’re upgrading ODFL, SAIA, and XPO from perform to outperform.” ” Guggenheim upgrades Salesforce to buy from neutral standpoint Guggenheim says the stock is compelling. “We are upgrading CRM stock to Buy from Neutral as we believe CRM’s current valuation of 3.7x recurring revenue and 11x EV/NTM (next 12 months) consensus FCF provides an attractive entry point for investors.” Guggenheim Upgrades Check Point from Neutral to Buy Guggenheim says the software company’s stock is too attractive to ignore. “We are upgrading Check Point stock to Buy from Neutral and implementing a DCF price target of $188, representing 43% upside from current price.” Bank of America Reiterates SanDisk Acquisition The company raised its price target from $2,100 to $2,500 per share. “We rate SNDK Buy. We expect long-term growth in demand for data storage using NAND, primarily driven by generative AI in data centers and eSSD (enterprise solid state drive) share growth/demand.” William Blair says the healthcare company’s stock still has plenty of room to operate, starting Concentra with an outperformance over William Blair. “Simply put, we believe that Concentra cares about business, delivers superior operational and financial results, and helps employers manage the lifeblood of their business: their workforce.” Raymond James outperforms Birkenstock and says it has “high growth potential at a comfortable price.” “We begin coverage of BIRK with an outperform rating and a price target of $52.” Seaport says it expects strong demand and will begin residential sales in conjunction with the acquisition. “Resideo is a maker of home automation products. Consumer electronics makers are likely to struggle with memory costs and demand this year, but we believe we can deliver value with two near-term catalysts.” Barclays said it was firm on Nike shares following Tuesday’s results, reiterating Nike as overweight. “NKE’s restructuring progress has been much slower than expected, which is frustrating for both investors and management.” Needham argues the medical technology company is best positioned to launch Carlsmed’s acquisition. “We believe CARL’s personalized Aprevo implants can be differentiated compared to traditional stock spinal implants, so we are initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a $17 price target.” Guggenheim Upgrades ServiceNow to Buy from Neutral The company said it expects double-digit growth upon upgrade. “We are currently upgrading Lockheed Martin to Buy from Neutral because we believe current levels represent an attractive opportunity for investors to purchase a comfortably profitable stock with a high likelihood of continued double-digit organic and constant currency growth for the foreseeable future.” Citi upgrades Lockheed Martin to Buy from Neutral Citi claims the stock is undervalued. “Statistically, many defense stocks just suffered their worst quarterly decline in modern history, and the decline is even worse when compared to their February peak. LMT is a great example of a defense stock that has historically consistently rebounded sharply after exactly this kind of decline.” Wedbush Launches AeroVironment, Outperforms Wedbush says autonomous companies are “long-term winners.” “We initiate coverage of AeroVironment (AVAV) with an OUTPERFORM rating and $250 price target.”
