Wall Street Analysts Upgrades and Downgrades: Microsoft, Instacart, and More

Microsoft upgraded to Outperform by Oppenheimer with a $600 price target, citing strong Azure growth and AI revenue stream scaling. Instacart initiated with a Buy rating by Oppenheimer with a $60 price target. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and PNC Financial were upgraded by Keefe Bruyette. Caterpillar was upgraded to Buy by Melius Research with a $500 price target. J.M. Smucker was double upgraded to Outperform by BNP Paribas Exane with a $120 price target. BridgeBio was upgraded to Outperform by Oppenheimer with a $60 price target. Monster Beverage was downgraded to Neutral by Rothschild & Co Redburn, citing US government tariffs. T-Mobile, Wynn Resorts, Norfolk Southern, and Illumina were downgraded to Neutral or Sell by Citi due to valuation, market share, or fiber deficiencies.

Oppenheimer has upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to Outperform with a $600 price target, highlighting the company's strong Azure growth and AI revenue stream scaling [1]. The firm believes that investors' attention on the ramp of Microsoft's AI revenue stream will only increase as Azure's growth remains strong, offering not only valuation support but also upside potential as this revenue stream continues scaling fast and investors embrace Microsoft as one of the long-term AI winners in software [1].

Instacart (CART) was initiated with a Buy rating by Oppenheimer with a $60 price target. The firm expects more progress from Instacart on advertising before recommending the shares [3].

Keefe Bruyette upgraded JPMorgan (JPM) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $327, up from $253, following a transfer of coverage. The firm is bullish on the long-term structural benefits of scale for the large-cap banks [3].

Keefe Bruyette also upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to Outperform from Market Perform and PNC Financial (PNC) to Market Perform from Underperform [3].

Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar (CAT) to Buy from Hold with a $500 price target. The firm upgraded the shares after increasing 2027 estimates "materially" to reflect an expected datacenter driven capacity increase in engines [3].

BNP Paribas Exane double upgraded J.M. Smucker (SJM) to Outperform from Underperform with a price target of $120, up from $95. The firm expects a better-than-expected performance in coffee to drive upside to estimates for Smucker [3].

Oppenheimer upgraded BridgeBio (BBIO) to Outperform from Perform with a $60 price target. The firm expects the outperformance of BridgeBio shares to continue as 2025 Attruby sales beat consensus estimates [3].

Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Monster Beverage (MNST) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $60, down from $63. The firm cites the U.S. government raising its tariff on imported aluminum from 25% to 50% for the downgrade [3].

Citi downgraded T-Mobile (TMUS) to Underweight from Sector Weight with a $200 price target. The stock's underperformance will continue as T-Mobile is "fiber deficient in a converged/bundled world," the firm tells investors in a research note [3].

Citi downgraded Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $114, up from $108. The firm expects the company to lose near-term market share in Macau [3].

Citi downgraded Norfolk Southern (NSC) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $288, up from $259. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the stock's recent rally [3].

Citi downgraded Illumina (ILMN) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $80, down from $85. The firm sees "significant" risk to estimates in the second half of 2025 and 2026 for Illumina [3].

References:
[1] https://www.ainvest.com/news/microsoft-rule-60-dominance-azure-ai-growth-justifies-600-target-2507/
[2] https://seekingalpha.com/news/4466137-microsoft-gets-rating-upgrade-at-oppenheimer-on-ai-opportunity
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-upgraded-instacart-initiated-wall-133924874.html