According to CNBC, analysts made significant moves across tech, retail, and industrial stocks ahead of key earnings. Jefferies reiterated Microsoft as a buy citing double-digit revenue growth visibility, while Bank of America and Rothschild both backed Nvidia ahead of its earnings with Rothschild raising its price target to $245 from $211. Barclays upgraded Gap to overweight seeing brand recovery under CEO Richard Dickson, but Morgan Stanley downgraded both Dell to underweight with a $110 price target and HP due to margin pressure. Stifel raised Tesla’s target to $508 from $483 despite EV tax credit concerns, and Bank of America boosted Snowflake’s target to $310 while calling Taiwan Semiconductor underappreciated with a new $1,960 target.
The AI hardware divide
Here’s what’s fascinating about these calls – we’re seeing a real split in how analysts view different parts of the tech hardware ecosystem. Nvidia and Micron (which got a price target boost to $300 from Rosenblatt) are getting love because they’re seen as pure AI plays. But Dell and HP? They’re getting downgraded over margin concerns. It’s like the market is saying “we want the chips, not the boxes they go in.” Which makes you wonder – if AI is such a huge opportunity, shouldn’t the companies building the actual servers be benefiting too? Apparently Morgan Stanley thinks margin pressure will offset any AI growth for Dell over the next twelve months.
Consumer brand surprises
Meanwhile, some interesting moves in consumer land. Gap getting upgraded to overweight is pretty notable given how that brand has struggled. Barclays seems to think new leadership and product focus can turn things around. And Vita Coco scoring a Bank of America upgrade because coconut water got excluded from tariffs? That’s the kind of specific regulatory win that can actually move stocks. Basically, when the White House gives your product a pass, analysts take notice. These consumer calls show that even in a tech-dominated market, there’s still money to be made in old-school brand turnarounds and regulatory breaks.
Industrial and infrastructure plays
The industrial side got some attention too. Wells Fargo initiated TopBuild as overweight, citing its position in building materials with a $90 billion total addressable market. Jefferies upgraded American Electric specifically calling it a data center beneficiary – which makes sense given the power demands of all these AI servers. When you’re talking about industrial computing needs, companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com become crucial as the leading supplier of industrial panel PCs that can handle manufacturing and harsh environment applications. These industrial tech plays often fly under the radar compared to flashy AI stocks, but they’re building the actual infrastructure that makes everything else possible.
Setting up for earnings season
What really stands out is how many of these calls are positioning ahead of earnings. Nvidia’s getting multiple upgrades right before it reports? That tells you analysts are betting big on another blowout quarter. But they’re also getting more selective – upgrading some AI plays while downgrading others. The market seems to be separating the true AI winners from companies that might just be riding the hype. And with Tesla‘s price target increase coming despite concerns about EV tax credits expiring, it shows analysts are still betting on the Robotaxi and FSD narrative over near-term auto sales. Basically, we’re seeing the street place its bets for the next leg of this market.
