Analyst ratings and calls — upgrades, downgrades, and price-target changes — across global stocks.
LatestAnalyst Ratings
Analyst Ratings▲
ADVANC benefits from iPhone 18, boosting sales and ARPU; court dismisses 1.2 billion baht case
ADVANC shares gained support from demand for the iPhone 18 that exceeded the supply available in the market, lifting handset sales and average revenue per user, or ARPU. Patipark Nawawat, senior director of fundamental equity analysis at Krungsri Securities, said iPhone 18 sales create a structural benefit on two revenue fronts: higher device sales in both volume and average selling price, and the gradual bundling of new service packages with handset sales, which naturally lifts ARPU. He also assessed that any product shortage would not significantly affect revenue, because it stems from demand exceeding inventory rather than a reduction in allocated stock, meaning delayed deliveries merely shift revenue recognition between months. On fundamentals, net profit is expected to grow 15% in 2026, while the Supreme Administrative Court's dismissal of the case brought by Digital Phone Company, or DPC, a subsidiary of ADVANC, against National Telecom, or NT, over 1.2 billion baht in equipment and telecommunications network fees, helps remove concerns and unlock legal risk. The broker recommends a buy with a target price of 430 baht per share and expects a dividend yield of about 5%. Kasikorn Securities gives a base price of 385.34 baht, while Asia Plus Securities gives the ICT sector an overweight rating and notes that two related cases remain, case numbers 918/2558 and 741/2559, with a combined value of 1.98 billion baht, now under consideration by the Supreme Administrative Court. If both cases are lost, the impact on EPS would be only 0.67 baht per share, and the dividend yield for 2026 to 2027 is expected at 5.0% to 5.1%, with a 2027 target price of 428 baht.
HSBC Downgrades Netflix to Hold, Cuts Price Target 21% to $76
HSBC downgraded Netflix to Hold from Buy and cut its price target 21%, to $76 from $96, sending the streaming giant's shares down more than 1% at Tuesday's open. Analyst Mohammed Khallouf said a near-term recovery in engagement looks unlikely, citing a declining reception for Netflix original content and YouTube's growing share of television viewing. YouTube reached a record 14.2% share of U.S. television viewing in July while Netflix accounted for 7.8%, and viewing hours for English-language programs on Netflix's weekly Top 10 lists fell roughly 17% year over year across July and August. HSBC raised its Netflix content spending estimates for 2027 and 2028 by about 2% while cutting EPS forecasts for those years by roughly 6% to 9%, noting YouTube is expected to distribute about $23 billion to creators in 2026 against roughly $20 billion of cash content spending at Netflix. The new target leaves only about 3% upside from current levels.
Ollie's Q2 EPS Jumps 43.4% as Analysts Split on Tariff-Fueled Margin
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings reported second-quarter results for the period ended August 1, 2026, with adjusted earnings per share jumping 43.4% to $1.42 while comparable store sales fell 1.8% and net sales rose 9.1% to $741.3 million on new store growth. Management cut its full-year comparable sales outlook to flat-to-0.5% growth and guided net sales to $2.928 billion to $2.941 billion. Among the seven analysts who weighed in, two firms raised their price targets while five cut them, though none turned outright bearish; RBC Capital raised its target to $124 from $121, Truist went to $85 from $80, and Craig-Hallum trimmed to $120 from $130, while Morgan Stanley's Simeon Gutman cut to $98 from $108, BofA to $105 from $115, Piper Sandler's Peter Keith to $100 from $113, and Citi to $98 from $100. Gross margin rose 360 basis points to 43.5%, with 380 basis points of that increase coming from IEEPA tariff refunds worth roughly $0.35 a share, a benefit management is already redeploying into about $15 million of price investment, and CFO Robert Helm flagged rising fuel costs as a 20 to 30 basis point headwind. The company opened 15 new stores in the quarter, bringing the total to 686 across 36 states, up 11.9% year-over-year, while Ollie's Army membership grew 12.7% to 18.1 million, and it ended the quarter with $507.1 million in cash and no meaningful long-term debt, bought back $84 million of stock, and raised its full-year repurchase target to roughly $175 million. Point72 Asset Management raised its stake 45% to 1.51 million shares worth $116.2 million as of the second quarter of 2026, Hood River Capital Management trimmed its position 16% to 742,353 shares worth $57.1 million, Citadel Investment Group cut 11% to 443,728 shares worth $34.1 million, and ExodusPoint Capital took a new position of 346,871 shares worth $26.7 million, with overall hedge fund ownership ticking up to 38 funds from 36 and short interest at 15.00% of float.
Meta Shares Rise as Muse AI Agent Outpaces ChatGPT's Early Launch Curve
Wall Street is repricing Meta Platforms as a potential new revenue engine after its Muse AI agent drew 2.8 million downloads in its first 12 days and outpaced ChatGPT's early curve on a comparable-launch basis, according to Apptopia data. Meta shares rose 1.37% intraday, extending a run that has added more than $200 billion in market value since Muse launched September 8. Muse, which can send emails, book travel, and complete transactions on a user's behalf, is free at the basic tier with subscriptions at $20 and $100 a month. Jefferies estimated that if Muse reaches 1 billion users by the end of 2027 and at least 3% convert to paid tiers, it could generate $10.8 billion in annualized revenue, and raised its price target to $875. JPMorgan called Muse potentially the most widely used consumer AI app since ChatGPT, crediting Meta's distribution reach and a free tier that lowers the trial barrier.
Planet Fitness Shares Fall 18% as Membership Growth Stalls
Planet Fitness shares have declined for a sixth consecutive day, down roughly 18% week-over-week and 60% year-to-date, as lackluster second quarter results and intensifying competition in the high-volume, low-price fitness industry weigh on the stock. For the most recently reported quarter, the company beat EPS estimates and generated 7% more in sales, but growth came with higher operating costs and increased advertising expenses. Management acknowledged that higher same-club sales were largely driven by a price hike to its Classic Membership, from $10 to $15, rather than increased membership, and that the increase pushed some potential members toward competitively-priced rivals. Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka warned that competitors are differentiating themselves through group classes, recovery spaces, social areas and ambiance appealing to younger gym members, while GLP-1 use by older cohorts keeps growth stagnant, adding that matching rivals may be exceedingly difficult since 90% of Planet Fitness units are franchised. Seeking Alpha analyst Sorrento Research noted the company's recent marketing message geared toward more hard core fitness customers may have detracted from its core customer base.
BNP Paribas Flags Azure Pricing and Possible SpaceX Deal as Microsoft Catalysts
BNP Paribas sees higher Azure pricing and a possible SpaceX cloud-computing deal as future catalysts that could extend Microsoft's cloud growth. Analyst Stefan Slowinski said Microsoft executives acknowledged Azure pricing is moving higher, but existing contracts will not be rewritten, so the benefit will reset only upon renewal and feather into results gradually rather than create a material step-up in near-term Azure growth. Microsoft has said Azure's recent acceleration into the mid-40% growth range was not driven materially by pricing, with fleet-level efficiency improvements and continued capacity additions the main contributors. Slowinski maintains a Buy rating and $549 price target on Microsoft, and said he would not be surprised by a potential future announcement involving SpaceX, which recently disclosed a new compute customer expected to spend roughly $1 billion per month starting in December. Microsoft declined to confirm any relationship, and also said OpenAI revenue sharing is not currently driving Azure's outperformance.
B. Riley Keeps Buy Ratings on IonQ, D-Wave and Rigetti Ahead of Quantum World Congress
B. Riley Securities is maintaining bullish ratings on IonQ, D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing ahead of Quantum World Congress, betting that a shift in government policy from pure research toward commercialization could open a more meaningful revenue path for the quantum-computing sector. The firm kept Buy ratings with price targets of $100 for IonQ, $40 for D-Wave and $35 for Rigetti. Analyst Craig Ellis pointed to the Department of Energy's From Lab to Market session at the September 23-25 conference as a sign that federal policy may increasingly focus on moving quantum technologies into commercial applications. The event will also feature a two-hour National Quantum Updates session with more than 10 governments, participation from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and back-to-back keynotes from Microsoft and IBM. B. Riley's thesis is sector-wide, but the report provides no fresh revenue forecasts, cash-flow estimates, technical milestones or new valuation work behind the three price targets, leaving the stocks dependent on long-term expectations rather than near-term financial evidence.
Salesforce Price Target Set at $331.33 as Agentforce ARR Surges 240%
24/7 Wall St. has issued a buy rating on Salesforce with a $331.33 price target, implying 39.26% upside from the current $237.79. The firm's bull case rests on Agentforce, whose annual recurring revenue alone crossed $1.5 billion, up over 240% year over year, while the combined Agentforce and Data 360 ARR reached nearly $3.90 billion, up over 210%. Q2 FY27 revenue landed at $11.35 billion, up 10.83%, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $5.90 beat the $3.2712 consensus by 80.36%. Management noted that 50% of Agentforce bookings came from customers refilling credit pools, and only 5% of knowledge workers have upgraded to premium editions carrying a 60% to 80% premium. Salesforce's free cash flow surged 81.49% while Oracle burned $5.4 billion, yet CRM trades at a P/E of 26, nearly identical to Microsoft's 27. The bull scenario points to $372.12, a 56.4% total return, while the bear scenario still lands at $271.37, a 14.06% gain.
Fastenal Earns Zacks Rank #2 Upgrade on Stronger Earnings Outlook
Fastenal received a Zacks Rank #2 rating, reflecting a stronger full year earnings outlook for the industrial distributor. The upgrade arrives after a 22.8% year-to-date share price gain, a 90 day return of 8.9%, and a 3 year total shareholder return of 94.8%, though the 30 day return has slipped 3.1% to around US$49.65. The most followed valuation narrative pegs fair value at about $48.84, slightly below the recent close, implying the stock is 2% overvalued. Fastenal is expanding its Fastenal Managed Inventory technology, which currently represents over 43% of revenue, and aims to lift its digital footprint to 66-68% of sales from 61%. Key risks to that fair value story include higher tariff related costs hitting margins and weaker pricing power than analysts have assumed.
Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Omeros to Overweight on Yartemlea Sales Prospects
Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Omeros Corporation to Overweight from Neutral, citing bigger-than-anticipated sales prospects for its newly approved transplant therapy Yartemlea. Analyst Olivia Brayer Saunders also reinstated her price target of $22 on the biotech, whose shares set a new 52-week high on Tuesday. Omeros received FDA approval for Yartemlea in December for hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy, a complication of stem cell transplantation. Saunders raised her peak sales estimate for the drug to $400M, assuming 35% - 40% U.S. market share and no market share from Europe, and argued that $28.5M in Yartemlea sales recorded for Q2 was a huge number. Despite more than a 90% rally in Omeros shares over the past six months, she said the stock is pricing in no more than $350M in peak sales for the drug, adding that even after the move, investors are not fully giving Yartemlea credit for what this launch could become.
TD Cowen Calls Auto Stock Selloff on Chinese EV Fears 'Overdone' Ahead of Trump-Xi Talks
TD Cowen told clients on Tuesday that the recent selloff in auto stocks over fears of Chinese automakers entering the US market is "overdone," as President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on Wednesday for three days of talks with President Trump. Senior analyst Itay Michaeli wrote that a shift in US import policy at the summit is "very unlikely," though he urged investors to prepare for that eventuality anyway, noting that most industry contacts share that view. A coalition led by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, joined by the American Automotive Policy Council, dealer group NADA, and supplier association MEMA, sent a letter to Trump urging the administration to "keep the door firmly shut to Chinese automakers seeking to sell, import, or manufacture vehicles inside the US," crediting Trump's 100% tariffs on Chinese vehicles and a Commerce Department rule barring Chinese connected-car software with shielding the US from the surge seen in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and South America. TD Cowen laid out guardrails under which Chinese automakers could be forced in through minority-owned joint ventures with domestic players and probably barred from building full-size trucks, and Michaeli argued such structures "might even prove EPS accretive given sizable D3 EV losses," with Stellantis arguably having the most to gain given its lower North America EBIT starting point. The firm sees EV suppliers and charging networks like ChargePoint and EVgo as beneficiaries of faster US EV adoption, and parts makers with existing ties to Chinese OEMs, including BorgWarner and Aptiv, as "better positioned" than most, while the math is mixed for EV pure-plays Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid. The catch, per Michaeli, is that Big Three stock multiples could still suffer on the long-term risk that any initial restrictions eventually get lifted.
Brinker International Upgraded to Buy by Northcoast, Price Target $275
Northcoast upgraded Brinker International, the parent of Chili's, from neutral to buy, sending shares up 4% as of 11:29 a.m. ET after gaining as much as 6.5% earlier in the session. Analyst Jim Sanderson set a price target of $275, implying upside of 37% over the next year, citing strong growth at Chili's and its positioning for long-term growth under new management. Sanderson said menu improvements and better marketing put the company in a position to exceed in-store margins of 20%. Brinker finished fiscal 2026, which ended in July, with 8.1% comparable sales growth across the company and 9.2% at Chili's, though its Maggiano's chain has struggled with negative comparable sales. Through fiscal 2029, the company is targeting 4%-6% annual revenue growth, including 2%-3% unit growth with 30 new restaurants annually, along with double-digit annual adjusted EPS growth boosted by repurchasing 3%-5% of its shares annually.
IREN Trades at $47.23 With $13 Billion in Microsoft and NVIDIA Contracts
IREN is trading at $47.23, roughly 41% below the mean analyst target of $80.21, as the company works to convert a pre-secured power portfolio into contracted revenue. The company holds more than 5 gigawatts of announced power across Texas, British Columbia, Oklahoma, Spain, and South Australia, anchored by a $9.7 billion AI Cloud contract with Microsoft and a $3.4 billion five-year deal with NVIDIA, yet less than 10% of that 5-gigawatt portfolio is monetized. Management says $4 billion of ARR is contracted for 2026 capacity, with $1 billion already operating, and three-year contract pricing is up about 125% since November, with recent deals above $20 million per megawatt of IT load and active talks near $25 million per megawatt. IREN posted a $684 million net loss on $137.2 million of Q4 revenue that missed estimates and fell 26.75% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA fell from $59.5 million in Q3 to $19.2 million, and FY27 capex is guided at $25 to $30 billion. Consensus FY27 EPS has fallen from negative $0.94 ninety days ago to negative $3.92, and the balance sheet carries $11.60 billion of liabilities against $4.19 billion of equity, making March-quarter revenue the pivotal test of the contracted ARR story.
NetApp Earns Zacks Rank #1 as Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates
NetApp has been assigned a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) as covering analysts sharply raised their earnings estimates for the data storage company. For the current quarter, the company is expected to earn $2.60 per share, a change of +26.8% from the year-ago reported number, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 21.61% over the last 30 days, with eight estimates moving higher and no negative revisions. For the full year, the earnings estimate of $10.05 per share represents a change of +23.6% from the year-ago number, and that consensus estimate has risen 13.73% over the past month, again with eight estimates moving higher and none lower. NetApp shares have added 6% over the past four weeks. The Zacks Rank system ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and Zacks #1 Ranked stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 2008.
Vicor Earnings Estimates Rise, Zacks Rank Climbs to Buy
Analysts have raised their earnings estimates for Vicor, pushing the modular power components maker's consensus outlook higher for both the current quarter and the full year. For the current quarter, the company is expected to earn $0.87 per share, a year-over-year change of +38.1%, with one estimate moving higher over the last 30 days and no negative revisions, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16%. For the full year, Vicor is expected to earn $3.49 per share, representing a year-over-year change of +33.7%, as one estimate moved up over the past month against no downward revisions, pushing the consensus estimate 6.4% higher. The favorable estimate revisions have earned Vicor a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and the stock has gained 17.9% over the past four weeks.
Dan Niles Calls Meta a Re-Rating Candidate as AI Products Test Capex Payoff
Dan Niles of Niles Investment Management has tagged Meta as a re-rating candidate, arguing that two new AI products prove the company's massive capital spending can monetize beyond advertising. Meta's Q2 2026 report on July 29, 2026 showed diluted EPS of $6.18, missing the $7.22 estimate and breaking a six-quarter beat streak, while operating margin compressed to 31% from 43% on $2.40 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance tied to an 8,000-employee headcount reduction. Free cash flow fell to $784 million against capital expenditures of $30.12 billion, up 82.1% year over year, and long-term debt reached $83.66 billion to fund the buildout. Niles pointed to the enterprise API released about two weeks ago and the Muse AI agent launched roughly a week ago as evidence that Meta can monetize capital spending outside advertising, with Susan Li disclosing that Advantage Plus advertising solutions reached over $75 billion in annual revenue run rate and more than 1 million businesses used business agents weekly on WhatsApp and Messenger. Meta trades at roughly 27 times earnings with a 30.2% return on equity and an 82% gross margin while growing revenue 27.96% year over year to $60.8 billion, but the re-rating rests on whether enterprise API usage, business agents, and compute rental produce a visible run rate by early 2027 against $165 to $169 billion in 2026 total expense guidance.
Hess Midstream Guides 2026 Free Cash Flow to $910-$960 Million as Volumes Stay Flat
Hess Midstream LP is guiding 2026 adjusted free cash flow to $910-$960 million, up from $779.1 million in 2025, as capital spending falls to about $105 million from $247.5 million last year. At the midpoint, roughly $280 million of adjusted free cash flow after targeted distributions is expected to remain available for incremental shareholder returns and debt repayment, and management targets at least 5% annual distribution-per-share growth through 2028 while leverage falls below 3.0X in 2026 and toward roughly 2.5X by 2028. The cash-flow gain is offset by a flat operating outlook: full-year 2026 oil and gas volumes are guided broadly flat with 2025, and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.225-$1.275 billion is roughly flat at the midpoint versus $1.238 billion in 2025, after second-quarter oil terminaling fell 15% year over year, water gathering declined 12% and gas processing slipped 4%. Cash flow visibility rests on long-term commercial agreements with Chevron and third-party services that are 100% fee-based, mostly extend through 2033, and cover roughly 95% of 2026 revenues through minimum volume commitments, with fixed-fee rates adjusted annually for inflation up to 3%. HESM trades at 13.19X forward 12-month earnings, near its five-year median of 13.23X but above the Zacks sub-industry's 9.41X, and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) alongside a Value Score of D, Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of F and VGM Score of D.
Triumph Financial Upgraded to Zacks Rank #2 Buy on Rising Estimates
Triumph Financial has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), placing it in the top 20% of the more than 4,000 stocks covered by the Zacks rating system in terms of earnings estimate revisions. The upgrade reflects a steadily improving earnings outlook, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the financial holding company rising 1.5% over the past three months. For the fiscal year ending December 2026, Triumph Financial is expected to earn $1.93 per share, unchanged from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Rank system classifies stocks from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) using four factors tied to earnings estimates, and its top-ranked stocks have generated an average annual return of 25% since 1988. The upgrade implies the stock could move higher in the near term as investors price in the company's improving business trend.
Colony Bankcorp Upgraded to Zacks Rank #2 Buy on Rising Earnings Estimates
Colony Bankcorp has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), a rating reserved for the top 20% of the more than 4,000 stocks covered by the Zacks system. The upgrade reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the bank holding company rising 4.7% over the past three months. Colony Bankcorp is expected to earn $2.00 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2026, which represents no year-over-year change. The Zacks Rank system classifies stocks into five groups, from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and its top-ranked stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Zacks said the placement of Colony Bankcorp in the top 20% of covered stocks indicates superior earnings estimate revision and makes it a solid candidate for market-beating returns in the near term.
FG Nexus Upgraded to Zacks Rank #2 Buy on Rising Earnings Estimates
FG Nexus Inc has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), placing it in the top 20% of the more than 4,000 stocks covered by the Zacks rating system. The upgrade reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company rising 50% over the past three months. For the fiscal year ending December 2026, FG Nexus is expected to earn -$12.62 per share, unchanged from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Rank system classifies stocks into five groups, from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and its top-rated stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The upgrade positions FG Nexus in the top 20% of Zacks-covered stocks on estimate revisions, implying the stock could move higher in the near term.
General Motors Raises 2026 Adjusted EBIT Guidance to $14-$16 Billion
General Motors raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBIT guidance to $14-$16 billion from $13.5-$15.5 billion, after second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 1.9% year over year to $48.0 billion and adjusted EBIT climbed 29.8% to $3.9 billion. Adjusted EPS grew 41.3% to $3.57, while adjusted automotive free cash flow surged 78% to $5.0 billion. The company's shares have gained 43.3% over the past year, outpacing the 1.3% rise of the Automotive - Domestic industry and the 17.6% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite. GM's revenues are anticipated to increase 0.35% and 2.14% year over year in 2026 and 2027, respectively, with earnings estimated to rise 26.4% in 2026 and 10.14% in 2027. Costs remain a concern: second-quarter 2026 total costs and expenses rose to $46.6 billion from $45.0 billion a year ago, and net income declined 31.1% to $1.3 billion. GM currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Rosenblatt Initiates Sandisk at Buy With $2,400 Target on AI NAND Demand
Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy initiated coverage of Sandisk with a Buy rating and a $2,400 price target, arguing that AI workloads are transforming NAND flash from a commodity into critical computing infrastructure. The call follows a 698.69% year-to-date rally in Sandisk stock. Cassidy said new AI compute platforms create an opportunity to reposition NAND from a commodity storage medium to a more system-critical component of AI infrastructure, crediting Sandisk's BiCS8 and BiCS10 platforms and its 25-year manufacturing partnership with Kioxia. The $2,400 target is set at 10 times his fiscal 2028 earnings estimate, and he argues that New Business Model agreements with eight of the largest NAND customers could cover roughly 65% of fiscal 2028 production. Sandisk, spun off from Western Digital in February 2025, closed fiscal Q4 2026 with revenue of $8.965 billion, up 371.59% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $39.25 against a $33.28 consensus, while data center revenue reached $2.977 billion. CEO David Goeckeler cited more than four years of demand visibility through NBMs, with total expected revenue from signed agreements of at least $93.9 billion assuming floor pricing. Sandisk trades at roughly 8x forward earnings against a fiscal 2028 EPS consensus of $264.72 and a $2,125.09 average analyst target.
Third Avenue Small-Cap Value Fund Initiates Position in Maximus
Third Avenue Management's Small-Cap Value Fund initiated a position in government services contractor Maximus, Inc. during the second quarter of 2026, according to the fund's quarterly investor letter. The fund returned 12.85% in Q2 2026, trailing the Russell 2000 Value Index's 17.19% but beating the MSCI USA Small Cap Value Index's 12.61%, and is up 21.72% year-to-date. Maximus closed at $55.97 per share on September 21, 2026, down 4.37% over the past month and 36.07% over the past year, with a market capitalization of $2.93 billion and a 52-week range of $52.73 to $100.00. The fund said Maximus' federal business revenue grew more than 8% in 2025, and that management's recent operational guidance and a very substantial share buyback authorization inspire confidence, with operating margins expected to increase in 2026 due to internal use of artificial intelligence. As one example, the fund cited Maximus' Veterans Affairs benefits administration business, which now processes ten million pages of medical records every day in the Amazon cloud.
24/7 Wall St. Sets $490.29 Synopsys Price Target With Buy Rating
24/7 Wall St. issued a buy recommendation on Synopsys with a $490.29 price target, about 27.36% above the recent quote of $400.70, citing AI-driven chip design complexity. The firm reported 90% confidence in the call even as Synopsys shares have fallen 14.69% year to date and 16.54% over the past year, within a 52-week range of $362.55 to $539.48. In Q3 FY2026, Synopsys revenue reached $2.48 billion, up 42.4% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS came in at $3.91 versus $3.67 consensus, while management raised full-year revenue guidance to $9.69 billion to $9.74 billion and non-GAAP EPS guidance to $15.04 to $15.10. CEO Sassine Ghazi said AI is driving unprecedented complexity and increasing demand for silicon IP and engineering solutions, and the company logged more than 30 full-flow technical wins in a single quarter with agentic EDA being evaluated by 20 customers across more than 25 specialized AI agents. Synopsys carries an $11 billion backlog, the Ansys deal carries a reiterated $400 million revenue synergy target, and long-term debt jumped to $13.46 billion after Ansys, with GAAP profitability compressed by roughly $404 million per quarter of intangible amortization. Synopsys trades at roughly 28x forward earnings versus 30x for Cadence Design Systems, which has a $77.9 billion market cap and an analyst target of $402.12, while Broadcom trades at 19x forward earnings with a $1.71 trillion market cap and 85.5% quarterly revenue growth. The Street's average analyst target sits at $545.93, and the September 30 Investor Day could confirm Ansys synergy timing and agentic EDA monetization.
Kodiak, Celldex, Rapport and Vaxcyte Face Key Fall Clinical Readouts
Four clinical-stage biotech companies are approaching potentially important mid- to late-stage data readouts this fall, with outcomes that could reshape their pipelines and valuations. Kodiak Sciences is on track to report top-line data this month from the phase III DAYBREAK study evaluating Zenkuda (tarcocimab tedromer) and KSI-501 for treatment-naïve wet age-related macular degeneration against Regeneron's Eylea, targeting a roughly $15-billion anti-VEGF market. Celldex Therapeutics expects a September/October 2026 top-line readout from its phase III EMBARQ-CSU1 and EMBARQ-CSU2 studies of barzolvolimab in chronic spontaneous urticaria, with 1,939 patients enrolled and a planned regulatory submission in 2027. Rapport Therapeutics is targeting October 2026 for phase II results on RAP-219 in bipolar mania, while Vaxcyte expects top-line safety, tolerability and immunogenicity data from the phase III OPUS-1 study of its 31-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine VAX-31 by the end of October 2026. Among the four, Kodiak carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), while Celldex, Rapport and Vaxcyte each hold a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Meta Rallies Nearly 30% as Muse AI Launch and JPMorgan Upgrade Reframe Capex Debate
Meta Platforms has clawed back nearly 30% over the past month, outperforming the broader market ahead of its Connect 2026 event on September 23rd, after a summer in which the stock fell 13% in 2026 while the S&P 500 gained more than 10%. The rebound follows a second quarter in which revenue grew 28% to $60.8 billion but earnings of $6.18 per share missed the roughly $7.10 consensus, as capital expenditures hit $31.1 billion, up 57% from the first quarter and consuming about 98% of the company's $31.86 billion in operating cash flow, leaving free cash flow at $784 million. Management narrowed its 2026 capex guidance to $130 billion to $145 billion, nearly double the $72.2 billion spent in 2025, took on another $24.9 billion of debt to bring long-term debt to $83.7 billion, and repurchased zero shares for a second straight quarter after buying back $26.3 billion in 2025. Earlier this month Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent powered by its Muse Spark family of models, which reached as high as No. 3 in the U.S. App Store on its second day with early usage running roughly ten times that of internal testing cohorts, and JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote that Meta's Superintelligence Lab essentially delivered on its goal of reaching the frontier within a year with Muse Spark 1.3. JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $820 from $640, while advertising revenue grew 27% to $59.4 billion in the second quarter on 14% growth in ad impressions and a 12% increase in average price per ad, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted on the second-quarter call that Meta is receiving offers for its computing capacity at a significant premium to what the company paid for it.
Ken Langone Predicts Eli Lilly Stock Will Hit $2,000 in 3-4 Years
Ken Langone, chairman and president of Invemed Associates and a co-founder of Home Depot, said on CNBC's Squawk Box on September 22, 2026 that he expects Eli Lilly to become a $2,000 stock within the next three or four years, a roughly 73% gain from its premarket quote of $1,153.83 that day. Langone said his Eli Lilly position is now challenging his Home Depot stake for first place in his portfolio, noting that Lilly has given Home Depot a real run, while Home Depot traded at $301.79 and is down 25.33% over one year. He traced his Lilly stake to a San Diego medical device company he acquired for $1.5 million in 1972 and sold to Eli Lilly five years later for $50 million in stock, and said he has watched the company grow from roughly $2 billion in market capitalization in the late 1970s to over a trillion today, with Lilly's market capitalization currently at $1,038,332,855,731. Langone credited Lilly's diversified pipeline across immunology, oncology and neuroscience alongside its incretin franchise, and said research and development spending has grown from $4 billion a year at the time John Lechleiter became chief executive to $17 or $18 billion this year. Lilly's Q2 2026 filing raised full-year revenue guidance to $85.0 billion to $87.0 billion, and the stock is up 54.41% over one year and 428.77% over five years but down 8.09% over the past month.
HSBC Downgrades Netflix as YouTube Gains Viewer Share
HSBC downgraded Netflix to Hold from Buy with a price target of $76, down from $96, citing Alphabet's YouTube taking increasing viewer share from the streaming giant. The call headlines Wall Street's most market-moving research, which also saw Jefferies downgrade both Valero to Hold from Buy with a $401 price target and Marathon Petroleum to Hold from Buy with a $413 price target, while Morgan Stanley cut Ericsson to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $9, down from $11. Among upgrades, Northcoast raised Brinker to Buy from Neutral with a $275 price target, Piper Sandler lifted MetLife to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $110, up from $99, and Citi upgraded Fifth Third to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $62, up from $59. In initiations, Rosenblatt started SanDisk at Buy with a $2,400 price target, Needham began GE HealthCare at Buy with a $93 price target, and RBC Capital launched Everest Group at Outperform with a $455 price target. William Blair downgraded Endava to Underperform from Market Perform, and Northcoast cut ACV Auctions to Neutral from Buy after the company agreed to be acquired by Copart for $10.50 per share in cash.
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Adds to Meta, Airbnb and Beam Therapeutics Positions
Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood added to her funds' existing positions in Meta Platforms, Airbnb and Beam Therapeutics on Monday, disclosing the trades at the end of the trading day. Meta Platforms, parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, jumped 11% on Monday, its biggest single-day gain in more than a year, and Wells Fargo raised its price target on the stock from $640 to $796 ahead of Meta Connect on Wednesday and Thursday. Airbnb is on track for its sixth consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth, though its shares remain 24% below the all-time highs reached in early 2021 shortly after its IPO. Beam Therapeutics fell 10% on Sept. 9 and nearly 20% over three trading days after updated Phase 1/2 data for its BEAM-302 candidate, a gene-editing treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, showed encouraging efficacy but less numerical improvement than investors expected; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration feedback has Beam pursuing an accelerated approval pathway. Beam shares are down 9% year-to-date.
Morgan Stanley Ties SpaceX and Tesla in Physical AI Ecosystem
Morgan Stanley is highlighting SpaceX's growing technology links with Tesla and Elon Musk's expanding artificial intelligence ambitions, describing the relationship as a developing Physical AI ecosystem. The firm said the two companies share technology, talent and infrastructure, with SpaceX contributing areas such as computing and connectivity while Tesla brings capabilities in robotics, energy and manufacturing. SpaceX shares climbed about 1% overnight after falling nearly 1% Monday, while Tesla shares gained about 3% Tuesday. Separately, Grok 4.7 launched Sept. 21, roughly three weeks after Musk's original Sept. 1 target, and Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster said the timing was close enough to view the release as effectively on schedule. The launch is drawing attention to Grok 5, which Musk has targeted for late 2026 and which he has said could incorporate data from SpaceX, potentially giving xAI access to a large engineering and operational dataset. The next catalyst is whether SpaceX announces additional AI infrastructure or commercial partnerships tied to its expanding computing business.
IDACORP Board Approves Higher Quarterly Dividend of $0.90 Per Share
IDACORP's board approved a higher regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.90 per share, indicating $3.60 annually once implemented. The increase comes as the utility's shares have eased over shorter windows, with the 30-day move down 4.9% and the 90-day share price return down 10.2%, while the 1-year total shareholder return of 6.0% and 3-year total shareholder return of 46.3% point to longer-term gains. IDACORP's most followed valuation narrative pegs fair value at $158.10 per share, above the recent $130.47 close, while the SWS DCF model estimates fair value at $112.08, below that same close. The company's service area has seen robust customer and population growth alongside significant new large-scale industrial investments such as Micron fabs and data centers, suggesting sustained above-average electricity demand well into the 2030s. IDACORP's heavy reliance on weather-sensitive hydro generation and the need to fund large capital projects under evolving regulatory decisions could test that undervaluation story.
Baron Capital Re-Initiated Public Storage Position in 2026
Baron Capital re-initiated positions in Public Storage in 2026, according to the firm's second-quarter 2026 letter for the Baron Real Estate Income Fund. The fund said it had been cautious on self-storage REITs for several years because of flat to negative growth, but turned moderately more positive in 2025 as its research pointed to a potential inflection point, with growth possibly reaccelerating in 2026-2027. Baron described self-storage as an attractive business with a long history of solid growth, strong inflation protection characteristics and comparatively low capital intensity. The fund gained 12.18% on Institutional Shares in the quarter, modestly outperforming the MSCI US REIT Index, which rose 11.84%. Public Storage closed at $296.67 per share on September 21, 2026, down 8.06% over the past month and up 5.09% over the past 52 weeks, with a market capitalization of $55.43 billion and a 52-week trading range between $256.54 and $335.55.
Zacks Names NVIDIA Bull of the Day, Travelzoo Bear of the Day
Zacks Equity Research named NVIDIA Corp. its Bull of the Day and Travelzoo its Bear of the Day, with NVIDIA returning to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Travelzoo sitting at a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). NVIDIA, the leading AI and accelerated computing company with a market cap of $5.4 trillion, beat the Zacks Consensus by $0.13 in its fiscal second quarter 2027, reporting earnings of $2.22 versus the $2.09 estimate, its fifth consecutive beat, as revenue soared 106% to $96.2 billion and data center revenue jumped 117% to $89 billion. The fiscal 2027 Zacks Consensus Estimate has risen to $9.25 from $8.91, and the fiscal 2028 consensus climbed to $15.33, while the stock is up 20.4% year to date and carries a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 and a $99 billion share repurchase authorization. Travelzoo missed the Zacks Consensus by $0.36 in its second quarter of 2026, posting a loss of $0.21 versus the expected $0.15, as revenue fell 3% to $23.2 million and marketing spend jumped to $4.7 million from an average of $2.3 million per quarter between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026. Analysts cut Travelzoo's 2026 consensus to a loss of $0.14 from $0.58 and trimmed the 2027 estimate to $0.73 from $0.96, with shares falling to multi-year lows. The report also included analysis of Berkshire Hathaway, The Progressive Corp. and Chubb Ltd., noting that Greg Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Jan. 1, 2026, while Buffett becomes chairman emeritus and Howard G. Buffett becomes chairman.
Meta Shares Jump 11.4% After Wells Fargo Lifts Price Target to $796
Meta Platforms shares climbed 11.4% on Monday after Wells Fargo raised its price target on the stock to $796 from $640 while maintaining its existing rating. The firm cited early adoption of Meta's Muse AI assistant and recent progress across the company's AI products. Muse, launched Sept. 8, has reached the top position on Apple's U.S. App Store and is designed to handle tasks such as research, form completion and online purchases. The rally also came ahead of Meta Connect, which starts Wednesday, where investors will watch for additional AI product updates and signs of how Meta could build revenue streams around its AI portfolio. Monday's advance added to a broader technology rally, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 2.3%, and Meta's shares have now risen about 35% during September.
Nvidia Rated Zacks Rank #1 as Earnings Estimates Climb
Nvidia has been rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with the consensus earnings estimate for the current fiscal year standing at $9.25 per share, a change of +93.9% from the prior year. For the current quarter, Nvidia is expected to post earnings of $2.47 per share, up +90% from the year-ago quarter, and that consensus estimate has moved +5.8% over the last 30 days. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate of $15.33 indicates a change of +65.8%, and it has risen +21.8% over the past month. Consensus sales estimates stand at $109.02 billion for the current quarter, $406.05 billion for the current fiscal year and $671.95 billion for the next fiscal year, indicating year-over-year changes of +91.2%, +88% and +65.5%, respectively. In its last reported quarter, Nvidia posted revenues of $96.22 billion, a year-over-year change of +105.9%, and EPS of $2.22 versus $1.05 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus revenue estimate of $91.8 billion by +4.82% and the EPS estimate by +6.22%.
Palantir Draws Heavy Investor Search as Zacks Rates Stock a Buy
Palantir Technologies has become one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com, with the company rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on the strength of its earnings estimate trends. For the current quarter, Palantir is expected to post earnings of $0.41 per share, a change of +95.2% from the year-ago quarter, while the consensus estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. The consensus earnings estimate for the current fiscal year stands at $1.6, pointing to a change of +113.3% from the prior year, and the next fiscal year's estimate of $2.25 indicates a change of +40.9%. Consensus sales estimates for the current quarter, current fiscal year and next fiscal year are $2.17 billion, $8.14 billion and $11.59 billion, indicating year-over-year changes of +84%, +81.8% and +42.5%, respectively. In its last reported quarter, Palantir posted revenues of $1.94 billion, up +92.8% year over year, and EPS of $0.41 versus $0.16 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81 billion by +7.16% on revenue with an EPS surprise of +17.14%. The stock has returned +4.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.3% change, while the Zacks Internet - Software industry has gained 13.4% over the same period, and Palantir carries a Zacks Value Style Score of F, indicating it trades at a premium to its peers.
Alphabet Inc. is expected to post earnings of $2.93 per share for the current quarter, a change of +2.1% from the year-ago quarter, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved -0.1% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $20.51 points to a change of +89.7% from the prior year and has remained unchanged over the past 30 days, while the next fiscal year's consensus estimate of $14.71 indicates a change of -28.3% and has changed -0.2% over the past month. The consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $111.26 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +27.2%, with current and next fiscal year estimates of $433.58 billion and $545.68 billion indicating +26.4% and +25.9% changes, respectively. Alphabet reported revenues of $103.62 billion in the last reported quarter, a year-over-year change of +26.8%, with EPS of $9.11 versus $2.31 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $101.28 billion by +2.31% on revenue and posting an EPS surprise of +216.32%. The recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Alphabet, and the stock is graded C on the Zacks Value Style Score.
Meta Connect 2026 Preview: Muse AI Momentum Meets $130-$145 Billion Spending Plan
Meta Platforms is heading into Meta Connect 2026 on Sept. 23 and 24, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to unveil new smart glasses, a VR headset and updates to the company's metaverse push. The event follows an 11% single-day surge in META stock, driven by strong reception of the new Muse AI assistant, which launched on Sept. 8 and racked up 730,000 downloads in roughly five days, overtaking ChatGPT as the top free iOS app in the United States. Meta expects capital expenditures of $130-$145 billion in 2026, with total expenses guided between $165 billion and $169 billion, while second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion was almost entirely advertising at $59.36 billion and Reality Labs posted a $4.62 billion operating loss on just $431 million of revenue. In late August, the company agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle state lawsuits alleging it misrepresented the harm its apps could cause to children and teens, and Amazon has already blocked Muse from accessing its shopping site over privacy and security concerns. The Zacks Consensus Estimate implies 2026 sales and EPS growth of 26.4% and 34% respectively, though EPS estimates have declined over the past 60 days, and META carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Realty Income Trades 27% Below $72 Street-High Target as Analysts See Nearly 30% Upside
Realty Income shares trade at $56.63, roughly 27% below the $72.00 Street-high target held by Bank of America's Jeffrey Spector and UBS's Michael Goldsmith, who see near 30% upside. The stock sits about 20% below the $68.16 Wall Street consensus target while paying a 5.6% dividend yield backed by 670-plus consecutive monthly dividends and 115 consecutive quarterly dividend increases. Shares are down 9.1% over the past month and 5.26% across the past three months, pressured by a 10-year Treasury yield that reached 5.01%, its highest reading of the past year, and by a second quarter in which GAAP EPS of $0.37 missed the $0.4227 consensus by 12.47% on a $54.2 million real estate impairment, while net debt to EBITDAre ticked from 5.2x to 5.4x. AFFO per share grew 3.8% year over year to $1.09, and management raised 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.44 to $4.45 per share and lifted investment volume to $10 billion. A newly announced $6 billion hyperscale data center joint venture with Cloud Capital adds a growth channel the current multiple barely prices in, though non-investment-grade tenants at 65.7% of ABR remain a credit risk.
Mizuho Reiterates Meta Outperform, $750 Target Ahead of Connect Event
Mizuho said in a note Tuesday that its bullish thesis on Meta Platforms is increasingly playing out, pointing to rapid adoption of the company's Muse AI agent ahead of its Connect event. Analyst Lloyd Walmsley, who rates Meta Outperform with a $750 price target, said Muse quickly became the No. 1 free app in the app store, with 730,000 downloads in five days and 2.5 million cumulatively by Sept. 21. Walmsley said Meta Connect, on Sept. 23-24, should move the Muse story from app adoption to platform creation, with the likely headline being Muse on Meta's glasses, combining its AI agent with wearables in what he called the clearest consumer AI use case yet. He highlighted Meta's new Connector Platform, opened to third-party developers on Sept. 18, as setting the stage for transaction-based monetization, potentially via a take rate on businesses wanting to reach Muse users, with Shopify having activated checkout within Muse, joining Stripe, while Amazon has blocked Muse, which Walmsley said validates its growing scale. The analyst noted Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has signaled the model will evolve toward Meta taking a share of the value Muse creates, raising the potential to disintermediate Google search, online travel agents and e-commerce advertising, and he flagged risks from possible competing products while noting Meta trades at 22 times 2027 earnings, below Alphabet's 30 times at peak Gemini mania.