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Big Analyst Moves: Applied Materials Could Jump 33%, ConocoPhillips Gets Major Upgrade

MarketDash Editorial Team
20 hours ago
Wall Street analysts shook things up Monday with major rating changes across energy, tech, and retail stocks. Applied Materials got a massive price target boost to $400, while ConocoPhillips jumped from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Here's the full rundown of upgrades, downgrades, and target adjustments.

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Monday brought a flurry of analyst action across Wall Street, with some major calls that could signal significant moves ahead for several stocks. Let's break down the ten most notable changes.

Energy Sector Gets Love

Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin had a change of heart on ConocoPhillips (COP), upgrading the energy giant from Equal-Weight to Overweight while bumping the price target from $100 to $132. That's a meaningful vote of confidence considering the stock closed Friday at $97.51, suggesting upside of more than 35% if Margolin's target proves accurate.

Not all energy names fared as well. Vista Energy SAB de CV - ADR (VIST) got an upgrade too, with UBS analyst Tasso Vasconcellos moving from Neutral to Buy and raising the price target from $50 to $65. The stock closed at $46.17 on Friday. Meanwhile, Seadrill Ltd (SDRL) took a hit as Citigroup analyst Scott Gruber downgraded it from Neutral to Sell, cutting the target from $35 to $32. Seadrill shares finished Friday at $35.47.

The Big Tech Moves

Here's where things get interesting. Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini made perhaps the boldest call of the day, upgrading Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) from Neutral to Positive and more than doubling the price target from $180 to $400. With the stock closing at $301.18 on Friday, that implies roughly 33% upside. That's the kind of call that makes you wonder what Hosseini is seeing in the semiconductor equipment space.

Snowflake Inc (SNOW) faced headwinds as Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow downgraded the cloud data platform from Overweight to Equal-Weight, trimming the price target from $290 to $250. The stock closed at $219.09 on Friday, already well below the old target.

In a complete about-face, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss upgraded Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) from Underweight to Overweight, simultaneously raising the price target from $83 to $115. That's quite the reversal. Akamai shares settled at $88.12 on Friday.

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Consumer and Industrial Updates

American Woodmark Corp (AMWD) saw a mixed signal from Baird. Analyst Timothy Wojs raised the price target from $57 to $60 but downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral. The stock closed at $59.90 on Friday, essentially at the new target, which probably explains the downgrade despite the modest price increase.

Zillow Group Inc (ZG) got a slight haircut from Citizens analyst Andrew Boone, who reduced the price target from $90 to $85 while maintaining a Market Outperform rating. Zillow shares closed at $67.16 on Friday, still well below either target.

The Outliers

GE Vernova Inc (GEV) received an astronomical price target increase from GLJ Research analyst Austin Wang, who raised the target from $758 to $1,087 while maintaining a Buy rating. The stock settled at $622.50 on Friday, meaning Wang sees potential for nearly 75% upside.

Finally, Boot Barn Holdings Inc (BOOT) got a modest bump from BTIG analyst Janine Stichter, who raised the price target from $226 to $235 while maintaining a Buy rating. Boot Barn shares closed at $195.67 on Friday.

The variety of moves here tells you something about the current market environment. Analysts are making big, confident calls in both directions, suggesting we're at a point where conviction matters and fence-sitting is becoming less popular.

Big Analyst Moves: Applied Materials Could Jump 33%, ConocoPhillips Gets Major Upgrade

MarketDash Editorial Team
20 hours ago
Wall Street analysts shook things up Monday with major rating changes across energy, tech, and retail stocks. Applied Materials got a massive price target boost to $400, while ConocoPhillips jumped from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Here's the full rundown of upgrades, downgrades, and target adjustments.

Get Akamai Technologies Alerts

Weekly insights + SMS alerts

Monday brought a flurry of analyst action across Wall Street, with some major calls that could signal significant moves ahead for several stocks. Let's break down the ten most notable changes.

Energy Sector Gets Love

Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin had a change of heart on ConocoPhillips (COP), upgrading the energy giant from Equal-Weight to Overweight while bumping the price target from $100 to $132. That's a meaningful vote of confidence considering the stock closed Friday at $97.51, suggesting upside of more than 35% if Margolin's target proves accurate.

Not all energy names fared as well. Vista Energy SAB de CV - ADR (VIST) got an upgrade too, with UBS analyst Tasso Vasconcellos moving from Neutral to Buy and raising the price target from $50 to $65. The stock closed at $46.17 on Friday. Meanwhile, Seadrill Ltd (SDRL) took a hit as Citigroup analyst Scott Gruber downgraded it from Neutral to Sell, cutting the target from $35 to $32. Seadrill shares finished Friday at $35.47.

The Big Tech Moves

Here's where things get interesting. Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini made perhaps the boldest call of the day, upgrading Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) from Neutral to Positive and more than doubling the price target from $180 to $400. With the stock closing at $301.18 on Friday, that implies roughly 33% upside. That's the kind of call that makes you wonder what Hosseini is seeing in the semiconductor equipment space.

Snowflake Inc (SNOW) faced headwinds as Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow downgraded the cloud data platform from Overweight to Equal-Weight, trimming the price target from $290 to $250. The stock closed at $219.09 on Friday, already well below the old target.

In a complete about-face, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss upgraded Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) from Underweight to Overweight, simultaneously raising the price target from $83 to $115. That's quite the reversal. Akamai shares settled at $88.12 on Friday.

Get Akamai Technologies Alerts

Weekly insights + SMS (optional)

Consumer and Industrial Updates

American Woodmark Corp (AMWD) saw a mixed signal from Baird. Analyst Timothy Wojs raised the price target from $57 to $60 but downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral. The stock closed at $59.90 on Friday, essentially at the new target, which probably explains the downgrade despite the modest price increase.

Zillow Group Inc (ZG) got a slight haircut from Citizens analyst Andrew Boone, who reduced the price target from $90 to $85 while maintaining a Market Outperform rating. Zillow shares closed at $67.16 on Friday, still well below either target.

The Outliers

GE Vernova Inc (GEV) received an astronomical price target increase from GLJ Research analyst Austin Wang, who raised the target from $758 to $1,087 while maintaining a Buy rating. The stock settled at $622.50 on Friday, meaning Wang sees potential for nearly 75% upside.

Finally, Boot Barn Holdings Inc (BOOT) got a modest bump from BTIG analyst Janine Stichter, who raised the price target from $226 to $235 while maintaining a Buy rating. Boot Barn shares closed at $195.67 on Friday.

The variety of moves here tells you something about the current market environment. Analysts are making big, confident calls in both directions, suggesting we're at a point where conviction matters and fence-sitting is becoming less popular.