Wall Street analysts reset ratings across AI, semiconductors and industrials

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Wall Street analyst ratings reset

Highlights

Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy, citing strong DRAM access in a supply-constrained market, and maintains SpaceX as top buy for scale in orbital AI and Starlink.
Goldman Sachs initiates Comfort Systems as buy with a $2,159 12-month price target, forecasting strong AI infrastructure buildout positioning, while KeyBanc downgrades Salesforce on weak survey results.
Mizuho raises price targets on chip equipment names, citing durable AI-linked demand, and Wolfe upgrades several industrials like American Tower and ITT based on favorable growth or earnings setups.

Thursday rating changes across sectors

As reported by CNBC, Thursday’s biggest Wall Street calls range from bullish reiterations on Nvidia and SpaceX to new coverage on companies including Waters, Intuitive Surgical, Comfort Systems, Tesla, Merlin, Perimeter Solutions and CECO Environmental.

Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy after a meeting with investor relations and says the company remains its top buy-rated mega-cap data center semiconductor pick because of strong access to DRAM memory in a supply-constrained market. Citi also reiterates SpaceX as buy, citing what it calls unrivaled launch capabilities and the company’s ability to scale space infrastructure through areas such as Orbital AI and Starlink.

RBC initiates Waters with an outperform rating and a $435 price target, while Baird starts Cohu at outperform and says the semiconductor test company still has room to run. Mizuho reiterates Applied Materials as outperform and raises estimates and price targets on several chip equipment names, saying AI continues to support leading-edge foundry, logic and DRAM demand while NAND benefits from upgrade tailwinds. William Blair, however, initiates Advanced Micro Devices at market perform, saying it is concerned about rising competition even as AMD remains exposed to the AI infrastructure boom.

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs initiates Comfort Systems as buy with a 12-month price target of $2,159, arguing the contractor is well positioned for AI infrastructure buildout. BMO initiates Intuitive Surgical as outperform, and Bank of America adds Meta to its U.S. 1 list. On the negative side, KeyBanc downgrades Salesforce to sector weight from overweight after weak survey checks and customer conversations, while JPMorgan downgrades Stellantis to neutral from overweight because it sees limited near-term upside. Deutsche Bank also downgrades Simon Property Group to hold from buy on valuation grounds.

AI spending, valuation and earnings outlook drive the calls

Several of Thursday’s calls are tied directly to expectations for AI-linked capital spending and the broader search for companies with leverage to infrastructure demand. Analysts point to semiconductor supply chains, data center investment and industrial contractors as areas where earnings momentum can remain durable, even as valuation discipline becomes more important.

That pattern also appears in consumer, transport and industrial names. Goldman upgrades Toast to buy from neutral, saying investors should use weakness in payments stocks to add higher-quality companies with compressed valuations. Mizuho upgrades Five Below to outperform from neutral after a sharp pullback in the shares, and Wolfe upgrades American Tower, W.W. Grainger, ITT and Sarepta to outperform, citing more favorable setups for growth or earnings momentum.

Citi upgrades Knight-Swift and Saia to buy from neutral, saying recent share-price pullbacks create enough upside to support the rating changes. Deutsche Bank reiterates MP Materials as buy despite lowering its price target, arguing the stock’s decline creates a more attractive entry point. Deutsche also reiterates McDonald’s as buy while expecting a mixed second-quarter print, with softer U.S. same-store sales but steadier international trends.

New cautious views also emerge. Citizens initiates Tesla at market perform, saying expectations around Optimus and robotaxi contributions appear too optimistic relative to the likely timeline. JPMorgan initiates Perimeter Solutions and CECO Environmental at overweight, while Cantor Fitzgerald starts Merlin at overweight, showing that even in a mixed market, analysts are still identifying niche industrial and environmental companies with meaningful upside potential.

In our earlier coverage of Nvidia’s post-correction rebound, we noted that the stock was regaining investor attention as its valuation became more attractive while long-term AI growth expectations stayed largely intact. The piece also highlighted continued Buy ratings from major banks and pointed to key technical levels—especially the $200 area and $204.60—as important markers for the next move, alongside the view that Nvidia’s AI infrastructure leadership remains intact despite rising competition.

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