Wall Street analysts update ratings on Nvidia, SpaceX, BlackRock and Apple

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Analyst ratings on key stocks

Highlights

JPMorgan upgrades BlackRock to overweight from equal weight after strong profit growth despite 2024 underperformance, while several firms initiate or upgrade technology and financial stocks.
Piper Sandler initiates SpaceX at neutral citing staged lockup expirations and Tesla acquisition uncertainty, while Seaport reiterates Nvidia as sell due to higher product pricing risks.
Truist downgrades Lululemon to sell from hold and BTIG cuts Etsy to neutral from buy on valuation concerns, as caution increases where near-term catalysts weaken.

Thursday rating changes across sectors

As reported by CNBC, Thursday's analyst calls span upgrades, downgrades, reiterations and fresh coverage initiations from major Wall Street firms, with activity concentrated in technology, financials and industrial names.

JPMorgan upgrades BlackRock to overweight from equal weight after earnings, saying the stock has lagged this year despite robust profit growth, and also upgrades SK Telecom to overweight from neutral. Bank of America reiterates JPMorgan as buy and raises its price target, while Morgan Stanley upgrades Rocket Companies to overweight from equal weight, citing share gain potential in mortgages.

Several firms start new coverage. Goldman Sachs initiates Excelerate Energy as buy, Benchmark launches on Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems and Rambus with buy ratings, Stifel initiates EyePoint as buy, Oppenheimer starts Arteris at outperform, and Baird initiates Forgent Power Solutions and nVent Electric at outperform.

Piper Sandler initiates SpaceX at neutral, pointing to near-term company-specific headwinds including staged lockup expirations and uncertainty around a potential Tesla acquisition. The firm also initiates AST SpaceMobile at overweight, arguing the satellite operator has significant upside tied to direct-to-smartphone connectivity.

Elsewhere, Raymond James upgrades AeroVironment to outperform from market perform, BTIG downgrades Etsy to neutral from buy on valuation, and Truist cuts Lululemon to sell from hold because of mounting pressure and limited visibility on a recovery. Wells Fargo also downgrades Cinemark and Imax to equal weight from overweight, saying the risk-reward balance has become more even for movie theater stocks.

AI, earnings and valuation shape market impact

Technology and AI infrastructure themes run through several of the day's most notable calls. Seaport reiterates Nvidia as sell, arguing higher pricing could make products harder for some customers to afford, while Baird backs Vertiv as an AI data center play because of its partnership with Nvidia and positioning in cooling and power systems.

KeyBanc reiterates Amazon as overweight and lifts its price target, saying retail trends remain strong and AWS is improving even as data center investment may limit near-term margin upside. Evercore ISI also reiterates Apple as outperform ahead of earnings later this month, citing expected iPhone 17 momentum and debate around gross margin sustainability.

In other sectors, Bank of America upgrades Ero Copper to buy from neutral, citing the prospect of capital returns, and upgrades Cintas to buy after stronger-than-expected quarterly results and guidance. Across the broader list, Thursday's recommendations suggest analysts remain willing to reward earnings resilience and AI-linked demand, while turning more cautious where valuation or near-term catalysts appear less favorable.

Our previous report on surging AI data-centre power needs explained how investors are increasingly treating electricity generation, grid capacity and electrification as a key “picks-and-shovels” way to play the AI boom. We also highlighted the sharp pickup in energy IPO fundraising alongside expectations of materially higher U.S. power demand, signaling that power availability and permitting constraints are becoming central to the AI investment narrative.

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