Wall Street analysts update ratings across tech, media and consumer stocks

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Analyst ratings on tech, media, consumer

Highlights

Morgan Stanley names Seagate a top pick, raising its price target to $1,200 from $1,187, while favoring Western Digital tactically into earnings.
Loop downgrades Apple to hold from buy, citing reduced confidence in an iPhone unit recovery, and HSBC reiterates CoreWeave at reduce due to ongoing concerns.
Analysts emphasize upside among stocks linked to AI infrastructure and data center spending, upgrading names such as Venture Global, nVent Electric, and Modine Manufacturing.

Tuesday rating changes across key sectors

As reported by CNBC, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterates SpaceX as overweight and says it remains bullish ahead of earnings on Tuesday after the bell, citing what it sees as upside to 2027 buyside expectations, faster-than-expected handset ambitions and increased crowding around defensive risk.

Morgan Stanley names Seagate a top pick and raises its price target to $1,200 per share from $1,187, while also saying Western Digital is the more favorable tactical name into earnings. Mizuho initiates Restaurant Brands International as outperform, pointing to global momentum across Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, while Stephens starts Concentra at overweight with a $45 price target tied to its occupational health center model and scale.

Rosenblatt initiates SiTime at buy with a $750 price target, citing structural growth, and Raymond James starts News Corp at outperform with a $35 target, arguing the stock trades at a discount. Stifel upgrades Trex to buy from hold, Loop downgrades Apple to hold from buy after saying the expected iPhone unit recovery now appears less likely, and Piper Sandler upgrades Arhaus to overweight from neutral on margin recovery potential.

JPMorgan initiates nVent Electric at overweight and calls the company a data center beneficiary, while Morgan Stanley starts AdarX at overweight, highlighting its siRNA platform and clinical pipeline. TD Cowen upgrades BlackRock to buy from hold, saying the third quarter of 2026 marks an inflection point, and BMO reiterates Alphabet as buy while raising its price target and maintaining the stock as a top pick.

Wells Fargo upgrades Venture Global to overweight from equal weight on confidence in execution of its AI data center strategy. Raymond James also upgrades Akamai to strong buy from outperform, BTIG lifts American Electric to buy from neutral, Jefferies initiates Artivion at buy, New Street upgrades Liberty Global to buy from neutral, Deutsche Bank upgrades Healthcare Realty Trust to buy from hold, Piper Sandler reiterates Nvidia at overweight, Cantor Fitzgerald initiates Modine Manufacturing at overweight, Jefferies initiates Thomson Reuters at buy, and HSBC reiterates CoreWeave at reduce.

Earnings, AI and data center themes drive calls

Several of Tuesday's calls center on earnings timing and exposure to AI-linked infrastructure spending. SpaceX, Seagate, Western Digital, Alphabet, Nvidia, Venture Global, Modine Manufacturing and nVent Electric are all framed around demand visibility, capital spending, data center buildout or near-term catalysts tied to earnings and investor positioning.

Other calls reflect a mix of valuation and operational recovery arguments across sectors. Analysts point to improving restaurant same-store sales at Restaurant Brands, margin recovery at Arhaus, product launch cadence at Artivion, operating leverage and AI tailwinds at Thomson Reuters, and discounted valuations at News Corp, Liberty Global and Healthcare Realty Trust. At the same time, the downgrade on Apple and the reduce rating on CoreWeave show that firms remain selective where shipment assumptions, debt concerns or revenue durability appear less certain.

In our earlier article on the growing strains in the U.S. AI data center buildout, we explained that many headline expansion plans are running into higher funding costs, construction delays, and tightening power availability. We also noted that investor confidence can be tested when projects slip or budgets blow out, leaving questions about how quickly new capacity can realistically come online.

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