Wingstop upgraded, Wix downgraded: Wall Street’s top analyst calls

The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today’s research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

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Top 5 Upgrades:

• Erste Group upgraded Walmart (WMT) to Buy from Hold. Increased sales and profit in Q4 are “a positive development,” says the firm, which expects Walmart to exceed its own forecast for sales growth and operating profit in the current financial year.
• Erste Group upgraded AMD (AMD) to Buy from Hold. For Q1, AMD anticipates 32% year over year revenue growth driven by rising demand for high-performance CPUs and GPUs in data centers, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Piper Sandler upgraded Wingstop (WING) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $190, down from $283. The stock’s risk/reward is attractive following a period of underperformance, the firm tells investors in a research note. Raymond James also upgraded Wingstop but to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $240, down from $325.
• Melius Research upgraded RTX (RTX) to Buy from Hold. The Middle East conflict brings the need for the U.S. to replace missiles, missile interceptors, damaged radars, and aircraft, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Jefferies upgraded Ollie’s Bargain Outlet(OLLI) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $130, up from $120. Ollie’s is the number one player in closeout “at a moment when scale matters most,” the firm tells investors in a research note.

Top 5 Downgrades:

• Erste Group downgraded Meta Platforms(META) to Hold from Buy. While Q1 revenue is projected at $53.5B-$56.5B with strong growth, free cash flow is expected to decline due to elevated investment levels and remain below historical averages next year, the firm notes.
• Erste Group downgraded Micron (MU) to Hold from Buy. The company needs “high investments” to expand production, which reduces its free cash flow, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Erste Group downgraded Broadcom (AVGO) to Hold from Buy. The firm expects the company’s software segment to grow at “a strongly below-average rate” in the long term and says its goodwill amortization will slow earnings growth. Erste Group also downgraded Lam Research(LRCX) to Hold from Buy.
• UBS downgraded Wix.com(WIX) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $96, down from $145. Wix’s 2026 outlook implies its core business is decelerating to 8% vs. 12% in 2025, with further deceleration in 2027 and beyond, the firm says.
• Baird downgraded Akamai (AKAM) to Neutral from Outperform with an unchanged price target of $110. The firm sees a more balanced risk/reward with the shares up 33% year-to-date.

Top 5 Initiations:

• Erste Group initiated coverage of Kroger (KR) with a Buy rating. The firm says Kroger is currently implementing a transformation strategy and profits should grow more strongly than in the previous year.
• Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Elf Beauty(ELF) with an In Line rating and $68 price target. The company is evolving from a disruptive make-up brand into a multi-category platform that is increasingly open to M&A, but it lacks a share-gaining core business to substantiate that platform narrative, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Erste Group initiated coverage of Marvell (MRVL) with a Buy rating. Marvell has doubled net profit over the past five quarters, with return on equity rising to 19%, and revenue and profit growth expected to continue, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Nutanix (NTNX) with a Buy rating and $60 price target. The company has been significantly expanding its capabilities with its software-defined Nutanix Cloud Platform to capture the growing enterprise hybrid cloud opportunity and positioning itself as an enabler of AI in the enterprise, the firm tells investors in a research note.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Freeport-McMoRan(FCX) with a Buy rating and $70 price target. The company offers best-in-class exposure to structural deficits in the copper market, with supplemental gold exposure, the firm tells investors in a research note.