It almost seems hard to imagine that the S&P 500 has risen by 13% and that the NASDAQ-100 has risen 17% in just the last month. Then again, this was after the panic selling reached epic technical levels. And we do need to keep in mind that both indexes are still down slightly (about -3% and -4%, respectively) year-to-date as the markets are digesting higher interest rates, tariffs into trade wars and a slowing economy on most fronts.
Now that trade deals are starting to come together, and now that the market feels like it is returning to a more normal feel, analysts on Wall Street are starting to issue at least some price target hikes again. And we are even starting to see some formal analyst rating upgrades with notations such as “attractive entry points” and “safer to buy” now that the weakness has been priced in.
The daily flow analyst upgrades and downgrades is intended to look for new ideas that might otherwise have been missed or overlooked. These research reports often contain information that the public may not have seen or recognized. That said, Oggonomics always reminds its readers that no analyst call should ever be the sole reason to buy or sell a stock.
Every investor should consider multiple factors and their own suitability before buying or selling a stock. It should also be recognized that no analyst report has even been issued with a money-back guarantee nor a guaranteed gain to follow.
Here are some analyst upgrades, positive new Buy/Outperform ratings and price hikes on previous positive ratings from Thursday, May 8, 2025. If any negative reports have been seen, then they were also included in this report.
Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE: GOLF) is big into golf equipment, shoes and apparel. Its stock was last seen down about 1% at $67.75 after earnings, but KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $75 from $70 after a slight beat to consensus expectations. And while KeyBanc pointed out that Acushnet did not update its sales and EBITDA guidance, the company did point to a gross tariff impact of roughly $75 million at current rates and that it expects to handle more than 50% of that amount this year. Perhaps the drag on Acushnet is that JPMorgan took the other side of the coin by reiterating its Underweight rating and cutting its price target to $57 from $64 in the call.
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AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ: APP) is finally feeling some of its 2024 inclination to gain again after a short-seller report knocked it down from a zenith above $500 down to about $220 at the peak of the panic selling. Its post-earnings reaction was up 14% to $347.00 early on Thursday. Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $405 from $386, and BTIG reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $471 from $433. Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating but raised its target to 4435 from $335, while Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $530 from $460.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) was given a formal upgrade to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Barclays, with a price target hike to $84 from $76 in the call. That’s versus $74.00 at the present time. The call cited management reaffirming 2025 guidance to include tariffs and an economic slowdown. With sales at the lower end of expectations Barclays believes much has been de-risked and the sell-off after earnings looks to be an attractive entry point for longer-term and patient investors. IFF was trading around $79.00 before earnings and its 52-week range is $65.85 to $106.77.
Mercadolibre, Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) beat earnings expectations and talked up its business in Argentina. The stock was last seen up over 5% at $2,393.00 after having traded as high as $2,490 earlier in the morning. BTIG reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $2,750 from $2,500 after its estimated total payment volume came in well above expectations with strong growth and high quality. BofA reiterated its Buy rating and kept its $3,000 price objective after calling the report a compelling intermediate to longer-term outlook with significant growth ahead.
The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) may seem forgotten in the phosphate and potash crop nutrients sector. It just hit a 52-week high of $32.42 after earnings beat expectations and revenue looked a tad light. RBC Capital Markets upgraded Mosaic to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its price target up to $40 from $30 in its call. RBC does expect phosphate markets to be tight with steady demand and limited supply keeping prices higher. This is also at dirt-cheap valuations (4.5-times EBITDA) with multiple positive catalysts that can all generate higher prices and valuations ahead.
National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) has managed to avoid the 2025 market carnage as its post-earnings reaction was up over 5% to a 52-week high of $16.50. This optical retailer (glasses and contacts) was reiterated as Buy and its target was raised to $20 from $18 at Loop Capital. The firm was pleased with same-store sales growth and encouraged by as its new managed vision care strategy is beginning to show up in the numbers.
Regal Rexnord Corporation (NYSE: RRX) was at $110 this week ahead of earnings, but after a couple strong days it was last seen up at $133.00. Citigroup’s Kyle Menges reiterated his Buy rating and raised the price target to $145 from $110. The strong earnings and guidance for this industrial company shows that tariff impacts look to be neutralized on a cost basis after a solid earnings report. Its 52-week range is $90.56 to $185.28.
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Taboola.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: TBLA) was given a formal upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $4 price target at B. Riley. The stock was last seen up 9% at $3.35 after earnings beat expectations. Taboola also reaffirmed its previously issued fiscal 2025 guidance. B. Riley sees a favorable risk versus reward scenario as it was down from $4.00 just in February. This small-cap advertising play is also shown to be at attractive valuations versus reasonable expectations even in what may pan out to be a difficult market for some advertisers as the economy weakens. Taboola’s 52-week range is $2.50 to $4.60.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) returned to profitability while missing revenue estimates. The stock was down just over 1% at $82.75 on Thursday morning’s post-earnings reaction but several firms issued positive reports. Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $97 from $86, and Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $100. BofA Securities reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $97 from $96, reaffirming its stance that Uber is the top pick in the Travel/Online Services space with stronger free cash flow expected in 2026. On the flip side, Wedbush Securities downgraded Uber to Neutral from Outperform while still raising its price target up to $85 from $80 as the growth story has now been factored into the stock.
Please note — all analyst ratings and price targets mentioned in this report are from the firms mentioned specifically in each stock. Oggonomics does not have any formal price targets nor formal ratings of its own in any of these stocks. Investing involves risks and requires actual inflows of capital rather than analyst ratings and higher price targets to drive share prices higher.
