The Dow and S&P 500 have bounced back handily in recent days. A 6% recovery for the S&P 500 in just a week’s time would be impressive at almost any time. The problem is that stocks remain down 7% year-to-date as many aspects of the economy are slowing whether tariffs truly hit or not.
Wall Street has still tried to maintain its positive ratings for analysts’ favorite stocks the most part. The problem is that the stock market pullback has punished some of the top stocks so much that analysts are having to adjust their price targets lower. Much lower in many cases. And many strategists have even slashed their S&P 500 price targets for the year.
Oggonomics reviews the daily flow of analyst reports to hunt for new ideas and overlooked gems for longer-term investors and short-term traders alike. The trend for almost the entire month of April has been for analysts to cut their upside price targets without formally downgrading their favorite stocks. Very few analyst upgrades are being seen, even when they hike their price targets.
The current “downgrade-lite” theme has prevailed all week even as stocks have recovered sharply. It turns out that a 6% gain in the S&P in just a week does not wipe out what had been double-digit losses. You know the news – tariffs, trade war, China, interest rates, political fighting, deficit spending, a weaker dollar, slower consumer spending, and so on. There is even some “AI fatigue” that’s pretty obvious if you just accept the price action of the top AI stocks.
All may not be lost for long-term investors. Ditto for short-term investors looking for good news on days when the market heat-map does not resemble a sea of red. There are still a few stocks receiving formal analyst upgrades. And there are others which are still seeing higher price targets in the reports.
Investors should always keep in mind that none of the upside targets and scenarios come with any guaranteed upside in the calls. Oggonomics also reminds its readers that no single analyst call should ever be used as the sole reason to buy or sell a stock.
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE: NOW) was last seen trading up 15% at $935.98 after its earnings. Most analysts have not issued formal upgrades on their ratings, but here are some price target changes that have been seen:
- Barclays target to $969 from $967, reiterated Overweight
- Bernstein target to $1,003 from $1,021, reiterated Outperform
- Canaccord Genuity’s target to $1,075 from $900, reiterated Buy
- Goldman Sachs target to $1,150 from $1,050, reiterated Buy
- Guggenheim did maintain its negative “Sell” rating, but the firm still raised its target to $724 from $716
- Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal-Weight rating, but it did raise its target to $950 from $881
- RBC Capital Markets raised its target to $1,060 from $975, reiterated Outperform
Other analyst calls that involve upgrades and/or higher price targets with positive ratings like Buy/Outperform are shown below.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $325 from $300 at JPMorgan. The firm noted that its pullback in 2025 has presented an attractive entry point for investors who should appreciate its high-quality defensive growth positioning while the economy slows and with limited tariff exposure. Cadence Design Systems was last trading up 6% at $281.40 and its 52-week range is $221.56 to $328.99.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and its price target was raised to $80 from $73 at Piper Sandler. This stock was up over 6% at $75.00 after its earnings report. Piper Sandler sees a better path back to double-digit growth with its transcatheter opportunities. The firm also cited a favorable position when there is uncertainty facing the larger macro picture, with a manageable tariff risk and procedures which are not able to be put off just because the economy is weaker.
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Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCSG) was last seen trading up 8% at $13.10 after earnings. UBS upgraded its rating to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $15 from $12 in the call. UBS is expecting revenue growth acceleration of more than 5% in 2025 due to issues around an improving nursing home industry outlook. Additional drivers include strong retention and new customers, as well as cross-selling opportunities to incrementally boost the returns.
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $17.50 price target at Deutsche Bank. The firm remains confident that bank stocks bottomed out after the first quarter earnings results and they expect more upside from many large regional banks versus their mega-cap peers due to lower valuations. HBAN was last seen up 2% at $14.45 and its 52-week range is $11.92 to $18.45.
Lennox International Inc. (NYSE: LII) saw some post-earnings selling pressure the prior day as its stock fell almost 10% to $508.76. It was up 2.9% at $523.00 on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised its rating on Lennox to Outperform from Perform with a $600 price target. Oppenheimer called the sell-off after earnings out as an attractive entry point for long-term investors when the company’s “transitory bump” is actually an attractive multi-year growth story. Its 52-week range is $445.63 to $682.50.
M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) was also raised by Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold with a $210 price target. The notation was similar to HBAN listed above, with M&T’s price up 2% at $168.70 and a 52-week range of $139.78 to $225.70.
Penumbra (NYSE: PEN) was last seen up 5% at $293.00. The firm BTIG reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $320 from $305 in the call after earnings results beat its estimates. The firm noted that comps are expected to ease notably in its Thrombectomy for the rest of 2025.
Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $182 from $175 at BofA Securities. The report touted a 20.4% gain in smoke-free sales and a 33.1% gain from smoke-free segment gross profit. Also noted was that the higher ZYN volume expectations allowed it to boost 2025 to 2027 earnings estimates.
Renasant Corporation (NYSE: RNST) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James, and the firm kept its price target of $40 unchanged after earnings. The upside view reflects benefits from the First Bancshares deal closing sooner than expected and a stronger start to its year. Raymond James also sees downside protection and post-deal capital flexibility helping the regional bank operator. Its post-earnings reaction was up 1.6% to $31.63 and its 52-week range is $26.97 to $39.63.
ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD) was last seen trading up 10% at $236.00 in reaction to its earnings. KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target up to $274 from $269. ResMed has a 52-week range of $179.00 to $263.05.
Taylor Morris Home Corporation (NYSE: TMHC) may be completely counter-intuitive for positive news considering it is a homebuilder. After all, home sales are in the toilet. BTIG still reiterated its Buy rating, and the analysts raised its price target to $79 from $7 in the call — versus $58.00 at present time. BTIG cited that its first quarter was actually solid and better than expected even as new order volume fell by 9%. The report pointed out that April’s sales have gained momentum and that orders appear to be trending near first-quarter averages. TMHC’s 52-week range is $51.90 to $75.49.
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TE Connectivity plc (NYSE: TEL) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $175 from $166 at HSBC. The report cited stronger than expected second quarter results, better valuations, improving growth, and even cited improving artificial intelligence exposure and limited tariff risk. RE Connectivity shares were last seen up 5% at $143.00 and a $116.30 to $159.98 range in the last year.
Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) must be facing some resilience in snacks despite a weaker consumer looking to save money. D.A. Davidson raised Utz to Buy from Neutral while maintaining its $16 price target (versus $13.39 prior close). The firm called Utz out as having a favorable risk-reward profile despite a challenging stock market, noting that its share of salty snacks is showing strength and rising while the category itself is facing pressure from demand and promotion. Its recent supply chain transformation may also bring upside revisions if the recent share momentum can be sustained at the same time a relative valuation gap is there for Utz for its food sector peers. Utz has a 52-week range of $12.15 to $20.04.
