Buy/Sell: Wall Street’s top 10 stock calls this week

What has Wall Street been buzzing about this week? Here are the top 5 Buy calls and the top 5 Sell calls made by Wall Street’s best analysts during the week of May 5-May 9. 

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Top 5 Buy Calls:

1. AMD upgraded to Buy at BofA after “strong” Q2 sales outlook

Bofa upgraded AMD (AMD) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $120, up from $105. AMD’s Q1 beat and “strong” Q2 sales outlook that was 10% above the firm’s forecast despite a $700M China headwind addresses the firm’s pre-call concerns regarding China AI restriction headwinds and Nvidia (NVDA) GPU competition, the firm tells investors. BofA sees AMD having potential to deliver 20%-plus topline growth in calendar year 2025 and 2026, despite China headwinds.

2. Shopify initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital

BMO Capital initiated coverage of Shopify (SHOP) with an Outperform rating and $120 price target. The company has achieved better growth and operating leverage in recent quarters, since divesting logistics in 2023, the firm tells investors in a research note. BMO says that while tariffs create near-term risk, Shopify’s core strength is the “agility that its platform provides to merchants.” Tariff-related “disruption will make this competitive differentiator all the more relevant, driving accelerated share gains,” adds the firm.

3. HSBC upgrades Electronic Arts to Buy after “all around beat”

HSBC upgraded Electronic Arts (EA) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $190, up from $126. The company reported an “all around beat” in fiscal Q4, boosted by strong game sales, the firm tells investors in a research note. HSBC believes the video game publishing sector “should prove relatively resilient to near-term trade headwinds. The firm has turned positive on the outlook for EA FC25 following the Q4 recovery in monetization and engagement trends. It sees scope for further outperformance for Electronic Arts shares with the slated fiscal 2026 release of the next Battlefield franchise title and with FIFA hosting the Football World Cup next year.

4. Reddit upgraded to Buy at Seaport Research after pullback

Seaport Research upgraded Reddit (RDDT) to Buy from Neutral with a $165 price target. Reddit reported strong Q1 revenue and EBITDA, but slowing Q2 user growth driven by Google (GOOGL) search changes resulted in shares selling off, the firm tells investors. While the Google changes are a near-term headwind, Seaport continues to expect “solid” long-term user growth and meaningful revenue and monetization growth and would be buyers on the pullback.

5. Goldman upgrades Lyft to Buy after earnings, sees “compelling risk/reward”

Goldman Sachs upgraded Lyft (LYFT) to Buy from Neutral with a $20 price target following the company’s Q1 earnings report. While short-term debates will likely stay rooted in industry trends around rideshare pricing, market share fluctuations, positioning against the autonomous vehicle theme and/or any changes in consumer discretionary behavior, the firm sees strong execution in a stable industry backdrop for Lyft and believes that shares are dislocated from the company’s earnings power in the next two to three years.

Top 5 Sell Calls:

1. Spotify downgraded to Reduce at Phillip Securities

Phillip Securities downgraded Spotify (SPOT) to Reduce from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $600. The firm cites the recent share price strength for the downgrade. Spotify continues to be the industry leader in audio streaming with its growing subscriber base, lower cost structure, and pricing power, Phillip Securities tells investors in a research note. However, the firm does not see much upside due to Spotify’s “full valuations.”

2. Wolfspeed downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan

JPMorgan downgraded Wolfspeed (WOLF) to Underweight from Neutral without a price target following the fiscal Q3 report. The company highlighted ongoing headwinds for silicon carbide products, including continued sluggish demand for industrial and energy devices as well as incremental pressures in materials, as end customers face slowing demand, the firm tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan says further evidence of demand headwinds amid an uncertain macro environment, higher competition, and significant changes in the management team “creates a challenging path” for Wolfspeed to achieve its target of generating positive operating cash flow in fiscal 2026.

Citi cuts Wolfspeed to Sell on “significant financial challenges”

Citi downgraded Wolfspeed to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $3, down from $7. The company did not provide guidance for the June quarter and did not take questions during the earnings call or hosted callbacks, the firm tells investors in a research note. Citi says that while Wolfspeed continues to explore ways to reduce costs, strengthen capital structure and seek various funding sources, management pointed out that the company may elect to pursue either in-court or out-of-court options as part of the lender negotiations. Therefore, Wolfspeed started including the risk of “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the firm points out. It believes the company “faces significant financial challenges in a sluggish macro environment with financial losses, high leverage, CHIPS Act funding challenges underpinning doubts over going concern.”

3. Expedia downgraded to Underweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler downgraded Expedia (EXPE) to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $135, down from $174. The company’s Q1 results were mixed with bookings and revenue missing expectations of 1%, offset by better EBITDA, the firm tells investors in a research note. Piper says management’s commentary around U.S. inbound travel and the business-to-consumer business “was discouraging and suggests a tough slog from here.” It could also get incrementally worse, says the firm, which cut estimates and downgraded Expedia to Underweight.

4. BofA downgrades “uniquely vulnerable” Illinois Tool Works to Underperform

BofA downgraded Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $220, down from $245. Given its exposure to automotive and consumer markets, the firm believes that the company will face headwinds to growth and margin expansion, driving negative consensus revisions. BofA notes that its 2025 estimates are below consensus. Even without a broader recession, ITW is “uniquely vulnerable” to tariff disruption given its end market mix, the firm added.

5. Archer Daniels downgraded to Underperform at BofA amid “misplaced optimism”

BofA downgraded Archer Daniels (ADM) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $45, down from $47. Q1 results offered investors some relief, with management maintaining its FY25 EPS guidance of $4.00-4.75, albeit expecting earnings at the low end of the range, the firm noted. However, BofA views “optimism as misplaced,” noting that it has further cut its EPS estimate to $3.90 and sees potential for additional earnings pressure. ADM’s results raised more questions than answers and the firm struggles to reconcile management’s commentary with EPS that remains over $4, the firm tells investors.