Wall Street Friday Ratings Roundup: NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft Reiterated as Bullish by Major Firms
N.R. Finch
Major Wall Street banks reaffirmed bullish ratings on Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft Friday, while Nike was downgraded and several gaming and infrastructure names received upgrades or first-time coverage.
Why are the big three AI names still getting buy calls?
Mizuho reaffirmed Nvidia at "outperform." The reasoning is straightforward: Nvidia still leads AI training and inference chips for data centers, and no competitor is close to challenging that.
Morgan Stanley reaffirmed Apple at "overweight." Apple raised prices on Mac, iPad, and other lines by 15% to 25% amid record memory-cost inflation. This means → Apple is using price hikes to protect margins, and Morgan Stanley believes ecosystem lock-in, installment plans, and relatively inelastic demand will keep buyers paying.
Deutsche Bank reaffirmed Microsoft at "buy," arguing that the market undervalues cloud providers' AI businesses. In plain terms = Deutsche sees Microsoft's AI revenue not as hype but as a sustainable commercial foundation.
What went wrong at Nike — and why is Crocs the opposite story?
KeyBanc downgraded Nike from "overweight" to "sector weight" and trimmed FY2027 earnings estimates. The problem: headwinds in China and EMEA exceeded expectations, and the turnaround is taking longer than the Street assumed.
Piper Sandler upgraded Crocs from "neutral" to "overweight" with a $150 price target. Crocs' North American direct-to-consumer channel posted mid-single-digit growth in Q1 2026 — the best since Q2 2024.
The key number: Crocs trades at roughly 8x P/E. This means → even if the recovery stays modest, the stock looks cheap at this multiple.
Why is Goldman stepping into gaming and infrastructure now?
Goldman initiated coverage on Penn Gaming and Red Rock Resorts, both at "buy." Penn Gaming is called "one of the most attractive risk-reward names in gaming."
Red Rock Resorts is a different thesis: a 2027 earnings-inflection story — headwinds from 2026 fade, and five new projects enter the harvest phase.
RBC upgraded American Tower to "outperform" and named it a new top pick, citing organic revenue growth above peers and improving CoreSite trends. Evercore ISI upgraded cold-storage REIT Americold to "outperform," raising the target to $18 — implying total return above 25%.
What other rating moves stand out?
TD Cowen upgraded Diageo from "hold" to "buy," arguing that a valuation dislocation has created an attractive entry point and CEO-led cost cuts plus reinvestment can restore growth.
Citi upgraded Allegiant Travel to "buy/high risk," calling the Allegiant–Sun Country merger "potentially the best deal in airline history" and raising 2027/2028 EPS estimates to the highest on the Street.
BMO upgraded AMH to "outperform," citing geographic diversification. Needham upgraded Barnes & Noble Education to "buy" with a $16 target, pointing to a solid balance sheet.
What story are the newly covered building-materials and industrial names telling?
Stephens initiated James Hardie at "overweight" with a $31 target. James Hardie is the leading maker of fiber-cement siding — a more durable alternative to traditional wood — and its merger with AZEK made it the second-largest composite-decking manufacturer.
Stephens also initiated Granite Construction at "overweight," target $180, highlighting its full push into construction services and civil contracting.
Citi initiated Belden at "buy," arguing that its shift from selling hardware to a "solutions-oriented" sales model can support 10% to 12% EPS compound growth.
Where are the proof points for all these bullish calls?
Apple's key test: whether the 15%-to-25% price hikes translate into actual revenue growth in coming quarters — or scare off buyers.
Microsoft's key test: Deutsche Bank's claim of a "sustainable commercial foundation" in AI needs to show up in cloud-revenue data over the next few quarters.
This reflects a common pattern: most of Friday's upgrades are not betting on current results but on trend confirmation two to three quarters out.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.