Notable analyst calls this week: Caterpillar, Palo Alto and HPE among top picks

The S&P500 (SP500 [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SP500#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]) closed in the green on Friday, after investors this week digested headlines on retail earnings, more tariff-related news from the Trump administration, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's closely watched speech.

For the week, Nasdaq (COMP:IND [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/COMP:IND]) lost over 2%, while Dow (DJI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DJI]) fell 0.3%.

Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week:

CATERPILLAR UPGRADED ON IMPROVING MARGIN, DISCOUNTING OUTLOOK

Evercore lifted the rating [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486928-caterpillar-rises-after-evercore-upgrade-on-margin-discounting-outlook] for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CAT]) to Outperform from In-line, citing improving margin dynamics and signs of reduced discounting.

Analyst David Raso highlighted Caterpillar’s ability to withstand pricing pressures, writing that its "recent resilience in construction equip margins amid price-cost negativity a reminder of the power of volume leverage and geographic mix."

The brokerage set a price target of $476 on the stock.

PALO ALTO UPGRADED AFTER QUARTERLY RESULTS

Bank of America upgraded Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PANW]) to Buy from Hold after it reported better-than-expected [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486574-palo-alto-networks-pops-as-results-guidance-top-estimates-founder-steps-down] quarterly results and guidance.

BofA analyst Tal Liani said the results and guidance were “impressive” on all fronts.

“With the stock down about 15% from the date of CyberArk M&A announcement, and given the solid fundamentals, we are upgrading from Neutral to Buy and maintaining our $215 PO, suggesting 22% upside potential to the stock,” BofA said.

Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Nowinski has an Overweight rating and $235 PT on Palo Alto.

HPE UPGRADED ON JUNIPER ACQUISITION

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HPE]) was upgraded [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4487903-hpe-upgraded-to-overweight-on-juniper-as-hardware-benefits-from-ai-demand-morgan-stanley] to Overweight from Neutral by Morgan Stanley due to its Juniper acquisition as enterprise hardware and storage stocks benefit from artificial intelligence demand.

The brokerage also increased its price target to $28 from $22 and said with the closure of Juniper, it sees 18% upside to FY26 consensus EPS, with EPS growing to $2.70-3.00 in FY27. It believes that as the market comes to better understand nearly half of HPE's business is networking, inclusive of more AI exposure, HPE's multiple will re-rate above the current 8x multiple.

MS also reiterated its Overweight rating on Dell (NYSE:DELL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DELL]) and increased PT to $144 from $135.

UBS upgraded [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486618-cvs-upgraded-ubs-valuation-growth-prospects] CVS HEALTH (NYSE:CVS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CVS]) to Buy from Hold saying that the company has a compelling valuation and good growth prospects. The firm, which raised PT to $79 from $67, said that CVS has executed well over the past two quarters and there are "early signs that the Healthcare Benefits (HCB) segment fixes are on track."

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVDA]) was in focus after KeyBanc Capital Markets raised PT [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4487415-nvidia-in-focus-as-keybanc-susquehanna-raise-pts-ahead-of-earnings] on the Jensen Huang-led company to $215 from $190, with analyst John Vinh saying that he expects Nvidia to report strong Q2 results and guide Q3 slightly below consensus. Similarly, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland also upped PT to $210 from $180 on the stock.

Ladenburg Thalmann double downgraded [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4486621-nano-nuclear-energy-double-downgraded-to-sell-at-ladenburg-thalmann] NANO NUCLEAR ENERGY (NASDAQ:NNE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NNE]) to Sell from Buy with a $9 PT, citing higher expected cost, significant dilution risk, and increasing competitive pressure. Ladenburg analyst Michael Legg said he had hoped Nano's management would streamline its strategy and prioritize core initiatives, particularly the Kronos reactor, during its Q3 business update [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4485659-nano-nuclear-energy-reports-q3-results]; instead, the company "continues promoting a broad, diversified model encompassing ancillary ventures in fuel, transportation, and consulting," which are "distractions" for a company of Nano’s size and capitalization.

KGI Securities downgraded [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4488021-marvell-technology-slips-amid-kgi-securities-downgrade] MARVELL TECHNOLOGY (NASDAQ:MRVL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MRVL]) to Neutral from Outperform and lowered its PT to $75 from $95. The analysts expressed concern about potential competition in the custom application-specific integrated circuit market, which could negatively impact Marvell's business.

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