Jefferies analysts said certain US stocks may be undervalued despite concerns about AI-driven disruption, with the firm identifying 24 companies that they expect could emerge as long-term winners.
Jefferies’ list of 24 discounted stocks includes Airbnb, DoorDash, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Snowflake, and Spotify.
Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) was downgraded to ‘Underperform’ by Wedbush on Thursday, with analysts citing concerns that the potential value of a rumored partnership with OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) has been overstated.
Shares traded at $29 on Friday afternoon, above the broker’s 12-month price target of $23.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) has been upgraded to a ‘Buy’ rating by Bank of America analysts following the company’s fourth quarter earnings report, as investors reacted positively to the company’s outlook and growth initiatives.
The firm also raised its price target on the stock to $110 from $90, as the stock jumped almost 20% to $90.
Shares of Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) rose 3.3% Friday after Bank of America upgraded the optical networking company to Buy, citing surging demand from cloud data centers.
The upgrade reflects expectations of continued strong spending by cloud providers, including hyperscalers, Tier-2 clouds, and emerging “Neoclouds,” which are adding significant data center capacity over the next three years. Bank of America said Ciena’s portfolio, which includes 800G and 400G pluggables, line systems, and its recent acquisition Nubis, is well-positioned to capitalize on these growth opportunities.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX, XETRA:NFC) is returning to its core strategy after stepping away from the bidding process for Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD, XETRA:J5A) Studio and Streaming assets, according to analysts at Bank of America.
The move follows an escalated offer from Paramount Skydance Corp (NASDAQ:PSKY), which the Warner Bros. board deemed superior. Netflix cited Warner Bros. as a “nice to have” rather than a “must have” for its portfolio.
Jefferies has maintained its 'buy' rating on Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR, NYSE:FLUT), the online gambling group behind FanDuel and Paddy Power, while cutting its price target nearly in half from $380 to $210, arguing the stock has been de-rated to levels that imply no future growth in its core US market.
The broker cut its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) estimates by between 13% and 19% across 2026 to 2028, with US forecasts reduced by 21% to 28%, following full-year results last week that revealed margin pressures from NFL betting and insufficient promotional efficiency.
Broker upgrades odds on AVANZAR lung cancer trial after arguing repeated delays signal strong results in treatment arm
Jefferies has lifted its price target on AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN), the FTSE 100 pharmaceutical company, from 15,000p to 18,000p, reiterating a 'buy' recommendation, arguing that the drugmaker is better positioned for long-term growth than the market appreciates.
StubHub Holdings was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform by analysts at Wedbush Securities following weaker-than-expected quarterly results and reduced visibility into growth from the company’s direct ticket issuance business.
StubHub reported second-quarter gross merchandise sales (GMS) of about $2.3 billion, down roughly 8% year over year, missing Wedbush’s estimate of a 1.1% decline and consensus expectations for a 2.8% drop.
Okta Inc (NASDAQ:OKTA)’s latest quarterly results showed solid growth in key metrics, with analysts at Jefferies highlighting that the company appears to be prioritizing accelerating revenue growth even if it comes at the expense of near-term margins.
In a note following the results, Jefferies maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the identity management company and a $105 price target. Shares traded up almost 11% at $79 on Thursday afternoon.
Endeavour Mining PLC (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV, OTCQX:EDVMF, FRA:6E2) delivered a fourth-quarter earnings beat with strong free cash flow generation, while analysts at Jefferies see the next key catalyst as the feasibility study for its Assafou project, expected later this quarter.
The West Africa-focused gold miner reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.93 for the fourth quarter of 2025, topping the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $0.88.
Analysts at Noble Capital Markets have welcomed recent developments at First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF, FRA:KD0, OTC:FPHOY), which they believe meaningfully reduce technical, funding, and capital markets risk as the company advances toward a feasibility study.
First Phosphate recently received conditional approval for up to C$16.7 million in non-repayable funding through Natural Resources Canada under the Global Partnerships Initiative.
With the conflict in the Middle East entering its sixth day on Thursday, Citi suggested that volatility for stock markets is set to continue as it assessed "how much preexisting market froth" had been unwound amid selling at the start of the week.
"Three observations stand out," said Beata Manthey, the bank's European equity strategy head.
General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS, XETRA:GRM) shares remain under pressure as it faces continued volume declines in North America Retail (NAR) and limited near-term upside despite recent price investments, Jefferies analysts have highlighted.
The analysts maintained a ‘Hold’ rating and $42 price target on the stock, below its recent price of $45, and framed its outlook around whether the company’s pricing actions will ultimately drive a recovery. “Will price investment eventually payoff?” the analysts wrote.
OH Holding (NYSE:ONON) could see its shares nearly double, according to UBS, which reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating and $85 price target on the athletic footwear maker following the release of its fourth quarter earnings.
“We expect P/E expansion to drive ONON toward our $85 price target,” they wrote, adding that the company’s Q4 report suggests its long-term growth trajectory remains intact despite foreign exchange headwinds.
A surge in demand for gas-powered vehicles and a tipping point in autonomous technology are causing Bank of America to bet big on the US auto industry in 2026.
The bank expects automakers to outperform expectations this year, as trucks, SUVs, and robotaxis drive both profits and innovation.
Bank of America analysts maintained their ‘Underperform’ rating on Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) following the retailer’s recent earnings release, citing cautious optimism over the company’s turnaround efforts.
The firm also raised its price target slightly to $106 from $103, reflecting modestly improved margin expectations.
Wedbush Securities has reiterated its 'outperform' rating and $350 price target on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC), the iPhone maker, after the technology giant unveiled a sweeping range of new hardware products designed to accelerate its push into artificial intelligence.
Apple's shares were trading at $263.75 when the note was published on Tuesday, leaving implied upside of around 33% to the Wedbush target.
European natural gas prices surging back above €50/MWh is starting to look like more than just a commodities story, that's according to analysts at Citi, which say it could quickly become an equities and inflation problem if Middle East LNG disruption fears linger.
In a strategy note on regional developments, Citi points out that the direct exposure is smaller than market moves suggest, with only around 3% of Europe’s 2025 gas demand supplied by Qatar LNG. Even so, the bank says prices “still largely reflect expectations for a short-lived supply disruption (c.1–2 weeks)”, a key assumption doing heavy lifting in the current curve.
Software stocks remain under pressure as investors grapple with what Wedbush dubs the “AI Ghost Trade” – fears that artificial intelligence tools from Anthropic, OpenAI and others could hollow out traditional enterprise software budgets.
The note argues the market is “baking in a worst-case scenario”, with speculation that AI deployments could cannibalise seat-based pricing in software-as-a-service models and slash IT budgets by as much as 70%.
Goldman Sachs has shaken up its US “conviction list – directors’ cut”, adding oil major ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP, XETRA:YCP) and aerospace supplier Loar Holdings (NYSE:LOAR), while removing Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (NYSE:HII), Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) and Madison Square Garden Entertainment (NASDAQ:MSG).
The changes come against what the bank describes as a shifting market backdrop in which investors are rotating toward “heavy assets” – capital-intensive businesses seen as less vulnerable to AI disruption.
Recent events in the Middle East have only reinforced an armaments megatrend, analysts at Citi believe, arguing growth expectations across the sector still look too conservative.
The bank flagged RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX, XETRA:5UR), L3Harris Technologies Inc (NYSE:LHX, XETRA:HRS), Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT), Karman Holdings Inc (NYSE:KRMN), and Ducommun Inc (NYSE:DCO) as particularly sensitive to the theme, given their exposure to missile and interceptor systems.
The broker maintains its 'outperform' rating and $16 price target on shares trading at $4.97
Wedbush Securities has reiterated its bullish stance on Rocket Pharmaceuticals, the rare disease gene therapy company, after its fourth-quarter update confirmed that patient dosing in its pivotal Phase 2 study of RP-A501 for Danon disease will resume in the first half of 2026.
The bank now forecasts DDR contract prices rising 72% in the first quarter alone, with undersupply expected to persist into 2028
Wall Street's retreat from memory chip stocks on Tuesday sits awkwardly alongside a research note from UBS, the Swiss investment bank, which argues that the underlying fundamentals for the sector have rarely looked stronger.
Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) newly announced strategic partnership with OpenAI is a “positive proof point” for the competitive positioning in AI for its Amazon Web Services arm, Goldman Sachs said.
The agreement includes an investment by Amazon of up to $50 billion and an expanded eight-year, $138 billion workload commitment from OpenAI to AWS.
Energy markets are now “clearly in the crosshairs” of the Iran conflict, according to RBC Capital Markets, which warns of oil prices into the $100s per barrel if fighting and disruption persists.
In a new commodities note on Iran flashpoints, the bank says the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed after vessel attacks and the withdrawal of war risk insurance. Tanker traffic reportedly collapsed from 56 ships on Friday to just seven tankers and one gas carrier on Sunday.
Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC) and Deutsche Bank are best placed to benefit from the escalating Middle East conflict, according to JP Morgan, which said higher market volatility was likely to boost trading revenues at globally focused investment banks.
The US bank's analysts said the direct earnings impact of the conflict on global banks was limited, as the Middle East, while a growing region for most large lenders, currently contributes relatively little to overall group profits.
Bank says geopolitical risk rarely derails markets and oil prices would need to double to threaten its positive outlook
Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, has reaffirmed its bullish stance on American equities despite fresh tensions in Iran and across the Middle East, arguing that history shows such events rarely produce sustained sell-offs.
US broker sees post-earnings declines as overdone for adtech stocks, while mobile gaming group faces cash flow squeeze
Wedbush Securities, the US investment bank, has downgraded Playtika, the Israeli mobile games company, to 'neutral' from 'outperform', citing a deepening conflict between its acquisition-related payment obligations and an approaching debt refinancing deadline.
Analysts at Jefferies argue that the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, while deeply troubling, is fundamentally positive for mining stocks, and the logic is harder to dismiss than it sounds.
The supply shock hiding in the Strait of Hormuz
The US/Israel attack on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have forced a rapid reassessment of Middle East risk across commodities, currencies, credit markets and emerging market inflation
Brent crude was trading at $76 a barrel on Monday. Citi's commodities team now sees it pushing into the low to mid-$80s as an initial reaction to the weekend's strikes, with Iranian exports curtailed for at least the duration of the conflict and potentially longer, depending on what Tehran's interim leadership decides to do next.
Jefferies is initiating coverage of Veradermics with a 'buy' rating, betting that a smarter formulation of an old drug could unlock a $2 billion market
Minoxidil has been around for decades. Millions of people rub it into their scalps every day, and a growing number take low-dose oral versions off-label. Yet no pharmaceutical company has ever secured Food & Drug Administration approval for a hair loss pill in either men or women. Veradermics wants to change that.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) reported decision to scrap its second-generation Olympus AI accelerator could reinforce the dominance of established GPU suppliers while highlighting the execution risks tied to custom silicon development.
According to a report by The Information, the company has stepped away from its in-house chip design effort, marking a potential strategic pivot in how it sources compute power for artificial intelligence workloads.
JP Morgan has upgraded two of Europe's largest oil companies and identified its preferred stocks to play a potential surge in oil prices, as full-scale military strikes in the Middle East transform what had been a theoretical supply risk into reality.
The US investment bank's European oil and gas team upgraded Eni, the Italian energy major, by two notches to overweight and raised TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, to 'overweight' from 'neutral', while reiterating 'overweight' ratings on Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) and Galp, the Portuguese energy company.