According to CNBC, Wall Street analysts issued a massive wave of rating changes and price target updates on Monday. Goldman Sachs upgraded Coinbase to Buy, calling it “best-in-class,” while Mizuho upgraded Costco to Outperform after a 20% stock pullback. Melius Research upgraded both Intel and Marvell to Buy, citing leadership and packaging prospects for Intel. In a notable downgrade, Melius also moved Uber to Sell over rising competition fears from Waymo and Tesla. Other significant calls included Barclays upgrading Mobileye and Procore to Overweight, UBS reiterating Nvidia as a Buy ahead of CES, and Raymond James upgrading Estee Lauder to Strong Buy on its turnaround story. Wells Fargo added Roku and Coca-Cola to its tactical ideas list for Q1 2026.
The Upgrade Frenzy & Its Context
Look, days with this many upgrades across so many sectors usually signal one of two things: either analysts are playing catch-up after a market dip, or they’re trying to front-run an anticipated economic soft landing. The sheer breadth here—from semiconductor gear maker ASML to construction software firm Procore to consumer brand Estee Lauder—hints at the latter. It’s a bet that 2026 will see a broad recovery. But here’s the thing: when everyone is bullish on everything, it can sometimes be a contrarian indicator. These calls often cluster at peaks of optimism. I think it’s worth asking: if construction, consumer spending, tech investment, AND debt issuance are all going to accelerate perfectly in sync next year, what could possibly go wrong?
A Few Notable Calls, A Deeper Dive
The Coinbase upgrade is fascinating. Goldman is basically betting the house on crypto derivatives and “tokenization” becoming mainstream revenue streams. That’s a huge regulatory and market sentiment gamble. The Costco call is more classic “buy the dip” logic, but Mizuho’s note hints at real concern—what if the membership growth engine actually is slowing for good? That’s the core of the entire thesis. Now, the Intel and Marvell upgrades from Melius are pure tech speculation. The Intel note, in particular, reads strangely, name-dropping political and industry figures like President Trump and Jensen Huang. It feels more like a narrative play than a fundamentals-driven one, which is always a yellow flag.
The Lone Uber Bear
Amid all this sunshine, the Uber downgrade to Sell by Melius really sticks out. Their argument is simple and kinda scary: the stock price assumes no serious competition, but what if Waymo and Tesla’s robotaxi plans actually start to materialize in the US? It’s a reminder that in tech, especially transportation, moats can evaporate faster than you think. Everyone’s focused on AI and cloud spending, but this call highlights a different, very tangible risk. Maybe the analysts upgrading everything else should pause for a second and consider this skeptic’s view.
What It All Means
So, what do you do with all this noise? Basically, treat it as a sentiment snapshot, not an investment manual. Analyst upgrades can provide a short-term tailwind for a stock, but they’re not guarantees. Many of these notes, like the one for Procore, hinge on macroeconomic events (like rate cuts boosting construction) that are still in the future. The heavy focus on 2026 guidance and “refresh cycles” tells you this is a forward-looking, hopeful batch of research. My take? It’s encouraging to see optimism return to such diverse corners of the market, but the uniform positivity itself is something to be skeptical about. The real test will be which of these companies actually deliver the growth these analysts are now promising.
