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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 trading week of Aug. 19-23, 2024. First, here are the top 5 buy calls of the week.

1. AMD Initiated With a Buy at Edward Jones

Edward Jones initiated coverage of AMD (AMD) with a Buy rating and added the shares to the firm's Stock Focus List. The company should deliver "outsized growth" as growing demand for datacenter infrastructure should help drive accelerating sales of its chips, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Edward Jones says that while the acquisition of Xilinx adds new programmable chip products and end-markets to AMD's business, the company remains in the early innings of cross-selling and integrating Xilinx and AMD products. The firm believes its optimism is not fully reflected in the share price.

2. Williams Upgrades Crocs to Buy with Sidney Sweeney Joining HeyDude

Williams Trading upgraded Crocs (CROX) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $163, up from $135. The announcement that actress Sidney Sweeney was engaged as HeyDude's brand ambassador and global spokesperson will successfully attract young consumers and bring needed attention to the brand, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Williams is confident that Crocs' history of having its long-term brand marketing drive shorter-term positive results will begin to manifest at HeyDude. In addition, the new Crocs' Echo Wave Mule and Echo Surge Sneaker are likely to perform well within the athletic specialty channel, says the firm.

3. Estee Lauder Upgraded to Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $114, up from $95. The firm came away from Monday's fiscal Q4 earnings report and estimate reset "far more comfortable" with the stock's recent valuation levels. It now has stronger conviction in updated forward estimates.

In addition, Estee's management change should be viewed in positive light with the stock's valuation that suggests limited downside, the firm tells investors in a research note. As such, Piper sees "little reason to suggest the bear thesis could play out much further here."

4. Texas Instruments Upgraded to Buy at Citi after Capital Management Call

Citi upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $235, up from $200. The firm notes the company hosted a capital management call, lowered its 2026 capex from $5.0 billion to $2.0-$5.0 billion and intimated gross margins are bottoming.

The firm believes Texas Instruments' margins are bottoming and should rebound back to the previous peak, which would result in 100% earnings growth. Citi also believes there is upside when inventory replenishment happens.

5. BioMarin Upgraded to Outperform at Bernstein Ahead of Investor Day

Bernstein upgraded BioMarin (BMRN) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $110, up from $94, ahead of the Sept. 4 investor day. The firm believes the risk/reward on Voxzogo estimates "skews favorable," with almost no value in the shares assigned to indications beyond achondroplasia and hypochondroplasia, and a bearish share outlook is largely priced in.

Bernstein expects management to lay out a "credible margin expansion path," including further near-term cost-optimization, which should narrow the gap between buy-side and sell-side operating margin expectations.

Next, here are the top 5 sell calls of the week.

1. Sprout Social Downgraded to Underweight at KeyBanc

KeyBanc downgraded Sprout Social (SPT) to Underweight from Sector Weight with a $28 price target. The company is facing a weaker bookings year "than even the sharply slower reported numbers imply," the firm tells investors in a research note. KeyBanc says Sprout's shift away from monthly customers toward larger, annual deals distorts some of the metrics that the company reports.

Current bookings and remaining performance obligation are inflated when monthly cohorts are converted to annual, contends the firm. It finds that Sprout's first half bookings may not have just slowed materially but, in fact, may have declined year-over-year on an organic basis. KeyBanc expects this performance to have longer lasting impacts on financials.

2. Cogent Cut to Underperform at BofA on Elevated Valuation, Diminished Outlook

BofA downgraded Cogent (CCOI) to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $65, down from $75. Cogent is well past the one-year anniversary of the Sprint Wireline acquisition and is behind schedule in monetizing the wavelength opportunity, the firm tells investors.

While waiting for evidence to support the belief that the wavelength business remains a growth opportunity for Cogent, BofA says a positive inflection point for the business seems most likely in the second half of 2025, and contends that the 12-month forward outlook does not support the stock's recent valuation.

3. Sonoco Products Downgraded to Underweight at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo downgraded Sonoco Products (SON) to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $52, down from $54. While a simplifying into bigger and more focused businesses is the right strategy over the long-term, the shares offer limited upside over the next six to 12 months given questions surrounding Eviosys' earnings potential and funding uncertainty, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Wells says the Eviosys deal "adds hefty leverage" to Sonoco's balance sheet, and the timing of divestiture activity or an equity raise "renders near-term visibility low."

4. AngloGold Ashanti Downgraded to Underperform at Scotiabank after Rally

Scotiabank downgraded AngloGold Ashanti (AU) to Underperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $30, up from $27. The firm has adjusted upward its 2024/2025 gold price forecasts and its long-term gold price view while also having adjusted its silver price forecasts. Scotiabank cites strong price appreciation, with the stock up 66% year-to-date, for the revised rating.

5. Raymond James Double Downgrades Topgolf on Sales Deterioration

Raymond James double downgraded Topgolf Callaway (MODG) to Underperform from Outperform without a price target. The analyst applauds management's openness to a potential spinoff of the business, but says the company's levered balance sheet "appears to limit its opportunities." The firm cites the recent deterioration in sales at the Topgolf chain for the downgrade.

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