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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. 26-30, 2024. First, here are the top 5 buy calls of the week.

1. Tesla Initiated With an Outperform at William Blair

William Blair initiated coverage of Tesla (TSLA) with an Outperform rating. The firm views Tesla Energy as the most underappreciated component of the Tesla story, and expects the narrative will shift toward the energy storage business in light of tempered electric vehicle expectations in the near-term. The three key drivers for energy storage are grid stabilization, datacenter buildout, and renewables integration, William Blair tells investors in a research note.

The firm says Tesla's Megapack and Powerwall are "industry-leading products." When combined with the auto business and longer-term opportunities like artificial intelligence, robotaxi, and robotics, Blair sees Tesla as a technology leader with an "Apple-esque" ecosystem for the future of energy.

2. Barclays Upgrades Foot Locker to Overweight on Fundamental Inflections

Barclays upgraded Foot Locker (FL) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $34, up from $27. The company's Q2 results showed evidence of several fundamental inflections, including a return to sustainable positive comps setting the stage for fixed-cost leverage, an inflection in merchandise margins, and ongoing improvement in the sales-to-inventory spread, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Barclays believes the positive impact of a fundamental business recovery will result in earnings and margin upside over the next 12 to 18 months, before any potential disruption from the headquarters move. The firm sees an attractive risk/reward at recent share levels.

3. Five Below Upgraded to Buy at Craig-Hallum after "Better Than Feared" Guidance

Craig-Hallum upgraded Five Below (FIVE) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $102, down from $108, after the company delivered Q2 results and second half guidance that were "better than feared." The firm believes expectations remain "very low" and that management has identified the key issues that have negatively impacted trends, with plans to simplify and return the business to its core roots, making the upside "too good to ignore."

4. Take-Two Initiated With a Buy at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) with a Buy rating and a price target of $194. The company is approximately a year away from releasing Grand Theft Auto VI, the next iteration in what is by far the world's most successful crime video game franchise, the firm tells investors in a research note.

Redburn sees a tripling of Take-Two's operating income over the next couple of years and upside to consensus non-GAAP earnings estimates. It believes the game "will be transformational" to Take-Two's financials.

5. Argus Upgrades Illumina to Buy After Multiple Quarters of Margin Growth

Argus upgraded Illumina (ILMN) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $150.

The stock has fallen significantly over the past several years amid slowing product sales and antitrust litigation related to the company's GRAIL acquisition, but Illumina appears to have now turned the corner after delivering multiple quarters of margin growth, launching new products and services, and introducing ambitious earnings guidance for 2024, the firm tells investors in a research note. Illumina is poised for a return to lasting growth over the months and years ahead, Argus added.

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

1. JPMorgan Downgrades Kohl's to Underweight on Core Business Erosion

JPMorgan downgraded Kohl's (KSS) to Underweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $19. The company's Q2 same-store-sales decline moderated sequentially versus Q1 despite the abatement of clearance comparable sales headwinds and more favorable weather, the firm tells investors in a research note.

JPMorgan believes Kohl's core apparel and footwear business is eroding. In addition, it sees long-term risk to the longevity of the company's store fleet, which represents more than 50% of total department stores in the U.S.

2. Okta Downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA

BofA double downgraded Okta (OKTA) to Underperform from Buy with a price target of $75, down from $135, after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results, but offered Q3 cRPO growth guidance of 9% year-over-year, which was 200 basis points below expectations.

While the firm sees "a lot to like long-term," it argues that the timing impact and nuances of the cost optimization trends are "likely to outweigh the positives for the next few quarters," and that the stock could be pressured further.

3. Hershey Downgraded to Sell at Citi

Citi downgraded Hershey (HSY) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $182, down from $195, which implies 7% potential downside in the share price. The firm says volume weakness and "stepped up" cocoa inflation present "looming downside risk." Citi sees a "challenging year" for gross margin, saying Hershey's recently announced pricing plans for 2025 will likely not be enough to offset cocoa inflation.

The company's current volume trends have "underwhelmed," in part due to continued distribution declines in measured retail channels, Citi tells investors in a research note. The firm thinks price elasticity could be particularly challenging for Hershey next year, especially if chocolate competitors do not follow the company's lead on pricing, given other snacks categories could be lowering prices.

4. SiTime Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays

Barclays downgraded SiTime (SITM) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $90. The firm says SiTime is one of the more expensive names in its coverage, with estimates likely still too high for 2025. Barclays agrees that a recovery from the pandemic correction is underway, but struggles to see how the stock's valuation at these levels "makes sense."

SiTime has admitted to broadening its sales pipeline to more multi-sourced opportunities, which will pressure gross margins into next year, Barclays tells investors in a research note. The firm views SiTime as a "good company with an unrealistic valuation profile and all the goodness of a robust recovery baked into CY25 already."

5. Vasta Platform Downgraded to Underweight from Overweight at JPMorgan

JPMorgan double downgraded Vasta Platform (VSTA) to Underweight from Overweight without a price target. The firm cites its relative preference in the Brazilian education sector and lowered estimates for the downgrade. It now expects stability in Vasta's margins versus expansion previously, saying it is costing the company more to grow than anticipated. JPMorgan prefers higher education companies, which JPMorgan sees as "very depressed."

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