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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 Dec. 16-20, 2024. First, here is a look at the top 5 buy calls of the week.

1. Tesla Upgraded at Mizuho on Improving Outlook under Trump Administration

Mizuho upgraded Tesla (TSLA) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $515, up from $230. The firm, which believes Tesla's autonomy software stack is improving towards broad commercialization, sees a loosening regulatory framework positioning the autonomous segments for upside. In addition, the firm argues that new Trump administration policies, such as consumer EV tax credit repeals, will position Tesla better with a lower EV cost structure relative to peers.

2. Bristol Myers Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies on New Launch Momentum, Pipeline

Jefferies upgraded Bristol Myers (BMY) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $70, up from $63. The firm thinks Cobenfy can become a $10 billion-plus drug, is getting "increasingly more confident" that Milvexian could hit on non-inferiority and has gotten more visibility on profit-and-loss, and thinks the thesis that the EPS floor will break the $6 threshold is "gone," noting that it sees an EPS trough in 2029 or earlier with operating leverage.

3. Synchrony, Bread Financial Double Upgraded at Morgan Stanley on "Solid" Consumer Credit View

Morgan Stanley double upgraded Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Bread Financial (BFH), both to Overweight from Underweight. The 2024 story was "one of stabilization," as higher delinquencies moderated to the slowest pace in nearly three years.

Looking to 2025, support should remain in place, with easing inflation, positive real wage growth, stable-to-lower interest rates, and rational lending standards, says the firm, which sees consumer credit "on solid footing in 2025."

4. SolarEdge Upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs double upgraded SolarEdge (SEDG) to Buy from Sell with a price target of $19, up from $10. The firm believes estimates "are now finally bottoming" for SolarEdge, with investor fears around the company's ability to address $350 million of debt in 2025 "appearing overblown," and creating a relatively attractive risk/reward for the shares.

Goldman is also further encouraged by the company's restructuring efforts in cutting costs. SolarEdge's "shrink-to-grow" strategy puts the company in a position to better leverage its cost structure and improve product sales mix, the analyst told investors.

5. Gordon Haskett Upgraded Macy's on "Very Upbeat" Business Trends

Gordon Haskett upgraded Macy's (M) to Buy from Hold with a $20 price target, which suggests over 20% upside from recent levels. Macy's tone on current business trends "was very upbeat," which brings confidence the company can deliver a positive comp in Q4, the analyst told investors. The firm says this would be first positive same-store-sales since Q1 of 2022.

In addition, much colder weather in the coming weeks bodes well for Macy's seasonal sales, added Gordon Haskett. The firm also thinks the presence of an activist creates a floor for the stock over the next six to 12 months.

Next, here is a look at the top 5 sell calls of the week.

1. Ford Downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

Jefferies downgraded Ford (F) to Underperform from Hold with a price target of $9, down from $12, citing broad concerns ranging from an inventory overhang to looming strategic decisions on its European presence, as well as a widening gap between warranty provisions and related cash outflows.

Additionally, the firm argues that the stock's divergence with General Motors (GM) is set to continue. The firm continues to prefer General Motors, on which it retains a Hold rating and unchanged $52 price target, stating that its decision to fold Cruise into its own ADAS efforts may support General Motors' near-term earnings and fund continued cash transfer to shareholders, but "leaves open the debate on re-rating."

2. MongoDB Cut to Sell at Monness Crespi amid "Onslaught of Unforgiving Forces"

Monness Crespi downgraded MongoDB (MDB) to Sell from Neutral with a $220 price target. MongoDB's Atlas is "mired in a protracted growth slump and void of the powerful tailwind implicit in the industry's gen AI propaganda," the company is wrestling with a go-to-market transition, and the CFO, who also holds the COO title," decided to call it quits last week," writes the analyst, who argues that there is "no place for MongoDB to hide from this onslaught of unforgiving forces."

3. C3 AI Downgraded to Underweight at KeyBanc

KeyBanc downgraded C3 AI (AI) to Underweight from Sector Weight with a $29 price target, which implies 28% downside from recent levels. The firm sees an unfavorable risk/reward ratio with shares trading at 13.3-times enterprise value to revenue versus the company's 10%-20% growth peers at 7.3-times.

Consensus fiscal 2026 and 2027 revenue estimates for C3 AI may be too high considering subscription revenue growth excluding upfront license moderated to negative 1% year-over-year in Q2, the analyst tells investors in a research note. KeyBanc also sees potential risks if the Baker Hughes agreement is not renewed in fiscal 2026, or if the Microsoft partnership does not yield material results.

4. CommScope Downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded CommScope (COMM) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $5. The firm believes in a telecom spend recovery, but sees it as built into Street estimates for CommScope, limiting share upside. Given continued limited options on CommScope's debt, the stock's risk/reward ratio is more tilted towards the base case, leaving the firm "more cautious," the analyst told investors.

5. Canadian Solar Downgraded to Sell at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs downgraded Canadian Solar (CSIQ) to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $11, down from $14. The firm is turning "incrementally more negative" on the stock due to potential policy risks from the Trump administration and the tariff environment for solar imports into the U.S., particularly from Southeast Asia, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Canadian Solar is one of the more highly exposed foreign solar panel suppliers into the U.S. market, Goldman Sachs added.

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