Friday, August 7, delivered an earnings-driven wave of Buy-equivalent upgrades. Wedbush flipped Airbnb to Outperform, Bank of America moved Atlassian to Buy after a fiscal Q4 blowout, Argus turned bullish on eBay, KeyBanc took Quanta Services to Overweight, and Morgan Stanley resumed Baker Hughes at Overweight. The July 29 FOMC held rates at 3.50%-3.75%, and CME Group's FedWatch assigns roughly 80% probability to no cuts through 2026. The five picks span travel, software, e-commerce, infrastructure services, and energy.
Airbnb (ABNB) — Wedbush lifts to Outperform after Q2 blowout
Airbnb is a global marketplace for lodging and experiences with growing AI-driven personalization. On August 7, Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt upgraded from Neutral to Outperform with a $200 target, citing accelerated demand and margin expansion. The August 6 Q2 print: revenue up 17% to $3.61 billion (beat $3.58 billion), adjusted EPS of $1.37 versus $1.26, adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion at a 36% margin, and GBV up 16% to $27.2 billion. Q3 revenue guidance of $4.69-$4.77 billion topped the $4.61 billion Street view, and full-year adjusted EBITDA margin target was raised to at least 35.5%. Citigroup's Ronald Josey raised his Buy target to $193 from $175, and RBC Capital's Brad Erickson raised his Outperform target to $195 from $173.
Shares traded at $178.07 on August 7, up 17.43%, with a market cap of $105.7 billion and a trailing P/E of 40.66. The 52-week range is $110.81 to $178.33, meaning shares closed at a new 52-week high. The consensus rating is Buy, with 17 of 25 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $169, a median of $170, a high of $200, and a low of $125.
Risks: After a 17% single-day move, shares are priced for execution on AI cycles and Q3 guidance; hotel-industry pricing could weigh on ADR; and city-level regulation remains elevated. Truist Securities' Patrick Scholes maintains Sell at $104.
Atlassian (TEAM) — BofA calls it an AI beneficiary after a Q4 blowout
Atlassian sells collaboration and productivity software (Jira, Confluence, Loom) via cloud subscriptions to enterprise developers and IT teams. On August 7, Bank of America upgraded from Neutral to Buy with a $175 target (up from $105), calling Atlassian an "AI beneficiary rather than AI victim" and citing its Teamwork Graph and enterprise cloud momentum. The August 6 fiscal Q4 print: revenue up 28% to $1.77 billion (beat $1.66 billion), non-GAAP EPS of $1.87 versus $1.50 (25% beat), cloud revenue up 31% to $1.21 billion, subscription ARR of $6.61 billion (up 23%), and RPO of $4.82 billion (up 44%). CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes committed to buying up to $250 million in shares. Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss raised his Overweight target to $180 from $120, and Guggenheim's Howard Ma raised his Buy target to $165 from $115.
Shares traded at $149.07 on August 7, up 35.31%, with a market cap of $39.2 billion and a 52-week range of $56.01 to $184. The consensus rating is Strong Buy, with 17 of 20 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $154.65, a median of $162.50, a high of $304, and a low of $95.
Risks: The stock has more than doubled off its 52-week low, tightening upside; trailing P/E is negative on GAAP losses; and AI monetization remains early-innings. The coverage low of $95 signals bearish downside if guidance disappoints.
eBay (EBAY) — Argus upgrades after another Q2 beat and raised outlook
eBay is a global e-commerce marketplace weighted to focused categories (motors, refurbished, luxury, trading cards) and advertising monetization. On August 7, Argus upgraded from Hold to Buy with a $133 target, citing the Q2 beat and raised outlook. The August 6 Q2 print: revenue up 15% to $3.13 billion, GMV up 15% to $22.4 billion, non-GAAP EPS up 17% to $1.60 (beat $1.51), operating margin of 28.5%, and free cash flow of $326 million. Management returned $448 million to shareholders. Piper Sandler's Thomas Champion raised his Overweight target to $133 from $115.
Shares traded at $111.98 on August 7, up 1.67%, with a market cap of $49.7 billion, a trailing P/E of 23.18, and a small trailing dividend yield. The 52-week range is $78.03 to $119.31. The consensus rating is Buy, with 9 of 22 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $111.09, a median of $110, a high of $135, and a low of $75.
Risks: Half of covering analysts remain neutral, reflecting mature GMV growth and secular marketplace competition; the Depop deal closed above the original price, adding dilution; and macro softness could pressure discretionary categories. Wells Fargo's Ken Gawrelski maintains Equal-Weight at $89.
Quanta Services (PWR) — KeyBanc joins the bull camp on grid and data-center demand
Quanta Services provides specialty infrastructure and engineering services to utility, communications, energy, and industrial markets, benefiting from grid modernization, renewables, and data-center power buildout. On August 7, KeyBanc upgraded from Sector Weight to Overweight, citing strengthening backlog visibility. TD Cowen's Marc Bianchi raised his Buy target to $785, and Truist Securities' Jamie Cook reiterated Buy at $976 (up from $940).
Shares traded at $671.86 on August 7, up 0.60%, with a market cap of $101.0 billion and a trailing P/E of 76.96. The 52-week range is $363.01 to $788.75. The consensus rating is Strong Buy, with 12 of 16 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $733.12, a median of $784.50, a high of $976, and a low of $428.
Risks: Shares have nearly doubled off the 52-week low, and a trailing P/E near 77 leaves little room for execution slips; labor and permitting are structural bottlenecks; and any AI-capex pause would compress data-center bookings. Mizuho's Maheep Mandloi maintains Neutral at $741.
Baker Hughes (BKR) — Morgan Stanley resumes at Overweight post-GTLS close
Baker Hughes is a diversified energy technology company operating in Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET), with growing exposure to LNG, gas turbines, and data-center power via its recent Chart Industries (GTLS) acquisition. On August 7, Morgan Stanley resumed coverage at Overweight with a $70 target, citing scale and synergy potential from the mid-July GTLS close and Q2 momentum in Gas Technology and OFSE. TD Cowen's Marc Bianchi maintains Buy at $78, and Piper Sandler's Derek Podhaizer maintains Overweight at $73.
Shares traded at $61.55 on August 7, down 1.91%, with a market cap of $61.1 billion, a trailing P/E of 19.79, and a small trailing dividend yield. The 52-week range is $41.96 to $70.41. The consensus rating is Buy, with 10 of 13 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $71.38, a median of $73, a high of $80, and a low of $44.
Risks: OFSE remains tied to oil-and-gas capital spending, which can compress on softer commodity prices; GTLS integration will consume management bandwidth into 2026; and gas-turbine slot competition is intensifying. UBS's Josh Silverstein maintains Neutral at $71.
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