Tuesday, August 11, brought a fresh wave of Buy-equivalent upgrades. Truist Securities lifted Best Buy ahead of Q2, Argus upgraded Boeing on production growth and free-cash-flow improvement, UBS moved Jabil to Buy on a multi-year AI-driven cycle, Phillip Securities upgraded Spotify, and B. Riley raised Compass Diversified on a Q2 beat. 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 picks span electronics retail, aerospace, contract manufacturing, streaming, and diversified holdings.
Best Buy (BBY) — Truist upgrades on positive card reads and AI-driven replacement cycle
Best Buy is the largest U.S. specialty consumer electronics retailer, expanding through appliance delivery, services, and health. On August 11, Truist Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli upgraded from Hold to Buy with a $95 target (up from $81), citing positive Truist credit-card readings pointing to a strong Q2 print, ongoing replacement demand, better appliance delivery execution, and emerging mini-product cycles including AI wearables. Wells Fargo's Zachary Fadem raised his Equal-Weight target to $85 from $65 the same day, and Telsey Advisory Group's Joseph Feldman maintains Outperform at $95.
Shares traded at $83.65 on August 11, up 1.48%, with a market cap of $17.6 billion, a trailing P/E of 15.45, and a trailing dividend yield near 5%. The 52-week range is $55.10 to $91.27. The consensus rating is Hold, with 5 of 18 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $81.44, a median of $83, a high of $95, and a low of $60.
Risks: Two-thirds of covering analysts remain neutral, reflecting debate on whether the AI replacement cycle proves durable; consumer discretionary pressure could weigh on the second half; Bank of America's Elizabeth Suzuki maintains Underperform at $60, the coverage low.
Boeing (BA) — Argus turns bullish on production growth and cash-flow inflection
Boeing is a global aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor spanning commercial airplanes, defense/space/security, and global services. On August 11, Argus Research analyst Kristina Ruggeri upgraded from Hold to Buy with a $265 target, citing expected growth in aircraft production, improving margins, and a robust backlog. The upgrade follows the July 28 Q2 report: revenue of $24.6 billion, operating cash flow of $1.4 billion, and free cash flow of $631 million (versus a $177 million consensus burn) — the first positive quarterly FCF since 2023. CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC the company could "soon" reinstate long-term guidance targeting about $10 billion in annual FCF. Tigress Financial's Ivan Feinseth raised his Buy target to $305 on August 6, and BNP Paribas's Matthew Akers upgraded to Outperform at $300 on August 3.
Shares traded at $233.77 on August 11, up 0.42%, with a market cap of $184.8 billion and a trailing P/E of 101.21 (reflecting still-depressed earnings). The 52-week range is $176.77 to $254.35. The consensus rating is Strong Buy, with 11 of 12 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $280.25, a median of $287.50, a high of $305, and a low of $250.
Risks: Trailing P/E remains inflated because earnings are still recovering, so any delivery stumble would compress the multiple; defense fixed-price programs including VC-25B remain a source of one-off charges; GuruFocus screens flag BA as roughly 10% overvalued on fair-value estimates.
Jabil (JBL) — UBS calls out multi-year AI-driven growth cycle
Jabil is a global contract manufacturer providing electronic manufacturing services and hardware infrastructure for hyperscalers, healthcare, and automation customers. On August 11, UBS analyst David Vogt upgraded from Neutral to Buy with a $430 target. Vogt raised fiscal 2027 EPS to $16.78 and fiscal 2028 EPS to $20.24, citing a multi-year growth cycle fueled by AI capex from Amazon, Meta, and Google; rising healthcare demand as capacity comes online; and scaling automation and robotics. UBS expects AI-related revenue to grow roughly 50% in fiscal 2027 to $20.3 billion. JP Morgan's Samik Chatterjee maintains Overweight at $450, and Goldman Sachs' Mark Delaney maintains Buy at $482.
Shares traded at $353.76 on August 11, up 5.09%, with a market cap of $37.1 billion and a trailing P/E of 44.17. The 52-week range is $189.60 to $428.93. Consensus is Strong Buy, with 7 of 8 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $436.50, a median of $445, a high of $482, and a low of $354.
Risks: Shares have nearly doubled off the 52-week low, so any AI capex pause at Amazon/Meta/Google would hit the thesis directly; UBS itself trimmed its multiple to 22 times from 25 times to reflect broader AI infrastructure de-rating; the coverage low of $354 sits just below spot.
Spotify (SPOT) — Phillip Securities calls it best-in-class audio ahead of AI product launches
Spotify is the world's leading audio-streaming platform with expanding advertising, podcasting, and audiobook monetization. On August 11, Phillip Securities upgraded from Accumulate to Buy with a $650 target, citing free-cash-flow compounding ahead of new AI product launches. Morgan Stanley's August 3 note reiterated Overweight and raised its target to $640, pointing to a potential path to about $35 in FCF per share by 2030. Guggenheim's Michael Morris maintains Buy at $565, and Wells Fargo's Steven Cahall maintains Overweight at $640.
Shares traded at $500.60 on August 11, down 2.19%, with a market cap of $102.9 billion and a trailing P/E of 30.68. The 52-week range is $405 to $748.30. The consensus rating is Strong Buy, with 13 of 16 covering analysts bullish, an average target of $630.12, a median of $637.50, a high of $750, and a low of $527.
Risks: Shares are down 14% year-to-date and AI monetization remains unproven; Cantor Fitzgerald's Deepak Mathivanan maintains Neutral at $530 and Rosenblatt's Barton Crockett maintains Neutral at $527, capping near-term multiple expansion. Music-label royalty renegotiations remain a recurring margin risk.
Compass Diversified (CODI) — B. Riley flips to Buy after Q2 beat
Compass Diversified is a holding company owning a portfolio of middle-market industrial and branded consumer businesses. On August 11, B. Riley Securities analyst Timothy D'Agostino upgraded from Neutral to Buy with a $15 target (up from $11), following a Q2 earnings beat that reset the operating narrative. TD Cowen's Lance Vitanza raised his Buy target to $18 from $12.50 the same day.
Shares traded at $12.35 on August 11, up 11.46%, with a market cap of $929 million; trailing P/E is negative on GAAP losses. The 52-week range is $4.58 to $13.24, meaning shares are trading near a fresh 52-week high. The consensus rating is Strong Buy among the two covering analysts, both bullish, with an average target of $16.50, a median of $16.50, a high of $18, and a low of $15.
Risks: Coverage is thin at only two firms — B. Riley itself carried Neutral with an $8 target as recently as March 2026; negative trailing P/E reflects a reset earnings base; middle-market consumer exposure keeps CODI sensitive to discretionary spending. Another accounting hiccup would strike the thin float hard.
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