Analyst Upgrades: T-Mobile, First Solar, Occidental Among Week's Top Calls

Wall Street analysts made several notable rating changes this past week, with several firms upgrading stocks that have recently faced market pressure or investor skepticism. The calls focused on misunderstood competitive threats, valuation disconnects, and improving underlying business fundamentals.

T-Mobile (TMUS)

BofA Securities upgraded T-Mobile to Buy from Neutral, maintaining a $220 price target. The firm argues that the market has overreacted to competition fears, particularly from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband providers.

Analysts at BofA noted that T-Mobile's dominant market share is concentrated in dense urban areas, where LEO signals face significant limitations. The bank believes T-Mobile's legacy low-priced plans provide it with significant pricing flexibility, which will support its forecast for 2.5% to 3% growth in postpaid average revenue per account (ARPA) and drive margin expansion.

First Solar (FSLR)

Deutsche Bank raised its rating on First Solar to Buy, establishing a $272 price target. The upgrade follows a 27% decline in the company's stock since June 1, which the bank described as a "deeply mispriced" entry opportunity.

The firm highlighted First Solar's strong financial position, including a $2.1 billion net cash cushion. According to Deutsche Bank, the stock trades at just 7x its estimated 2027 EV/EBITDA, a significant discount to the clean tech sector average of 15x. The bank expects this valuation gap to narrow as earnings normalize and regulatory clarity on tariffs emerges.

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Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

Evercore upgraded Occidental Petroleum to Outperform with a $65 price target. The firm believes the stock is poised to better reflect underlying crude oil prices after a period of underperformance relative to its peers.

The key catalyst, according to Evercore, is a combination of a de-levered balance sheet and a structural improvement in capital efficiency. While not a high-growth story, these efficiency gains are expected to flatten and lift the company's free-cash-flow profile, potentially supporting a share buyback program by late 2028.

Other Key Upgrades

• Five Below (FIVE): Mizuho upgraded the discount retailer to Outperform with a $220 price target. The firm views the stock's recent 30% drop as an overdone reaction, citing strong underlying store economics and an attractive risk-reward profile.
• Toll Brothers (TOL): Citi upgraded the luxury homebuilder to Buy, setting a $176 price target. The bank is betting on the resilience of the high-end housing market, noting Toll Brothers' unique position as a pure-play luxury builder and its attractive valuation at 1.3x its near-term price-to-tangible-book-value.