T-Mobile, First Solar See Upgrades in Busy Week for Analyst Calls

Analysts at several major Wall Street firms issued key upgrades this week for companies across the telecommunications, renewable energy, and retail sectors. The calls often pointed to attractive valuations following recent stock declines and improving fundamental outlooks for the businesses.

Highlights From the Street

Investment banks reassessed their ratings on a number of widely followed stocks, resulting in new 'Buy' or 'Outperform' ratings for T-Mobile, First Solar, Occidental Petroleum, Five Below, and Toll Brothers.

T-Mobile US (TMUS)

BofA Securities upgraded the wireless carrier to Buy from Neutral on Monday, maintaining a $220 price objective. The firm stated that market fears over competition, particularly from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband, are overstated.

According to the bank's analysis, T-Mobile's dominant 50% market share in dense urban areas insulates it from satellite-based threats, which face technical limitations in such environments. BofA also noted that T-Mobile's lower-priced legacy plans provide significant pricing flexibility, supporting its forecast for 2.5% to 3% growth in postpaid average revenue per account (ARPA).

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First Solar (FSLR)

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

Deutsche Bank highlighted First Solar's strong balance sheet, which includes a $2.1 billion net cash position. The firm noted the stock trades at just 7x its 2027 estimated EV/EBITDA, a steep discount compared to the clean tech sector average of 15x. Analysts expect this valuation gap to narrow with anticipated regulatory clarity on tariff policies.

Other Key Upgrades

• Occidental Petroleum (OXY): Evercore upgraded the energy firm to Outperform with a $65 price target. The bank cited a de-levered balance sheet and a structural improvement in capital efficiency that reshapes its free cash flow profile, potentially supporting a share buyback restart by late 2028.
• Five Below (FIVE): Mizuho upgraded the discount retailer to Outperform with a $220 price target. The call came after a 30% share price drop, which the firm views as an overreaction. Mizuho pointed to strong underlying store economics, with average unit volumes approaching $3 million, as a driver for future margin expansion.
• Toll Brothers (TOL): Citi upgraded the luxury homebuilder to Buy, setting a price target of $176. Analysts see the company as uniquely positioned to benefit from a bifurcation in the housing market, citing its status as a pure-play luxury builder and an attractive valuation at 1.3x its near-term price-to-tangible-book-value.