SA analyst upgrades/downgrades: TGT, GOOG, ZIM, NBIS

[Man looking at currency trading app on his smart phone from his home office]
Alistair Berg

Alphabet (GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) has received an upgrade to Bullish from Steven Fiorillo, who argues the tech giant’s dominance across the AI stack and accelerating cloud growth make it the largest pure play option for AI investors. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ZIM]) also saw an upgrade to Hold by James Foord, who believes the worst may be priced into the struggling shipping company. On the downgrade side, both Target (TGT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TGT]) and Nebius Group (NBIS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NBIS]) have been moved to Hold following substantial stock price appreciation.

UPGRADES

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ALPHABET (GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]): Upgrade to Bullish by Steven Fiorillo [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4906939-alphabet-owns-the-entire-ai-stack-and-is-the-largest-pure-play-option-for-investors]. The analyst points to accelerating cloud growth, resilient search performance, and successful AI monetization as evidence that Google is thriving rather than being cannibalized by competitors like ChatGPT.

> _“I am still bullish on GOOGL from here, and while it isn’t as cheap as some companies, I believe its value proposition can still be lucrative for investors. I am still bullish on GOOGL and believe that GOOGL will be a much larger company in the future than it currently is today.”_

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ZIM INTEGRATED SHIPPING SERVICES (ZIM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ZIM]): Upgrade to Hold by James Foord [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4907275-zim-integrated-the-worst-may-be-priced-in]. Although the company reported a weak first quarter, the analyst notes the stock has held up well, suggesting limited further downside and attractive upside if the Hapag-Lloyd merger proceeds.

> _“The key thing to remember is that ZIM remains one of the highest-beta shipping plays in the market. It’s exposed to change in freight rates, and when they move up, ZIM tends to shoot up too.”_

DOWNGRADES

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TARGET (TGT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TGT]): Downgrade Buy to Hold by Bay Area Ideas [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4907170-target-take-some-chips-off-the-table-rating-downgrade]. Despite a strong business turnaround with 6.7% net sales growth and raised full-year guidance, the analyst recommends profit-taking after the stock’s significant rally pushed valuations to less attractive levels.

> _“There are reasons to be cautious... Firstly, the environment has the potential to deteriorate from here due to the Iran war and energy prices. Secondly, the valuation has expanded greatly since my previous update, and so I view the risk/reward as no longer attractive for entry. As a result, I'm downgrading Target back to a Hold rating despite the ongoing turnaround for the company.”_

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NEBIUS GROUP (NBIS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NBIS]): Downgrade to Hold by Denis Buivolov, CFA [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4907267-nebius-breaking-down-nebiuss-q1-earnings]. While the company’s AI cloud revenue and aggressive data center expansion plans are impressive, the stock’s massive rally has brought it to the analyst’s calculated fair value.

> _“Given that the current market price is very close to my calculated fair value target and that peer group multiples are extended, I am lowering my recommendation from Buy to Hold.”_

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