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Investing.com -- Here is your Pro Recap of the top takeaways from Wall Street analysts for the past week.
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Apple
What happened? On Monday, Keybanc upgraded Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Sector Weight without a price target.
*TLDR: Tariff relief eases Apple’s risks. Keybanc stays cautious.
What’s the full story? Keybanc leans back, its pensiveness tinged with cautious optimism. The bank sees Apple’s exemption from smartphone tariffs as a sigh of relief—a best-case scenario that likely wipes out its prior downside target. The worst-case specter of a trade war escalation? Gone. For now. But Keybanc isn’t popping champagne. “Apple’s not out of the woods,” it warns, its tone measured yet firm. Consumer spending remains shaky, AI ambitions underwhelming, and the Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) DOJ lawsuit looms like a dark cloud. The bank’s downside thesis may have played out, but complacency isn’t on the menu.
Still, the tariff exemption shifts the narrative. It’s a tailwind, a risk off the table, and a reason to pause before betting against Apple further. Keybanc doesn’t sugarcoat it: growth expectations for FY26 remain high, perhaps too high, and AI progress is still more promise than reality. But with the tariff threat neutralized, the bank finds it hard to justify a bearish stance.
For now, Apple gets a reprieve—not a victory, but a chance to regroup. And Keybanc? It watches, waits, and keeps its powder dry.
Coty Inc .
What happened? On Tuesday, BofA double downgraded Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) to Underperform with a $4.50 price target.
*TLDR: BofA downgrades COTY amid slowing growth. Consumer weakness stifles beauty momentum.
What’s the full story? BofA shifts gears, downgrading COTY to Underperform from Buy. The bank sees trouble brewing as growth slows and valuations for both the Prestige and Consumer Beauty businesses take a hit. While COTY has ridden the wave of Prestige fragrance sales—56% of its revenue—BofA tempers its optimism. Global market share declines and weakening consumer spending cast a shadow over the once-bright outlook.
In Consumer Beauty, the bank anticipates continued market share erosion, with stabilization as the best-case scenario. Despite strides made since COTY unveiled its six strategic pillars in 2021, BofA warns of looming challenges. Headwinds in mass-market beauty and a sluggish global economy weigh on fragrance and Prestige categories. Hopes pinned on skincare and China have faltered, with macro conditions—notably a steep consumer slowdown in China—stifling growth. The Lancôme Lancaster Ligne Princière launch? A case study in unfortunate timing.