Tesla Upgrades, Netflix Downgrade: Analyst Roundup
Tesla got two upgrades on October 22 while Netflix and Apple were cut, and insiders at Micron, AMD and Chevron sold $44.2 million of company stock.
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Quick Answer: From Friday, October 16 to Friday, October 23, 2026, the biggest analyst move among the large US companies we checked was a double upgrade of Tesla. CLSA moved it to Hold and BNP Paribas to Neutral, both from Underperform, on October 22. Netflix and Apple were downgraded, Broadcom and Costco picked up new coverage, and insiders at Micron, AMD and Chevron sold a combined $44.2 million of stock.
Key takeaways
- CLSA and BNP Paribas both upgraded Tesla from Underperform on October 22, 2026, but the stock still trades at a forward P/E of 171.1x.
- Wolfe Research cut Netflix to Peer Perform the same day, with the shares down 39.9% over the past year.
- Loop Capital downgraded Apple to Hold with the stock at $348.22, already above analysts' average target of $328.35.
- Insiders at Micron, AMD and Chevron sold a combined $44.2 million of stock, and there were no notable insider buys.
- Intel reports first among these names, on October 29, 2026, followed by Chevron on October 30.
Two firms gave up on their bearish Tesla calls on the same day. CLSA and BNP Paribas both lifted Tesla off Underperform on Thursday, October 22, 2026, according to Yahoo Finance's upgrade and downgrade history, and that leads this roundup of analyst and insider moves from Friday, October 16 to Friday, October 23, 2026.
The rest of the week brought three more upgrades, two downgrades, two new initiations and three big insider sales across the 40 large US companies we checked. All share prices below are as of the close on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
Why did two firms upgrade Tesla on the same day?
The rating history doesn't give their reasoning, but the direction is clear. CLSA moved Tesla to Hold from Underperform and BNP Paribas moved it to Neutral from Underperform, both on October 22. Neither firm went bullish. Both stepped from negative to neutral, with the stock at $374.58 and down 14.7% over the past year.
Those two moves push Tesla's coverage further toward the middle, which is where most of the Street already sat. Per Chart Equity's data, 18 analysts rate it Buy, 23 rate it Hold and 2 rate it Sell. Analysts' average target of $408.36 is about 9% above the close.
Valuation is the part to keep in view. Tesla makes electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and it trades at 171.1x forward earnings and 411.6x trailing earnings. A multiple like that means the price rests on profits well beyond the next year, not on what the company earns now. If the P/E jargon is new, our guide to what the P/E ratio means for investors covers it.
The one-month chart shows where the October 22 upgrades landed against the stock's recent range.
Chart Equity · TSLA
TSLA, last 1 month
Sep 23 to Oct 22. Change is from the close just before the chart starts.
374.58
-1.14% over 1 month
Tesla was also one of the names in our earnings week ahead preview for META, TSLA and NFLX, so these upgrades came during a busy stretch for the stock.
Which other stocks got upgraded this week?
Three more: Freedom Broker raised Texas Instruments to Buy from Hold on October 22, TD Cowen raised BlackRock to Buy from Hold on October 20, and JP Morgan lifted Intel to Neutral from Underweight on October 19. All three closed below analysts' average targets on October 22.
| Company | Firm | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla (TSLA) | CLSA | Upgrade to Hold from Underperform | October 22, 2026 |
| Tesla (TSLA) | BNP Paribas | Upgrade to Neutral from Underperform | October 22, 2026 |
| Texas Instruments (TXN) | Freedom Broker | Upgrade to Buy from Hold | October 22, 2026 |
| Netflix (NFLX) | Wolfe Research | Downgrade to Peer Perform from Outperform | October 22, 2026 |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | Tigress Financial | Initiated at Buy | October 22, 2026 |
| Costco (COST) | CICC | Initiated at Outperform | October 21, 2026 |
| BlackRock (BLK) | TD Cowen | Upgrade to Buy from Hold | October 20, 2026 |
| Apple (AAPL) | Loop Capital | Downgrade to Hold from Buy | October 20, 2026 |
| Intel (INTC) | JP Morgan | Upgrade to Neutral from Underweight | October 19, 2026 |
Texas Instruments
The chipmaker, which runs Analog and Embedded Processing segments, closed at $279.50 after a 63.7% gain over the past year. Analysts' average target of $336.86 sits about 21% above that. Freedom Broker's new Buy joins 20 Buy ratings, against 13 Hold and 2 Sell.
BlackRock
The investment manager is almost flat over the year, up 0.7%, but the Street is close to unanimous: 17 Buy, 1 Hold, 0 Sell. TD Cowen's upgrade leaves even fewer holdouts. The stock closed at $1137.29, against an average target of $1351.00.
Intel
Here's the odd one. Intel is up 131.6% over the past year, and JP Morgan's upgrade only gets it to Neutral. That fits the broader coverage, with 33 Hold ratings against 15 Buy and 1 Sell. The stock closed at $85.49 against an average target of $117.14, and it trades at 40.5x forward earnings.
Which stocks were downgraded?
Netflix and Apple. Wolfe Research cut Netflix to Peer Perform from Outperform on October 22, and Loop Capital cut Apple to Hold from Buy on October 20. Their setups are close to opposite: Netflix is down 39.9% over the past year, while Apple is up 34.7% and trades above its average target.
Netflix
The entertainment company closed at $67.05, and analysts' average target is $84.83, about 27% higher. Coverage still leans positive at 33 Buy, 16 Hold and 2 Sell, so Wolfe is moving against the crowd. At 17.8x forward earnings, the stock is priced far more modestly than it was a year ago. Our breakdown of Netflix's Q3 beat and slowing revenue growth has the earnings side.
Chart Equity · NFLX
NFLX, last 1 month
Sep 23 to Oct 22. Change is from the close just before the chart starts.
67.05
-7.08% over 1 month
Apple
Apple closed at $348.22, about 6% above analysts' average target of $328.35. When a stock runs past the average target, downgrades on valuation tend to follow, though Loop's reasoning isn't in the rating history. The split is 24 Buy, 14 Hold and 6 Sell, and the forward P/E is 36.4x.
Who started new coverage?
Two firms: Tigress Financial initiated Broadcom at Buy on October 22, and CICC initiated Costco at Outperform on October 21. Broadcom closed about 64% below... rather, its average target of $529.10 sits about 64% above the $323.24 close. Costco's $1067.59 average target is only about 5% above its close.
Broadcom
The semiconductor and infrastructure software company has 48 Buy ratings, 3 Hold and none at Sell, so Tigress lands right with the crowd. The stock is down 5.0% over the past year. The forward P/E of 16.7x is well below the trailing 41.3x, which means analysts expect earnings to rise a lot from here.
Costco
The membership warehouse operator closed at $1018.21, up 7.8% over the year. It trades at 40.7x forward earnings, and coverage splits 26 Buy, 13 Hold and 2 Sell. CICC's Outperform comes with little room between price and the average target.
A rating change tells you what one firm thinks. It doesn't tell you whether the revenue, margins and balance sheet back it up, and that's the job of a Stock Audit.
What did insiders buy and sell?
Three sales of $1 million or more did, totaling $44.2 million, at Micron, AMD and Chevron. The filings don't say why anyone sold, and insider selling often comes down to taxes, diversification or planned sales.
Buying with personal money is the rarer and usually more telling signal, and none of that showed up this week.
Micron
Scott J. Deboer (Pres. & Chief Tech & Prod Offr) sold about $25.7 million of Micron stock at about $900.00 a share on Friday, October 16, 2026, according to a Form 4 filed with the SEC on Tuesday, October 20. The stock closed at $856.49, about 5% below his sale price. It's up 331.5% over the past year, and analysts' average target is $1561.91.
AMD
Forrest Eugene Norrod (EVP & GM DSG) sold about $9.3 million of AMD stock at about $540.70 on Thursday, October 15, 2026, one day before the window opened, per a Form 4 filed Monday, October 19. AMD closed at $507.93, up 120.6% over the year, with an average target of $637.61.
Chevron
Chief Legal Officer R. Hewitt Pate sold about $9.2 million of Chevron stock at about $226.65 on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, according to a Form 4 filed Wednesday, October 21. The stock closed at $226.68, close to his sale price, and the average target of $230.67 is only about 2% higher.
What's next?
Earnings come fast. Intel reports on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Chevron on Friday, October 30, Apple on Monday, November 2, and AMD on Tuesday, November 3. Those reports will test whether Intel's Neutral consensus and Apple's above-target price hold up against actual results.
| Company | Next earnings (Yahoo Finance calendar) |
|---|---|
| Intel (INTC) | Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| Chevron (CVX) | Friday, October 30, 2026 |
| Apple (AAPL) | Monday, November 2, 2026 |
| AMD (AMD) | Tuesday, November 3, 2026 |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | Wednesday, December 9, 2026 |
| Costco (COST) | Thursday, December 10, 2026 |
| Micron (MU) | Wednesday, December 23, 2026 |
| BlackRock (BLK) | Thursday, January 14, 2027 |
| Netflix (NFLX) | Tuesday, January 19, 2027 |
Some of these dates may be estimates until the companies confirm them, and the calendar doesn't list next dates for Tesla or Texas Instruments yet. To check any of these names yourself before the reports, start with a free Stock Audit on Intel or any other ticker here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is an upgrade to Hold or Neutral a bullish signal?
Not really. A move from Underperform to Hold, like CLSA's and BNP Paribas's Tesla calls, means a firm no longer expects the stock to lag. It isn't a recommendation to own it. An upgrade to Buy, like TD Cowen's on BlackRock, is a stronger statement. Read the grade a firm moved to, not just the word upgrade.
What is a Form 4?
A Form 4 is the SEC filing that officers, directors and large holders use to report trades in their own company's stock. It shows the trade date, share count and price. That's why trade and filing dates differ here: Chevron's sale on October 20 was filed on October 21, while Micron's October 16 sale was filed on October 20.
Does an average price target mean a stock will get there?
No. It's the average of where covering analysts think the stock could trade, usually over about a year, and targets get revised all the time. Apple shows the limits: it closed at $348.22, already past its $328.35 average target. A target is one input for gauging sentiment, not a forecast you can count on.
What does it mean when forward P/E is far below trailing P/E?
Trailing P/E uses the past year's earnings, and forward P/E uses analysts' estimates for coming earnings. A big gap means analysts expect profits to climb. Micron trades at 11.5x trailing and 4.1x forward, so the consensus expects much higher earnings. If those estimates fall, the forward multiple rises without any change in price.
Should insider selling worry shareholders?
Not by itself. Executives get much of their pay in stock, so selling is routine, and the filings don't give reasons. A pattern of several insiders selling heavily, or selling right before bad news, would carry more weight than one sale. Open-market buying with personal money is the less common and usually more meaningful insider signal.
