The Most Upgraded Stocks After the Q1 Earnings Season

Key Points

• These are the most upgraded stocks as tracked by Marketbeat at the end of the Q1 earnings reporting cycle. 
• NVIDIA regains the top spot after another record-setting quarter and guidance that may be cautious. 
• Google and Dick's Sporting Goods make noticeable movement up the ranks to take the #2 and #3 positions. 

The Q1 earnings reporting season is all but finished, with more than 98% of the reports issued. While the season unfolded largely as expected, the individual reports brought some unexpected strengths. These strengths are reflected in the analysts' activity. This is a look at the three Most Upgraded Stocks tracked by Marketbeat, where the analysts see them heading over the next few quarters, and why.

NVIDIA Regains Leadership Position

NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA, a Most Upgraded Stock since early 2023, moved up several positions this quarter to regain the top spot. The company produced another record-setting quarter, outperforming estimates and raising guidance. The spectacular details include a 260% revenue gain, 500 basis points of outperformance, and 500 basis points stronger than expected guidance. The guidance may be cautious because the company is still experiencing an upswing in demand. The result is that NVIDIA stock received 49 upgrades and positive revisions in the last 90 days, most since the Q1 results were released, and they are leading the market to a new high. 

The consensus price target tracked by Marketbeat has the stock fairly valued near its current levels, but there are two factors to consider. The first is that the consensus target has risen 19% since last year; the second is that recent revisions have led to a high-end range of nearly $1200 to $1400. That’s a 10% to 30% increase from current levels, and revisions are likely to continue because NVIDIA is the leader in AI and already has a clear upgrade cycle in place. The market is scrambling to get as many H100s as possible; the Blackwell series will be in demand next year, and then Rubin in 2026. 

Alphabet Gains Ground: Becomes the 2nd Most-Upgraded Stock

Google parent Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL was lurking lower in the ranks at the end of calendar Q1 but has shot up the ranks following the Q1 earnings reporting season. Now in 2nd position, Google received 35 upgrades and positive price target revisions, leading the market higher. The current consensus of $191 is more than 10% above the price action and up 46% compared to last year. Much of the increase is due to the post-release activity, which increased the consensus price target by 26% and points to the high end of the range. The high target was set recently at $225 or another 2000 basis points above consensus. 

Details driving the analysts' upgrade cycle include results. The company easily outpaced the consensus forecasts in Q1 on strength in all segments led by search, YouTube, and the cloud. Guidance was also increased and suggests Google’s position is secure. Demand for AI infrastructure and services is robust, and the roll-out of the Gemini chatbot is progressing smoothly. 

Dick’s Investors Win Big in Q1: Analysts Raise Targets

Dick’s Sporting Goods NYSE: DKS stock price resumed rally mode last year as analysts began to lift sentiment. The rally was reinvigorated following the Q1 results, which sparked another series of positive revisions. Details from the report include top and bottom strength, accelerating comp store sales, market share gains, wider margins, and improved guidance. The executive raised the guidance because of the results above the high-end of the prior range and the analysts' consensus forecasts.

Dick’s stock received 34 upward revisions in the last 90 days, putting it in the 3rd position on the Most Upgraded Stocks list, with an improvement of nine positions in less than 30 days. Nearly half of the revisions were issued after the Q1 release, including one upgrade and 16 increased price targets. The consensus rose by $30 or more than 1000 basis points because of the increases. Consensus assumes a 4% upside from $225, but the fresh targets put this stock in the high-end range near $260, a new all-time high worth a 15% upside.