US BROKER MOVES: CME upgraded at JPM; BROS downgraded at RBC

• CME Group (CME) Upgraded from Underweight to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT USD 367
• Equifax (EFX) Upgraded from Hold to Buy at Argus; PT USD 200
• Halliburton (HAL) Upgraded from Hold to Buy at Freedom Broker; PT USD 40
• Kohl’s (KSS) Upgraded from Hold to Buy at Gordon Haskett; PT USD 27
• MGM Resorts International (MGM) Upgraded from Hold to Buy at CBRE Equity Research; PT USD 42
• Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) Upgraded from Market Perform to Market Outperform at Citizens; PT USD 52
• Tesla (TSLA) Upgraded from Underperform to Hold at CLSA; PT USD 400
• WhiteHorse Finance (WHF) Upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform at Raymond James; PT USD 9
• Block (XYZ) Upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform at BMO Capital; PT USD 101

• Alcoa (AA) Downgraded from Buy to Hold at Argus
• Builders FirstSource (BLDR) Downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform at William Blair
• Dutch Bros (BROS) Downgraded from Outperform to Sector Perform at RBC Capital; PT USD 46
• Netflix (NFLX) Downgraded from Outperform to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research
• Qiagen (QGEN) Downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT USD 52
• Ultrapar Participações (UGP) Downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JPMorgan

• Ameren (AEE) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 119.10
• American Electric Power (AEP) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 145.90
• AeroVironment (AVAV) Initiated at Outperform at Oppenheimer; PT USD 205
• Candel Therapeutics (CADL) Initiated at Buy at Jefferies; PT USD 25
• Constellation Energy (CEG) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 335
• Celcuity (CELC) Initiated at Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; PT USD 140
• CleanSpark (CLSK) Initiated at Buy at Canaccord; PT USD 20
• CMS Energy (CMS) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 69
• CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 44
• Leonardo DRS (DRS) Initiated at Outperform at Oppenheimer; PT USD 45
• DTE Energy (DTE) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 135
• Duke Energy (DUK) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 123
• Consolidated Edison (ED) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 104
• Edison International (EIX) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 56.50
• Eversource Energy (ES) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 70
• Entergy (ETR) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 123.50
• Evergy (EVRG) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 92
• Exelon (EXC) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 44
• FirstEnergy (FE) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 50
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) Initiated at Outperform at Oppenheimer; PT USD 50
• Alliant Energy (LNT) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 69.50
• NiSource (NI) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 49.50
• NRG Energy (NRG) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 179
• Northwest Natural Holding (NWN) Initiated at Neutral at Mizuho; PT USD 51
• PG&E (PCG) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 15.50
• Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 72.50
• Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 119.50
• PPL Corporation (PPL) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 42
• Southern Company (SO) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 99.50
• Sempra (SRE) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 97.50
• Talen Energy (TLN) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 444.30
• Vistra (VST) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 190
• WEC Energy Group (WEC) Initiated at Hold at HSBC; PT USD 106.50
• Xcel Energy (XEL) Initiated at Buy at HSBC; PT USD 89

Routine broker roundups of this kind rarely move the tape beyond the opening minutes in the names involved; the historical pattern is that single-firm rating changes fade unless they mark the start of a consensus migration or coincide with a fundamental catalyst. The most structurally notable item here is the sweep initiation on the US utilities complex by one bank, covering the regulated and unregulated peer set in a single launch. Blanket coverage launches of this kind have tended to matter less for the individual ratings than for the framework they signal: a Buy tilt toward independent power producers and nuclear-exposed names alongside Holds on much of the regulated group implies a view that load growth and power pricing, rather than rate-case mechanics, are the differentiating channel. Elsewhere the two-notch upgrades and downgrades (the exchange operator up two notches, the streamer and the coffee chain cut toward neutral) follow the usual sequence: modest gap moves at the open, then a test of whether peer analysts follow over subsequent sessions. Worth noting that downgrades from Outperform to Peer or Sector Perform are typically valuation calls rather than thesis breaks, and historically retrace faster than cuts driven by estimate revisions. Nothing here alters the macro calendar; the follow-on is whether the utility initiation draws responses from the rest of the street's coverage.