Ticker Reports for August 6th
3 Trucking Stocks Getting Big Analyst Upgrades Now
When Wall Street analysts decide to take a stance on a stock, investors often benefit from trying to reverse engineer this decision and shift in perspective. However, when the focus is on a group of stocks within the same industry, the chance to profit from these professional opinions becomes too valuable to ignore, which is fortunately happening right now for investors.
As of late July 2025, a group of Wall Street analysts seemed to agree that a few names inside the transportation sector (with a specific focus on trucking) are too cheap to pass up right now, especially considering all of the macro backdrop and future potential growth in today’s economic landscape. With this in mind, today’s list could come in handy for those looking to end their year with some gains.
That being said, stocks like Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA), Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL), and XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO) stood out for this group of analysts, not only because of their current discounts to relative 52-week high prices but also because of what they have to offer investors in the coming months of this economy.
Saia Stock Offers the Deepest Discount
On a 52-week high basis, Saia's stock shows investors the widest gap relative to its highs, which matters for two reasons. For the stock to go down further, there would need to be even more unforeseen bearish events than the ones that have already been priced in through this fall, and chances are that most of them are now.
Second, this leaves a major gap to be filled in terms of upside since investors and analysts alike now know where the stock could trade up to in terms of its historical chart, making it a realistic level to revisit if the fundamental narrative calls for it.
This discount, combined with the fact that current trade tariffs may boost domestic production and consumption, makes Saia stock an attractive proposition (especially at this discount). Overall, it is considered a Moderate Buy, with an outlier rating from Citigroup analyst Ariel Rosa, who sees Saia as a Buy valued at $393 per share.
From today’s discount, this means Saia stock could rally by roughly 30%, which is not a common offer for an industry that isn’t known for making big moves in a given year.
An Earnings Sell-Off in Old Dominion Could Be Bought
After Old Dominion stock reported $1.27 in earnings per share (EPS) for its latest quarterly financials, a miss of two cents compared to the Wall Street estimate of $1.29, sent the stock trading lower by 15.4% on the entire month; however, the future looks a lot brighter than this slight miss in EPS.
Wall Street analysts still think that Old Dominion could report $1.71 in EPS for the second quarter of 2026, a significant jump from today’s reported financials, giving the stock enough of a fundamental reason to rally back up to its previous highs.
Speaking of which, now that the stock has traded down to 62% of its 52-week high, it seemed like an “easy win” for Stephens analyst Daniel Imbro to stand out from the pack. With a Hold rating and $167.6 per share consensus valuation, Imbro’s Overweight view and $174 per share price target make him a risk-taker among his peers.
There must be a high level of conviction for this analyst to call for 20% upside in this beaten-down stock, and a good reason could be its exposure to Canadian trade routes. As tariffs on Canadian and American goods are set to go up, Old Dominion's fees could also follow suit, giving investors a reason to lean on this outlier rating.
XPO: A Premium Stock for Smart Money
It appears that XPO has joined the ranks of companies selling off, following a recent quarterly earnings announcement similar to Old Dominion's. However, this time around, it seems some astute buyers were waiting in the wings for such an opportunity.
After a 10% decline in a single week to fall down to 74% of its 52-week high, this deal in trucking seemed too good to pass up by those at STRS Ohio, who justified adding 10.9% to their stakes in XPO logistics stock, bringing their net position to a high of $4.9 million today and giving investors a vote of confidence to lean on.
More than that, investors can see the way broader markets are valuing this stock today as a positive sign moving forward. By trading at a 41.3x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, XPO commands a premium above the rest of the transportation sector and its average 13.0x P/E multiple.
Usually, markets are willing to overpay for the names they believe can outperform the peer group and the indexes as well. When it comes to XPO, investors can point to the company’s exposure to Canada, similar to Old Dominion’s, although in this case, a broader operation in Europe might also benefit from tariffs and exchange rate volatility.
All told, this gave Wells Fargo analyst Chirstian Wetherbee a reason to place an Overweight rating on XPO stock (above the consensus Moderate Buy) and a new $147 per share price target (also above consensus) to shoot for an implied rally of 23.5% from today’s price, giving investors another high-conviction view in the industry.
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3 Stocks Riding the AI Data Center Buildout Wave
Earnings season follows a predictable rhythm. Investors have now heard from many companies fueling the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. This earnings season, hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms have reiterated or increased their planned data center investments for 2025, among the mega-cap technology stocks.
That coincides with a report from Grand Valley Research that forecasts the global data center market size to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2% between 2025 and 2030. In dollar figures, that means it will grow from $347.60 billion in 2024 to $652.01 billion in 2030.
Investors can choose to invest in the mega-cap stocks listed above, and many would quickly add NVIDIA to that list. However, many investors are now turning to stocks that will benefit from this infrastructure spending.
This includes, but is not limited to, companies that are responsible for the cooling, connectivity, and power that data centers need. Here are three companies that are good options for investing in the data center buildout.
Mission-Critical Cooling and Energy Systems
Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE: JCI) plays a vital behind-the-scenes role in data center infrastructure. AI chips such as NVIDIA’s H100 and AMD’s MI300 generate significantly more heat than traditional CPUs, which raises the bar for cooling performance and efficiency.
That’s why data center operators are under increasing pressure to reduce power usage effectiveness (PUE), a key metric for energy efficiency.
JCI’s industrial-grade HVAC systems are designed for the high-density rack environments found in modern AI data centers. In addition, the company's OpenBlue digital platform integrates AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage operations, including energy usage, temperature, and airflow in real-time, which helps operators reduce costs and maintain uptime.
JCI stock dropped approximately 7.5% heading into its earnings report on July 29. However, the stock appears to have found support around its 50-day simple moving average.
The consensus price target is $105.17, but several analysts have been raising their price targets after the earnings report. That may be attributable to 17% earnings growth projections in the next 12 months.
However, with a neutral relative strength indicator (RSI) and the company’s valuation looking slightly overvalued, investors may want to wait for a pullback before starting or adding to a position.
Providing the Global Connectivity Backbone
American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust that most investors know for being a key part of the 5G buildout. However, the company has been making aggressive investments in edge data centers and fiber interconnection assets.
In this way, the company complements the centralized buildouts of hyperscalers by providing the last-mile and interconnection infrastructure needed to bring AI services to life faster, closer, and more reliably than traditional cloud architectures alone.
AMT stock is up 15.7% in 2025. That’s a welcome reversal for many long-term investors who have seen the stock deliver a negative total return in the last five years. That includes the company’s dividend, which pays an attractive 3.21%.
American Tower reported slight beats on the top and bottom lines in its July 29 earnings report. However, the stock’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 20x makes the stock attractively valued. Analysts have a consensus price target of $243.88, which gives investors about 15% upside from its current price.
Hyperscaler Spending Supports Long-Term Bull Case
Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT) has been one of the best-performing industrials stocks over the last five years, delivering an 824% gain for investors. Currently trading at around $140 as of now, it’s close to the consensus price target of $145.54. That would put the stock below its 52-week high. Investors are right to wonder if its best days are behind it.
Like many stocks, VRT depends on many factors. In the short term, it looks overvalued and could be ready for a pullback. However, as the earnings reports from the hyperscalers made clear, demand for the company’s liquid cooling technology (among other things) is likely to accelerate in the coming years.
That would seem to be backed up by Vertiv’s July earnings report, in which the company delivered comfortable beats on the top and bottom lines.
That said, investors who don’t have a position in VRT stock may want to wait for a pullback before getting involved. The stock has been finding consistent support around its 20-day simple moving average (SMA).
That means the 2.8% drop in the five days ending August 4 may be about done. However, the RSI is signaling overbought conditions, which could mean that investors should wait for a confirmed uptrend before buying.
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Rivian Takes Earnings Hit—R2 Could Be the Stock's 2026 Lifeline
Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) is the latest high-profile electric vehicle (EV) automaker to release financial results, an event investors hoped would spark a recovery in the beaten-down stock. On August 5, Rivian shares closed at $12.15, down around 17% over the past 52 weeks.
Many Wall Street analysts have seen the stock as significantly undervalued, with recent price targets coming in as high as $18.
After-hours trading on August 5 didn’t show the stock much grace; shares fell around 5% post-earnings. However, there is still reason to believe Rivian can make a significant move to the upside. Let’s get an updated perspective on the company with Q2 now in the books.
Rivian’s Results: Profitability Trends Shift Into Reverse
In Q2, Rivian posted revenues of $1.30 billion, an increase of 12% from a year ago. This was just slightly higher than the $1.27 billion Wall Street projected. The company’s diluted loss per share was 97 cents, an approximately 33% improvement over the same period last year. However, this significantly missed Wall Street's expectations, which saw the company losing only 65 cents per share.
Rivian’s gross margin was -16%. This comes after the firm posted its first positive gross margin in Q4 2024 of 10%, and after the figure moved up to 17% in Q1. Tariffs impacted their supply chain, influencing vehicle production to fall around 57% from Q1.
Rivian also updated its adjusted 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance. The company now expects an EBITDA loss of between $2 billion and $2.25 billion, around $325 million more than its previous midpoint estimate.
Credits to EV buyers are set to expire on Sept. 30, significantly impacting its outlook. Rivian also did not announce any autonomous vehicle partnerships, unlike competitors who recently did.
2026 Could Be a Make-or-Break Year for Rivian
Despite these disappointing earnings results, investors should be squarely focused on 2026. The company’s R2 vehicle, slated to launch in the first half of next year, will show whether Rivian can be successful in the long term.
Notably, Rivian maintained this R2 launch timeline.
The company also states that it has locked in the materials costs for R2, which are 50% lower than those of R1. This should go a long way in helping Rivian reach a sustainably positive gross margin.
The company refused to provide R2 pre-order numbers but said it remains “extremely bullish” on the vehicle. The company notes that SUVs are the largest vehicle market in the United States. R2’s price of around $45,000 to $50,000 simply isn’t available to consumers interested in electric SUVs.
If R2 gains the traction Rivian hopes for, it could be a game-changer for the company. However, failure to show strong R2 demand in 2026 or disappointing production numbers would greatly hurt investor confidence.
Rivian Looks to Buck the Trend of Disappointing EV Returns With R2
Overall, betting on EV-makers outside of the market leaders has been a losing proposition for investors. Only three EV-centric manufacturers: Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY), and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), have managed to achieve true profitability.
They are the only three stocks in this group that have generated substantially positive returns since going public. Tesla and BYD’s lifetime returns stretch north of 10,000%. Meanwhile, Li has achieved a total return of 55% since going public in mid-2020.
Still, that’s only around half the return of the S&P 500 Index over that period. Excluding the impact of first-day price action, essentially every other EV-centric manufacturer has provided a negative return over their lifetime. As of the August 5 close, Rivian shares are down around 88% since going public.
This doesn’t mean that all hope is lost for Rivian, but rather shows how difficult it is to build a successful EV business. Doing so is a long, grinding process, hampered by the high costs of manufacturing electric vehicles.
Past returns don’t guarantee future returns, but this phenomenon in the EV industry is still essential for investors to consider. If Rivian hopes to break the trend of fledgling EV performance outside of leaders in the space, the R2 is its ticket to doing so.
Still, with the company’s pattern of inconsistent results, the stock remains one investors should be cautious of. Further R2 updates should be closely watched as the company looks to turn its fortunes.
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