Wall Street Bullish on Tech Stocks Amid Cooling Inflation

The September Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading of 3% came in below the expected 3.1%, providing a significant boost to market sentiment. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, showed a 0.2% monthly gain and an annual rate of 3%, both better than the anticipated 0.3% and 3.1% respectively. This cooler inflation data suggests the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle may be having its intended effect, creating a more favorable environment for growth stocks and technology companies in particular.

The positive inflation surprise comes at a crucial time for equity markets, with major indices potentially positioned for higher highs. Analysts note that this macroeconomic backdrop, combined with strong corporate earnings, creates ideal conditions for technology stocks to outperform. The combination of moderating price pressures and robust corporate performance has prompted several Wall Street firms to upgrade their outlooks on key technology names.

Intel’s third-quarter performance demonstrated remarkable turnaround, with revenue of $13.65 billion significantly exceeding expectations of $13.14 billion. The company reported net income of $4.1 billion, or 90 cents per share, a dramatic improvement from the $16.6 billion net loss in the year-ago quarter. Morgan Stanley responded by reiterating its equal-weight rating on Intel, noting that the earnings results were particularly encouraging. Wall Street maintains an average price target of $29.35 on INTC stock.

Microsoft received a vote of confidence from Jefferies, which reiterated its buy rating ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report. Analysts believe the tech giant’s performance will be driven by strong growth in Azure cloud services, M365 productivity suite, robust bookings growth, and significant contributions from artificial intelligence initiatives. The consensus price target for MSFT stands at $627.98, reflecting substantial upside potential from current levels.

Amazon continues to attract bullish sentiment, with KeyBanc Capital maintaining an overweight rating and a $300 price target. Analysts highlight that Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintains strong growth momentum and believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing AI boom. The development of gigawatt data center clusters and partnerships with customers like Anthropic are seen as potential drivers of revenue acceleration through 2026. Wall Street’s average price target for AMZN is $269.03.

JPMorgan made a significant move by upgrading Coinbase to overweight with a price target increase to $404 from $342. The upgrade reflects optimism about Coinbase’s exploration of launching a potential Base token, which analysts believe could accelerate development growth on the Base blockchain platform launched in August 2023. This strategic initiative positions COIN to capitalize on the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem, with Wall Street maintaining an average price target of $382.51.

Apple received continued support from Evercore, which reiterated its outperform rating based on bullishness about the tech giant’s partnership with Formula One. The collaboration represents a strategic expansion into sports and entertainment, potentially opening new revenue streams and enhancing brand visibility in key international markets.

Truist maintained buy ratings on both Nvidia and Uber, highlighting Nvidia’s recently released white paper detailing updates to its autonomous vehicle partnership with Uber. Originally announced at CES 2025, the partnership leverages Nvidia’s Cosmos cloud-based AI supercomputing platform with Uber’s driving data to enable developers to simulate driving scenarios for training autonomous vehicles. This collaboration underscores NVDA’s strategic positioning in the rapidly evolving AV technology space.