5 big analyst AI moves: Downgrades for SAP and Intuit; AMD lifted to Strong Buy

Raymond James upgraded AMD to Strong Buy, highlighting its AI Factory framework expansion into server CPU market and forecasting rapid growth driven by agentic workloads. Analyst Simon Leopold sees AMD as the strongest option with direct earnings leverage, datacenter positioning and market-share gains. Leopold estimates the server CPU market will reach $201 billion by 2030, with AMD capturing $85 billion of agentic CPUs.

UBS downgraded SAP to Neutral, citing slow progress on agentic AI, and lower-than-expected cloud backlog growth in the second half. Michael Briest, the analyst leading the downgrade, acknowledges SAP's preeminence as a system of record but believes the company is only gradually introducing agentic AI, limiting near-term monetization.

SAP has delivered only 17 out-of-the-box AI agents so far, well short of its goal of 200 by year-end. The bank also expects slower cloud growth and margin pressure due to rising AI token costs.

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on ASML, viewing it as a top pick despite the stock's recent underperformance. The analysts argue ASML's growth outlook is justified, citing its growing revenue and earnings CAGR, superior margins, and superior product mix with rising software attach rates. BofA also dismissed bearish concerns about lithography intensity, noting ASML's equipment sales growth will offset weaker China demand and lower advanced packaging exposure.