Chip stocks took the hardest hit on November 5, when the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped 12.2%, its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. The S&P 500 slid 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5%, which put the tech-heavy index in correction territory. Weak results from a smartphone-chip supplier and fears that a Democratic-controlled Congress could slow AI spending set the tone.
Chips Take the Brunt of a Sharp Sell-Off
Melissa Brown, global head of investment decision research at SimCorp, said some newly elected members of Congress and governors want to slow the pace of AI infrastructure development, and that any slowdown would raise concerns. Hedge funds added fuel by rushing to lock in gains from this year’s AI winners, and the market’s fear gauge posted its biggest one-day jump in more than two years, according to Futurum Equities chief market strategist Shay Boloor.
The pullback did not come out of nowhere. Our list of oversold AI stocks that analysts saw 50%+ upside in was published before the sell-off, when plenty of Wall Street firms still saw the group as cheap. A drop of this size forces those firms to decide whether prices fell because the business changed or because investors panicked.
Hot Inflation Puts a December Rate Hike in Play
Inflation data kept the pressure on. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in October, its third straight gain of 0.4% or more and above the 0.3% economists expected, while core prices rose 0.3%. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank should raise short-term borrowing costs in December even if inflation cooled, and should consider a half-point increase if the picture worsens. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped nearly 18.9 basis points to 4.736% on November 10, its biggest daily gain since April 9, 2025.
Producer prices added to the strain on November 13. The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.3% in October after an upwardly revised 1.4% surge in September, and the 6.5% annual gain was the largest since November 2022. The Fed left its benchmark rate at 3.75%-4.00% at its October meeting, and markets are weighing a 25-basis-point against a 50-basis-point hike in December. The 10-year Treasury yield reached as high as 5.17% on November 13, its highest level since October.
Oil has moved the other way. Brent futures were near $92.77 a barrel on November 11, after touching two-month lows the day before, compared with a settlement of $104.77 on November 2. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said prices were being supported by fading hopes of an imminent de-escalation between the United States and Iran.
Photo by Arturo Añez on Unsplash
Our Methodology
To compile this list, we reviewed analyst rating downgrades announced on Thursday, November 12, 2026, and selected them by market capitalization. We have ranked these stocks in ascending order of their average upside potential, based on analysts’ average price target, as of November 12. We also list each stock’s number of hedge fund holders as of Q2 2026, from our database of 1,006 hedge funds.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with what hedge funds do. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 612% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 375 percentage points (see more details here).
Sell Alert: 10 Stocks Analysts Downgraded on Thursday
10. Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:VSXY)
Average Upside Potential: -4%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
BofA Securities downgraded Victoria’s Secret to Neutral from Buy on November 12, even as it raised its price target to $112 from $95. The firm’s reasoning is that the rally has left limited upside.
Victoria’s Secret & Co. sells intimates, apparel and beauty products under the Victoria’s Secret, PINK and Adore Me names. In the second quarter of 2026, which ended August 1 and was reported on September 3, net sales rose 10% to $1.611 billion and adjusted operating income came in at $124 million, above the $90 million to $100 million the company had guided. Reported operating income of $257 million included tariff refund recoveries.
Management raised its full-year outlook with that report. It now expects net sales of $7.100 billion to $7.180 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.45 to $4.70 per share. For the third quarter it guided to net sales of $1.570 billion to $1.600 billion and operating income of $10 million to $20 million.
The company is expected to report those results on December 3, and analysts expect earnings of $0.03 per share. Our story on how a bra boom rewrote the retailer’s growth story explains what has been driving the sales.
9. PTC (NASDAQ:PTC)
Average Upside Potential: 3%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
Wolfe Research cut PTC to Peer Perform from Outperform on November 12, six weeks after Schneider Electric agreed to buy the company for $22.6 billion in cash. We covered the premium Schneider put on its takeover bid when the deal was announced on October 5.
PTC makes the design and product lifecycle software that manufacturers use to engineer and service physical products. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended September 30 and was reported on November 4, annual recurring revenue excluding divested businesses rose 8% to $2.508 billion. For the full year, revenue was $2.733 billion, essentially flat, while non-GAAP earnings per share rose 4% to $8.24 and free cash flow came to $873 million, up 2%.
PTC is no longer giving guidance. It withdrew its quarterly and annual outlook because of the pending transaction and suspended its quarterly earnings calls, so investors have no company forecast to measure the business against.
Because the offer is all cash, shareholders receive a fixed price instead of a share of future growth, and the deal terms now set the stock’s direction more than operating results do. The shares trade at about 19.7 times forward earnings.
8. General Mills (NYSE:GIS)
Average Upside Potential: 5%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Piper Sandler downgraded General Mills to Neutral from Overweight on November 12 and trimmed its price target to $35 from $41, warning that the dividend could be at risk. That matters because the stock yields about 7.2%.
General Mills sells Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo pet food, Pillsbury and Häagen-Dazs. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended August 30 and was reported on September 23, net sales fell 3% to $4.4 billion and adjusted earnings per share dropped 13% in constant currency.
Management reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 outlook: organic net sales between a decline of 1.5% and growth of 0.5%, adjusted operating profit down 13% to down 8% in constant currency, and adjusted earnings of $3.00 to $3.20 per share.
On November 10, the company announced a new operating model that takes effect on January 1, 2027, grouping its business into Cereal, Snacks & International; Meals & Baking Solutions; and Pet. General Mills is expected to report second-quarter results in December 2026 under the current structure. The turnaround case, and the doubts around it, are laid out in our piece on why Wall Street still sees a long road ahead.
7. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)
Average Upside Potential: 8%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Bernstein moved ConocoPhillips to Market Perform from Outperform on November 12 and cut its price target to $122 from $129. The firm’s concern is that easing tensions with Iran could push oil prices lower.
ConocoPhillips is one of the largest independent oil and gas producers. In the third quarter of 2026, reported on November 5, it earned $3.34 per share, or $3.27 adjusted, and generated $7.2 billion of cash from operations. Its average realized price rose 32% to $61.40 per barrel of oil equivalent, yet production fell by 97 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The company returned $3.4 billion to shareholders in the third quarter, including $2.4 billion of share repurchases and $1.0 billion of ordinary dividends, and it raised the quarterly dividend 11% to $0.93 per share. For the fourth quarter, it guided production to 2.32 million to 2.36 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and left full-year capital spending and adjusted operating cost guidance unchanged.
Chief Executive Officer Andy O’Brien said the company remains on track for a $7 billion free cash flow inflection by 2029. The shares trade at about 12.8 times forward earnings. Income investors can start with our look at the dividend and the story beyond it.
6. DoubleDown Interactive (NASDAQ:DDI)
Average Upside Potential: 10%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11
Roth Capital and Macquarie both moved DoubleDown Interactive to Neutral on November 12, a day after its quarterly report, and each set a price target of $16.25. That matches the cash price its controlling shareholder, DoubleU Games, is offering for every ADS in a tender offer that began on November 10.
DoubleDown makes social casino games for mobile and web players. In the third quarter of 2026, reported on November 11, revenue slipped 1.6% to $94.3 million and net income fell 43.9% to $18.4 million, or $7.41 per common share against $13.21 a year earlier. Social casino revenue was $76.8 million, down 3.5%, but direct-to-consumer sales jumped to $44.6 million from $16.6 million and now make up 58.0% of that segment. iGaming revenue rose 7.4% to $17.4 million.
DoubleU Games owns about 67.05% of the shares. The tender is subject to a minimum tender condition and a majority-of-the-minority condition, and a special committee of independent directors unanimously recommended that ADS holders tender.
The company ended the third quarter with $483.4 million in cash. Our coverage of how earnings jumped while the takeover offer was still unresolved shows how the story got here.
5. Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Average Upside Potential: 13%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
Freedom Broker cut Toyota’s ADR to Hold from Buy on November 12 and set a $230 price target. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended September 30 and was reported on November 5, operating income rose to 1,127.6 billion yen from 839.5 billion yen a year earlier. Net income attributable to the company fell to 759.4 billion yen from 932.0 billion yen.
The revised full-year forecast is where the optimism lies. Toyota now expects operating income of ¥3.90 trillion, up from ¥3.40 trillion, and net income attributable to the company of ¥3.57 trillion. Sales revenues were trimmed to ¥53.50 trillion from ¥54.00 trillion, and Toyota and Lexus sales were cut by 200,000 vehicles to 10.3 million. The company credited foreign exchange, marketing efforts and reduced tariff-related costs. It forecasts a full-year dividend of 100 yen per share.
On November 10, Toyota Motor North America introduced Scion by Toyota, a new brand whose first vehicle, the KEI-01 ultra-compact utility truck, will be assembled in Indiana starting in the second half of 2027. Where the money goes is the focus of our piece on Toyota’s $6.4 billion factory spending.
4. EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO)
Average Upside Potential: 24%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Stifel cut EVgo to Hold from Buy on November 12 and lowered its price target to $2.50 from $6. The firm was reacting to a take-private proposal: on November 2, EVgo received an unsolicited, non-binding offer from LS Power to buy all the Class A shares it does not already own for $2.00 in cash.
EVgo runs public fast-charging stations for electric vehicles. In the third quarter of 2026, reported on November 9, charging network revenue rose 29% to $71.8 million, while total revenue slipped 1% to $91.4 million and the net loss widened to $49.2 million from $28.4 million a year earlier. The network had 5,530 stalls in operation at the end of September, up 20%.
For 2026, EVgo guided to total revenue of $375 million to $400 million, adjusted EBITDA between a loss of $30 million and a loss of $15 million, and 1,075 to 1,275 new stalls. It ended the third quarter with $98.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The board formed a special committee of independent and disinterested directors to review the LS Power proposal. EVgo said no decision has been made on how to respond.
3. Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG)
Average Upside Potential: 29%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Bernstein’s November 12 downgrade of Diamondback Energy, to Market Perform from Outperform, came with a price target cut to $192 from $221. The firm warned that easing tensions between the United States and Iran could pressure oil prices and returns.
Diamondback is an independent oil and gas company based in Midland, Texas,. In the third quarter of 2026, reported on November 2, net income attributable to the company was $1.603 billion, or $5.69 per diluted share. It produced 525 thousand barrels of oil per day, generated $2.1 billion of free cash flow and raised its base dividend 7.3% to $1.18 per share.
Management lifted its full-year guidance. Oil production is now about 524 thousand barrels per day, and capital spending is $3.95 billion to $4.00 billion, up from about $3.90 billion. For the fourth quarter, it expects oil production of 518 to 528 thousand barrels per day and cash capital spending of $1.00 billion to $1.05 billion.
On November 10, Diamondback and KKR agreed to jointly acquire Five Point Infrastructure’s 70% stake in Deep Blue Midland Basin, the water infrastructure platform Diamondback already part-owns. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
2. Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN)
Average Upside Potential: 29%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82
Bernstein downgraded Devon Energy to Market Perform from Outperform on November 12 and cut its price target to $44 from $49. The firm pointed to easing tensions between the United States and Iran and the prospect of lower oil prices.
Devon explores for and produces oil and gas. Its report for the third quarter of 2026, issued on November 5, centered on a reshaped portfolio. The company agreed to exit the Eagle Ford for $4.2 billion, which it expects to yield roughly $3.5 billion in after-tax proceeds, and it plans to use the cash to pay down an additional $1.5 billion of long-term debt in 2027 and reach its $9 billion gross debt target. Buybacks are expected to step up to over $1 billion in the fourth quarter and rise further in 2027.
Devon also laid out its direction for next year. It plans to hold capital flat and direct roughly 75% of it to the Permian, up from approximately 63% in 2026, targeting low-single-digit oil growth and rising free cash flow at constant commodity prices.
The shares trade at about nine times forward earnings, and analysts project annual earnings growth of about 10% over the next five years.
1. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Average Upside Potential: 78%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 285
Truist cut Nvidia to Hold from Buy on November 12 and lowered its price target to $174 from $346, saying risks now matter more than valuation. Craig-Hallum also moved to Hold with a $180 target, and Evercore ISI went to In-line with a $186 target. Truist and Craig-Hallum acted after founder and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang resigned.
Nvidia designs the chips that run AI data centers. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended July 26, revenue reached $96.2 billion, up 106% from a year earlier, and data center revenue of $89.0 billion grew 117%. For the third quarter, the company guided to revenue of $108.0 billion, plus or minus 2%, with GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of 74.0%, plus or minus 50 basis points.
Nvidia returned about $26.0 billion to shareholders in the second quarter through repurchases and dividends and had about $99.0 billion left under its repurchase authorization.
Nvidia is expected to report on November 17 after the close, and analysts expect earnings of $2.47 per share. It is the first report since Huang left. We looked at how Nvidia is expanding into autonomous driving in one of our pieces.
READ NEXT: Nvidia (NVDA) Is Trading Like Growth Will Stop. The Numbers Say Otherwise. and Nvidia Is Becoming More Than a Chipmaker. Can it Sustain Its Exceptional Margins?
