Caterpillar could have a rosy road ahead, according to Evercore ISI. Evercore upgraded the construction equipment stock to outperform from in line on Monday, and raised its price target to $476 per share from $373. Evercore's forecast calls for more than 15% upside from Monday's $412.64 close. The firm also added Caterpillar to its five favorite stocks. Analyst David Raso pointed to the company's volume leverage and geographic mix as a bright spot in a difficult construction segment overall, and said the U.S. is where "the end of machine destocking will be the most beneficial." CAT YTD mountain Caterpillar stock in 2025. "[T]hat mix and now from word in the channel that CAT may look to not just have less [year over year] price declines from easier year-ago comparisons (as communicated by mgmt on its earnings call) but has already begun/could look to do more reducing of current discounting, we see EPS upside later in 2025 and, importantly into 2026," the analyst said. "Given the appetite for the stock already via its power gen/data center exposure, machine upside would be a material incremental positive to broaden CAT appeal," the analyst added. Shares have climbed nearly 14% so far in 2025.
