Bank of America Securities
BofA Securities is the New York-based investment banking and capital markets arm of Bank of America, formed after Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch. Its research division, BofA Global Research, covered about 3,500 stocks and more than 1,300 credit issuers as of December 2025.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 81612M
- Actions
- 1,46912M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 1,468 / 1
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 138 / 126
- Initiations
- 13
- Buy-rated
- 58%of 816 rated
- Median upside
- +13.4%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 1 / 0
- On record
- Jan 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
Candace Browning heads BofA Global Research. It tied with Morgan Stanley for second in Extel's 2025 All-America Research Team survey and ranked second in Extel's 2025 global equity research leaders table.
Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch, founded in 1914, in September 2008 and completed the deal on January 1, 2009, combining it with its own investment banking unit, Banc of America Securities. The merged corporate and investment bank operated as Bank of America Merrill Lynch until 2019, when the investment bank was rebranded BofA Securities, its research arm became BofA Global Research, and the wealth business became Merrill.
Milestones
- 1914
Merrill Lynch founded
- 1998
Banc of America Securities becomes Bank of America's investment bank
- 2009
Bank of America completes acquisition of Merrill Lynch
- 2019
Investment bank rebranded BofA Securities; research becomes BofA Global Research
Firm facts
- Legal name
- BofA Securities, Inc.
- Type
- Bulge bracket
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Parent
- Bank of America Corporation
- Listing
- NYSE: BAC
- Head of BofA Global Research
- Candace Browning
- Rating scale
- BuyNeutralUnderperform12 months
- Also filed as
- B of A Securities · Bank of America
- Website
- business.bofa.com
Research philosophy
You have to tell clients something they don’t already know.
In 2016, research head Candace Browning was shifting Bank of America's research from daily market summaries toward primers, thematic analysis and stronger views that challenged consensus. Analysts' evaluations and pay reflected the performance of their major recommendations. As of 2026, a data analytics team supports the department through industry surveys and social media monitoring. The department also publishes a monthly report based on more than 50 proprietary indicators.
Rating methodology
Each stock carries a volatility risk rating (A-C), an income rating and an investment rating of Buy (12-month total return of at least 10%), Neutral or Underperform.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 Apple Inc.AAPL | Buy | $256 |
 The Progressive CorporationPGR | Buy | $309 |
 Hims & Hers Health, Inc.HIMS | Neutral | $25 |
 NVIDIA CorporationNVDA | Buy | $190 |
 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD | Buy | $180 |
 Seagate Technology Holdings plcSTX | Buy | $130 |
 Carvana Co.CVNA | Neutral | $210 |
 Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN | Buy | $210 |
 CSX CorporationCSX | Buy | $38 |
 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.JBHT | Buy | $195 |
Most active analysts
- Jean Ann Salisbury18 notesCVXDKCQP
- Joshua Shanker12 notesALLCBAJG
- Vivek Arya8 notesCDNSCOHRAVGO
- Justin Post7 notesGOOGLCARTMETA
- Sara Senatore5 notesDNUTDPZMCD
- Steve Byrne5 notesCFCTVAEMN
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | RXRxSight, Inc.RXST | Reiterate | Underperform |
| Sep 22 | EGEldorado Gold CorporationEGO | Upgrade | Underperform →Buy |
| Sep 21 |  MongoDB, Inc.MDB | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 21 |  Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.AGIO | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 21 | KRKrystal Biotech, Inc.KRYS | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 21 | XNXencor, Inc.XNCR | Reiterate | Neutral |
| Sep 21 | BKBlack Hills CorporationBKH | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 21 | CACandel Therapeutics, Inc.CADL | Upgrade | Neutral →Buy |
| Sep 21 |  Revolution Medicines, Inc.RVMD | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 21 | THThor Industries, Inc.THO | Reiterate | Buy |
| Sep 18 |  HubSpot, Inc.HUBS | Reiterate | Underperform |
| Sep 18 |  Tradeweb Markets Inc.TW | Reiterate | Buy |