Deere Stock Rallies on Baird Upgrade to Outperform

Shares of Deere & Company rallied on Monday, August 31, 2026, after the investment firm Baird upgraded the agricultural equipment maker to an "outperform" rating and significantly raised its price target, citing an expected recovery in the North American farming market. The upgrade, which also included peers AGCO, CNH Industrial, and Titan Machinery, sent Deere's stock up approximately 4% in midday trading.

The central catalyst for the move was Baird analyst Mircea Dobre's thesis that a cyclical trough in the agriculture sector is ending, with a volume recovery for large farm equipment projected for 2027. Dobre raised his price target for Deere to $800 from $640, a forecast that now stands well above the broader Wall Street consensus target of approximately $665. The new target implies potential gains of more than 22% from the stock's price at the time of the upgrade.

The upgrade is grounded in improving farm fundamentals. Dobre pointed to mid-2027 corn futures contracts now trading above farmer breakeven levels, with soybean prices also showing strength. After benchmark corn prices peaked above $8 per bushel in 2022 and fell below $4.50 at the start of 2026, these rising...