** Shares of air conditioner maker Carrier Global CARR.N up 2% at $63 premarket

** J.P.Morgan upgrades CARR stock rating to "overweight" from "neutral"; raises PT to $78 from $77, a 25% upside to stock's last close

** "There is a high degree of uncertainty in HVAC and we do not view the guidance as conservative" - brokerage

** Says CARR is viewed as a laggard to best-in-class peer Trane 2IS.F, "but recent order rates paint a different picture"

** CARR said last month it expects 2025 adjusted profit to be between $2.95 and $3.05 per share, while analysts were expecting $2.99

** 14 of 25 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 10 "hold" and one "sell"; their median PT is $80.50 - LSEG data

** In 2024, CARR stock rose 18.8%

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy)

((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com))