Here Are Friday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Abbott Laboratories, Airbnb, Cerebras Systems, Coinbase Global, Edison International, Northrop Grumman, Pershing Square, Robinhood Markets, and More

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading higher as we head into the first Friday of the fourth quarter of 2026. Investors rode a stock market rollercoaster Thursday as major indices moved back and forth between positive and negative territory through the morning and noon hour before turning higher in the afternoon; ultimately, all the U.S. indices finished the day positive. The small-cap Russell 2000, which has been blistered recently, posted the best day, closing at 2,807, up 0.39%, while the S&P 5000 closed at 7,666, up 0.20%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed slightly higher at 26,871, up 0.04%, while the Dow Jones Industrial squeezed out a victory, closing at 50,927, also up 0.04%.  Traders cited the interest-rate turnaround as a big reason for the solid start to the fourth quarter.

Treasury Bonds:

For the first time in a while, interest rates fell across the entire Treasury curve as guaranteed U.S. sovereign debt became too tempting on a yield basis for many bond traders. The rally came after bonds plunged in the morning, sending yields on longer debt to the highest levels on some maturities in almost 25 years. Then came a massive afternoon rally, and Reuters noted after the close that the huge recovery was triggered by a flight to safety as hedge funds unwound bullish positions in European debt amid political turmoil in France, prompting investors to seek refuge in safer U.S. and German bonds. In addition, comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson suggesting the central bank may exercise patience before raising rates again further eased the selling pressure. When the dust settled, the 30-year bond closed the session at 5.61%, while the 10-year note was last seen at 5.24%. 

Oil and Gas:

Oil prices surged again on Thursday, after news reports indicated that the United States was sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, prompting worries of continued conflict with Iran. In addition, traders pointed to China suspending October fuel exports to prioritize domestic supplies. Brent Crude finished the day at $102.30, up 4.40%, while West Texas Intermediate closed trading at $92.92, up 2.76%. Natural gas also finished the day lower at $2.95, down 2.51%. 

Gold:

Gold rallied for the second day running as investors continued to add the bullion, with many firms across Wall Street still seeing a much higher price by year-end. Analysts pointed to softer-than-expected recent U.S. inflation data, which slightly cooled aggressive expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes and offered brief relief to non-yielding precious metals. Gold closed at $4,172, up 0.41%, while Silver ended Thursday at $60.84, up 0.92%. 

Crypto:

Cryptocurrency markets traded modestly higher on Thursday, recovering from an early morning slump as major assets broke out of a week-long tight range. Market sentiment was heavily boosted by a bullish institutional report from Citigroup, which raised its 12-month forecasts for the leading digital assets. Cryptos are rallying, and at 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin traded at $86,520, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,749.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports every day to identify fresh investment ideas for investors and traders alike. These daily analyst notes include recommendations on stocks to buy, sell, or avoid, as well as new coverage initiations. Important reminder: No single analyst report should ever be the sole basis for buying or selling a stock.

Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Friday, October 2, 2026. 

Upgrades:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT | ABT Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn, which bumped the target price for the healthcare giant to $127 from $119.
• Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) was upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at Keybanc, with a $191 target price.
• Arko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was raised to Outp[erform from Neutral at Mizuho, with a $22 target price.
• Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ: CBRS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Freedom Capital, which has a $209 target price for the shares.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Daiwa, with a $75 target price.

Downgrades:

• AST Space Mobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) was cut to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley, which lowered the target price for the stock to $65 from $85.
• Edison International (NYSE: EIX) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies, which cut the target price for the utility giant to $42 from $53.
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital, which slashed the target price for the legacy defense company to $525 from $640.
• Pershing Square (NYSE: PS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which nudged the price target to $41 from $36 for Bill Ackman’s hedge fund.
• Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, which dropped the target price to $123 from $140

Initiations:

• Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating at Wells Fargo, with a $200 target price objective.
• Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) was initiated with an Underweight rating at Wells Fargo, with a $150 target.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at UBS, with a $13 target price.
• Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE: REG) was started with a Buy rating at Truist Financial, with an unchanged $84 target price.  
  
  
• Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) was started with an Equal Weight rating at Wells Fargo, with a $125 target price.

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