Here Are Friday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: American Express, Archer Aviation, Fastly, Jack Henry & Associates, Joby Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Rocket Lab, SpaceX and More

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading higher this morning after another day of back-and-forth trading across Wall Street, driven by the same two elements: interest rates and energy prices. Another big fly hit the ointment on Thursday: OpenAI posted disappointing revenue figures, and technology was hit hard, especially AI stocks, which are rebounding early Friday. At the close on Thursday, the Nasdaq was the biggest loser, falling 1.25% to 27,193, while the S&P 500 closed at 7,765, down 0.47%. The small-cap Russell 2000, which has been under pressure all week, fought back from the day’s lows to finish just higher, up 0.03% at 2,794, while the Dow Jones Industrials also eked out a small victory, closing up 0.10% at 51,231. All eyes are now on the avalanche of third-quarter earnings reports starting next week with results from some of the large-cap money-center bank giants.

Treasury Bonds:

Yields were mixed across the Treasury curve Thursday, with sellers focusing on the front end. Meanwhile, buyers took advantage of some of the highest-yielding Treasury debt in 25 years and bought the belly and long-end maturities. At the close, the 30-year bond finished at 5.60%, while the benchmark 10-year note closed at 5.23%. Analysts and traders pointed to strong demand at yesterday’s 30-year bond auction, with the bid-to-cover ratio at 2.54x, well above the 2.43x average over the last year. 

Oil and Gas:

Prices were higher across the energy complex as the geopolitical tug-of-war with Iran continues and, to add insult to injury, Hurricane Isaias is closing in on the southern U.S. Gulf Coast; the storm will shut in 1.28 million barrels of oil per day. When trading ended Thursday, Brent Crude closed at $103.50, up 3.27%, while West Texas Intermediate last traded at $90.89, up 3.40%. Natural gas closed the day at $3.13, down 2.28%. 

Gold:

Precious metals ended mixed as Gold continued to march slowly higher after the Federal Reserve released its September meeting minutes Thursday, which indicated that while another increase is likely needed, it won’t be this month, and may not come until the final meeting for 2026 in early December.  Despite higher interest rates and oil prices, the strength is a positive for gold investors. Gold last traded at $4,131, while Silver ended the session at $59.05, down 1.04%.

Crypto:

Crypto markets plunged on Thursday as Bitcoin crashed past the $81,000 threshold, sparking nearly $1 billion in liquidations. Macroeconomic pressures drove the sharp selloff, specifically skyrocketing Brent crude oil prices and hawkish Federal Reserve minutes pointing to another interest rate hike before the end of 2026, which have touched every major sector. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $83,140, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,505.

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 9, 2026.

Upgrades:

• Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR | ACHR Price Prediction) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Barclays, and the target price for the shares was raised to $8 from $4.50.
• CBOE Global Markets (CBOE: CBOE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which boosted the target price to $358 from $258.
• Fastly (NASDAQ: FSLY) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Oppenheimer, with a $35 target price.
• Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, with an unchanged $175 target price.
• VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, with an unchanged $18 target price.

Downgrades:

• Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette, with a $10.50 target price.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which slashed the target price for the shares to $270 from $350.
• Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) was downgraded to Underweight at Barclays, which cut the target price to $4 from $6.
• Voya Financial (NYSE: VOYA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette, with a $108 target price.
• Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $21 from $25.

Initiations:

• American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) was initiated with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital, with a $380 target price.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating at Barclays, with a $554 target price.
• Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) was started with an Overweight rating at Barclays, with a $265 target price.
• Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) was started with an Overweight rating at Barclays, with an $85 target price.
• Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Barclays, with a $254 target price.
  
  
  
  

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