Wall Street analysts reshuffled their bets on energy giants, homebuilders, and emerging space plays on Thursday, and the moves cut in some surprising directions for names investors thought they had figured out.
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Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading higher after the bulls charged early Wednesday after the August CPE inflation report came in better than expected. But by the close, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was the only major index to finish higher, ending at 26,861, up 0.24%, while the S&P 500 closed at 7,651, down 0.25%. The small-cap Russell 2000 closed at 2,797, down 0.39%, while the Dow Jones Industrials had the roughest day, closing at 50,909, down 0.86%. Tech buyers kept a strong bid under some hyperscalers and high-flying names, as Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META | META Price Prediction) enjoyed its best month since 2022 on AI strength, and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) posted very strong results and forward guidance. Still, shares were modestly lower in after-hours trading, signaling some buyer exhaustion. Traders will be watching today’s initial jobless claims and the ISM Manufacturing PMI reports.
Treasury Bonds:
Despite yesterday’s positive inflation report, yields across the belly and long end of the Treasury curve rose again on Wednesday. Only short-maturity T-bills (one year and shorter) saw solid buying on the news. Bond mavens noted that despite the positive report, fixed income investors are demanding a higher ‘term premium’. That means they want more yield compensation for the risk of holding longer-term notes and bonds. With massive government debt issuance, sellers continued to hold sway. The 30-year bond ended the day at 5.63%, while the benchmark 10-year note closed at 5.29%.
Oil and Gas:
After a one-day sell-off, energy prices rebounded Wednesday as buyers returned, even as data showed oil and gas production rising amid current market volatility, and OPEC+ expected to keep oil production quotas unchanged. At the close, Brent Crude finished at $97.87, up 1.37%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $90.31, up 1.04%. Natural gas closed down just 0.03 % at $3.01.
Gold:
After a one-day bounce, sellers returned to the precious metals complex, as the same issues remain unresolved. Higher oil prices and sticky inflation, plus a stronger dollar, all contributed to weakness. Gold closed at $4,156 down 0.60%, while Silver finished the session at $60.29 down 1.71%.
Crypto:
The major cryptocurrencies traded mostly flat to slightly positive as the market consolidated ahead of the pivotal third-quarter close. Bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged past the $85,000 mark in morning trading following lighter-than-expected macro inflation data, before pulling back to hover around $83,600 to $84,000. Cryptocurrencies finished the month with a strong Green September, unlike past years when crypto often fell into a swoon. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin traded at $83,960, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,706.
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 Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Upgrades:
- BP plc (NYSE: BP) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which raised the price target to $71 from $69.
- Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Loop Capital, which raised the price target on the discount retailer to $140 from $130.
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which bumped the price target to $69 from $63.
- TC Energy Corporation (NYSE: TRP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, with a $71 target price.
- United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG, with a $728 target price.
Downgrades:
- Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: CBNK) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Hovde Group, with an unchanged $42 target price.
- Ethos Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which has a $37 target price.
- Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, with a $182 price target for the integrated giant.
- Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, which slashed the target price to $100 from $157.
- Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) was cut to Hold from Buy at DBS Bank, with a $105 target price.
Initiations:
- Lennar (NYSE: LEN) was initiated with an Underweight rating at Morgan Stanley, with a $65 target price.
- Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) was initiated with a Buy rating at Citigroup, with a $105 target price.
- Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TEVA) was initiated with a Buy rating at TD Cowen, with a $55 target price.
- Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was started with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley, with a $159 target price.
- The Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) was reinstated with an Overweight rating at Barclays, with an $82 target price.
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