Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower on Thursday, as Walmart’s forward outlook was disappointing. Risk-on was back on Wednesday, as the stock market, which is off to its worst start of the year versus global markets since 1995, rebounded. A combination of positive economic data, strong earnings, and relief from AI financing jitters helped push stocks higher. With Walmart releasing earnings this morning, the fourth-quarter earnings season will come to a close, and for the most part, it was extremely positive. All the major indices finished Wednesday higher, with the Nasdaq leading the way, closing up 0.78 at 22,753. The Dow Jones Industrials finished the session at 49,662, up 0.26%, while the S&P 500 closed at 6,881, up 0.56%. The small-cap Russell 2000 also had a winning day, closing at 2,659, higher by 0.49%
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were higher across the curve on Wednesday, and once again, a combination of profit-taking and perhaps some short sellers coming to the party helped to drive government debt prices lower. Some sources indicate that foreign investors are losing appetite for US debt, driving down prices amid ongoing geopolitical risks, which, in theory, should be positive. The 30-year bond closed at 4.71% on Wednesday, while the benchmark 10-year note was last quoted at 4.09%.
Oil and Gas:
Oil surged more than 4% on Wednesday after reports that Iran failed to address U.S. “red lines” during nuclear negotiations in Geneva. Vice President Vance noted that despite solid discussions, Iran did not address key issues, and the United States has raised concerns about regional stability. Brent crude closed at $70.21, up 4.14%. West Texas Intermediate was up even more, closing at $65.10, up 4.44%. Natural gas ended the day lower at $3.02.
Gold:
Gold also had a solid day, along with the equity markets, closing at $4,976, up over 2%, after spiking and spending most of Wednesday well above the psychologically important $5,000 level. Silver also followed the momentum, closing 5% higher at $77.07.
Crypto:
The cryptocurrency market experienced its usual volatility on Wednesday, with Bitcoin dipping below $66,000 as early gains faded and investor caution prevailed ahead of key U.S. economic data and the Federal Reserve’s relatively positive commentary. While some early-day momentum appeared, the market overall remained in a consolidation phase following a significant sell-off earlier this month. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin is trading at $66,495, and Ethereum is quoted at $1,947.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports daily to identify new investment ideas for both investors and traders. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock.
Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen on February 19, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham with a $400 target price objective.
- Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James, with a $28 target price.
- eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs, which raised the target price for the stock to $88 from $78.
- Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP | SHOP Price Prediction) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Phillip Securities, which bumped the target price for the stock to $160 from $155.
- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was raised to Buy from Outperform at Daiwa, which raised the price target on the telecommunications giant to $58 from $48.
Downgrades:
- Cheesecake Factory Inc. (NASDAQ: CAKE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens, with a $65 target price.
- Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which slashed the target price in half to $15 from $30.
- HF Sinclair Corp. (NYSE: DINO) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Scotiabank, with a $53 target price.
- Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which nudged the price target up to $14 from $11.
- RF Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: RFIL) was cut to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley, which has a $10.25 target.
Initiations:
- Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: CRDO) was initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, with a $165 target price objective.
- Grail LLC (NASDAQ: GRAL) was initiated with a Hold rating at TD Cowen, with a $114 target price.
- Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA) was started with a Buy rating at Benchmark, which has set a $170 target price for the shares.
- Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RYTM) was initiated withan Outperform rating at RBC Capital, which has set a $478 target price for the stock.
- Tempus AI Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Mizuho with a $100 target price.
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