Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower as we start the trading week, with the fourth-quarter earnings season all but over and a slew of issues still clouding the horizon for stocks. In a not-so-surprising move on Friday, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 against President Trump’s tariffs. Now the administration will scramble to use various avenues to impose tariffs on countries that impose tariffs on us, while immediately imposing a 15% tariff on all goods entering the U.S. under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. All of the major indices closed higher Friday, with only the small-cap Russell 2000 ending the day lower, closing at 2,662, down 0.11%. The Nasdaq was the big winner on Friday, closing at 22,886 up 0.90%, while the Dow Jones Industrials were last seen at 49,625 up 0.47%, and the S&P 500 ended the session at 6,909 up 0.69%.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were higher across the Treasury curve on Friday as bond traders digested the tariff announcement and the surprisingly much lower fourth-quarter gross domestic product print, which came in at 1.4% versus the expected 3%. The 30-year long bond closed the day at 4.73%, while the benchmark 10-year note ended Friday’s session at 4.09%. Some Wall Street fixed-income traders feel the shift in tariffs by the Supreme Court could lift yields on the long end of the curve.
Oil and Gas:
Crude oil was essientially flat on Friday after a big week for the black gold, as tensions in the Middle East remain elevated and worries that the United States could strike Iran stayed front and center. Brent Crude finished on Friday unchanged at $71.66, while West Texas Intermediate ended Friday at $466.49, up 0.09%. Natural gas, which had a rough week, finished on a positive note, up 1.84% at $3.05.
Gold:
Gold had another strong day to finish the week, closing over the psychologically important $5,000 level, at $5,103, up 2.14%. Like Oil, Middle East concerns have kept a bid under gold, and will likely continue to do so if hostilities escalate. Silver had a very strong day on Friday, closing up 7.65% at $84.66.
Crypto:
The cryptocurrency markets traded higher on Friday, with Bitcoin rebounding to climb towards $68,000. The market appeared largely unfazed by a fresh 10% global tariff announcement from President Trump and a preceding Supreme Court ruling that invalidated his previous levies. Like other assets, it remains to be seen this week how we go from here. Despite some preliminary “stagflationary” data showing slower-than-expected economic growth, with the much lower GDP print, and steady but improving inflation data, risky assets like crypto maintained their upward trajectory on Friday. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin traded at $66,383, while Ethereum traded at $1,924.
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 Monday, February 23, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which raised the target price on the tech giant to $387 from $354.
- Blackrock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, with a $1280 price target for the financial behemoth.
- CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS, which lifted the target price for the stock to $185 from $175.
- J.M. Smucker Inc. (NYSE: SJM) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America, which bumped the target price for the stock to $130 from $120.
- Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Aletheia with a $250 target price.
Downgrades:
- Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies, but boosted the target price for the stock to $550 from $475
- DocuSign Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, which cut the target price from $45 from $105.
- General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America, which lowered the target price for the shares to $48 from $55.
- Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, which cut the price target to $80 from $260.
- Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WORK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, which slashed the target price for the stock to $150 from $325.
Initiations:
- Ethos Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: LIFE) was initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, with a $33 target price. Baird began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $18 target. Citizens started coverage with an Outperform rating and has a $21 target. The company was a recent IPO.
- H20 America (NASDAQ: HTO) was started with an Outperform rating at Barclays, which has set a $61 target price for the stock.
- PicPay Holdings Netherlands BV (NASDAQ: PICS) was initiated with a Buy rating at Citigroup, with a $28 target price objective.
- York Space Systems Inc. (NYSE: YSS) was started with a Buy rating at Needham with a $42 target price. Truist initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $30 target. Canaccord began coverage with a Buy rating and has a $36 target price. The stock was another recent IPO.
- Yuanbao Inc. (NASDAQ: YB) was started with a Neutral rating at Citigroup, which has a $21.80 price target for the company.
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