Here Are Friday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Arista Networks, BWX Technologies, Cisco Systems, Danaher, Doximity, Estee Lauder, Illumina, Texas Roadhouse, Workday, and More

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading sharply lower as we get set to end one of the most exciting weeks on Wall Street in 25 years. Positive meetings in China with President Trump, who brought his CEO contingent and Elon Musk, and President Xi, massive upside earnings and forward guidance from an OG tech and legacy giant Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO | CSCO Price Prediction), and some new all-time highs paved the way for a big Thursday. When all the dust settled, all of the major indices finished the day higher, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average blew through 50,000 to finish up 0.75% at 50,063, while the S&P 500 captured its first close above 7500, at 7,501, up 0.77%. The Nasdaq printed another sparkling day, last seen up 0.88% at 26,635, and the small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 finished the session strong, closing at 2,863, up 0.67%.

Treasury Bonds:

Yields were mixed across the Treasury curve as bond traders, still smarting from the double-whammy inflation reports this week, were sellers of the 1 to 10-year maturities and modest buyers of the very short and long end of the curve. The 30-year long bond closed the day at 5.03% while the 10-year note was last seen at 4.49%. That level for the 10-year is getting close to a yield where we at 24/7 Wall St. think investors could get very interested in government debt. We would likely start nibbling at a 4.75% handle and be aggressive buyers at 5%. 

Oil and Gas:

Prices were modestly higher for the energy complex, as traders are likely closely watching whether President Trump would succeed in convincing President Xi to lean on Tehran over the ongoing Iran conflict, which has thrown global energy supplies into turmoil. With the summer driving season only a few weeks away, a settlement to reopen and make the Strait of Hormuz passable would be huge. As we have noted before, a peace agreement will cause prices to plummet, but the baseline oil price will be higher than anticipated going forward. Brent Crude closed Thursday at $106.60, up 0.95%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $102.10, up 1.05%. Natural gas was last seen at $2.92, up 1.78%.

Gold:

After a solid week for precious metals, Gold and Silver prices closed lower. The combination of a stronger U.S. dollar, reduced expectations for interest rate cuts, and investor caution ahead of the ongoing key political meetings with President Xi in China. Gold finished the day at $4,651, down 0.79%, while Silver finished the day at $83.36, down 4.58%.

Crypto:

The cryptocurrency market saw a solid, bullish sentiment surge, likely heavily influenced by regulatory progress from the Senate Banking Committee, which voted 15-9 to advance the Clarity Act, a landmark bill aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets in the US. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $80,580, while Ethereum was last seen at $2,267.

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 Friday, May 15, 2026.  

Upgrades:

• Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Raymond James, which has set a $164 target price for the shares.
• BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, which lifted the price target for the stock to $255 from $205.
• Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC, with a $137 target price for the legacy tech giant.
• Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, which lifted the target price for the popular restaurant chain to $210 from $180.
• Timken (NYSE: TKR) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, which raised the price target to $130 from $110.

Downgrades:

• Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which dropped the price target for the company to $150 for $170.
• Doximity (NYSE: DOCS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, with a $20 target price.
• StoneCo (NASDAQ: STNE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, which dropped the price target for the stock to $11 from $16.
• Viking Holdings (NYSE: VIK) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, which actually bumped the target price for the stock to $86 from $81.
• Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, without a target price.

Initiations:

• Danaher (NYSE: DHR) was resumed in coverage with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital, with a $200 target price objective.
• Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) was assumed in coverage at Piper Sandler with an Overweight rating and a $95 target for the cosmetics and perfume giant.
• Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) was resumed in coverage with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital, with a $170 target price. 
  
• Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ: UNTY) was reinstated with a Buy rating at DA Davidson with a $68 target price.
• Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT) was initiated with a Buy rating at Loop Capital, with a $500 target price.