Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower after a spectacular week came to an abrupt end Friday, as all the major indices were absolutely hammered. Voices across financial media were busy pointing out that the market is the most expensive based on the Schiller PE (price-to-earnings) metric since the dot-com crash in 2001. Pair that with the 30-year Treasury bond printing the highest yield in almost 20 years, and all the ingredients for a meltdown were firmly in place. When the market finally closed to end the session and the week, all of the major indices were buried in a sea of red. The small-cap heavy Russell 2000 took the biggest blows Friday, closing down 2.44% at 2,793, while the Nasdaq finished the day down 1.54% at 26,225. The S&P 500, which printed numerous new highs last week, closed Friday at 7,408, down 1.24%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was last seen at 49,526, down 1.07% on the day.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields exploded higher on Friday, as higher oil prices, inflation worries, and the view that interest rate cuts are not coming until 2027. And in an odd anomaly, the 20-year bond actually closed with a higher yield than the 30-year bond, at 5.14% versus 5.12%. The benchmark ten-year note finished trading on Friday 4.60%.
Oil and Gas:
Adding fuel to the Friday fire, oil raced higher on the day, and to no one’s surprise, the soaring oil prices are driving the active drilling rig count. According to new data published by Baker Hughes on Friday, the total rig count in the United States is 551, which is down 25 from this time last year. Brent Crude finished the day at $109.40, up 3.44%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen up 4.32% at $105.50. Natural gas was strong as well, closing higher by 2.49% at $2.97.
Gold:
Gold was not the place to hide, as precious metals also took a hit on Friday. Inflation and fears of a potential rate hike were cited as the reasons for the weakness. When the final bell rang on Friday, Gold was down 2.26% at $4,546, while Silver, which was absolutely on fire last week, fell 8.61% to end the session at $76.18.
Crypto:
On Friday, the cryptocurrency market took a notable hit, with Bitcoin slipping beneath the $80,000 threshold and major crypto-linked stocks tumbling between 4% and 8%. The selloff reflected a broader risk-off mood sweeping financial markets, pulling leading digital assets, including Ethereum and Solana, back after a period of modest recovery. The retreat came despite a relatively constructive week for crypto on the legislative front, suggesting that macroeconomic sentiment continued to outweigh positive regulatory signals. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin was trading at $77,260, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,133.
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 May, 18, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL | CRCL Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at H.C. Wainwright, which raised the price target for the shares to $150 from $85.
- Deckers Outdoor (NYSE: DECK) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Sandler, which bumped the price target for the stock to $100 from $95.
- F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) was upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI, which launched the target price for the shares to $475 from $320.
- Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which lifted the target price for the shares to $331 from $293.
- Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley, which boosted the target price for the shares to $475 from $320.
Downgrades:
- Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, with a $502 target price objective.
- CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) was cut to Neutral from Buy at DA Davidson, without a target price.
- International Seaways (NYSE: INSW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Pareto, with an $88 target price.
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, which slashed the target price for the shares to $700 from $900.
- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America, with a $160 target price.
Initiations:
- America Movil (NYSE: AMX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, which has a $31.80 target price for the shares.
- ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Bernstein, with a $300 target price.
- Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) was started with a Buy rating at Truist Financial, which has a $270 target price for the shares.
- ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America, with a $130 target price.
- TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Truist Financial, with a $175 price target.
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