Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading higher as we get ready to start another action-packed week of second-quarter earnings results. This comes after a volatile week of trading and a Friday close that saw all major indices finish lower. Ongoing rotation out of semiconductor stocks, worries over an escalation of the war with Iran, a rekindling of inflation concerns, and the possibility of an interest rate increase at some point this year all weighed on investors. When the final bell rang, the Nasdaq once again was the big loser, closing down 1.40% at 25,520, while the S&P 500 finished the week lower by 1.01% on Friday at 7,457. The Dow Jones Industrial closed at 52,146, down 0.77% on the day, while the small-cap Russell 2000 closed at 2,962, down 0.42%.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were mixed across the Treasury curve on Friday, with buyers targeting the belly and long-end, while sellers sold off the shorter maturities. The 30-year-long bond finished the session at 5.07%, while the benchmark 10-year note closed at 4.55%. Traders cited the tech sell-off, geopolitical worries, and the strong June import prices report as factors on Friday.
Oil and Gas:
The song remains the same for the energy complex, as buyers once again bid up the prices of the two oil benchmarks. Concerns over supply disruption as the war escalates, drone strikes on regional infrastructure suspending crude loadings at Iraq’s Basra terminal, and the increase in the geopolitical premium are all among the tailwinds for the buyers on Friday. When the final bell rang, Brent Crude finished the day at $88.12, up 4.62%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $82.47, higher by 4.46%. Natural gas closed Friday at $2.92, up 2.20%.
Gold:
After a very difficult week for the precious metals complex, investors received a strong finish on Friday. Traders cited softer consumer sentiment readings and a weaker dollar as reasons for the uptick. Gold closed trading at $4,017, up 1.05%, while Silver ended the day at $55.84, up 0.78%.
Crypto:
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 seen on Monday, July 20, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Fervo Energy (NASDAQ: FRVO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, which trimmed the target price for the stock to $36 from $41. This company was a recent IPO.
- Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE) | LITE Price Prediction was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, with a $1,000 target price objective.
- Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at Phillip Securities, with a $110 target price.
- Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which raised the target price to $93 from $76.
- Yeti Holdings (NYSE: YETI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which lifted the target price for the shares to $63 from $46.
Downgrades:
- Birkenstock Holdings (NYSE: BIRK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Seaport Research, without a target price.
- Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital, with an unchanged $105 target price.
- HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, which slashed the target price for the stock to $225 from $300.
- Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, which bumped the price target for the energy drink giant to $98 from $94.
- Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $53 from $53.50.
Initiations:
- BP (NYSE: BP) was started with an Outperform rating at Mizuho, with a $51 target price.
- Honeywell Aerospace (NASDAQ: HONA) was initiated with a Neutral rating at UBS, with a $231 target price for the shares.
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was initiated with an Outperform rating at CLSA, with a $535 target price.
- Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) was started with a Hold rating at CLSA, with a $145 target price.
- ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) was initiated with an Underperform rating at CLSA, with a $72 target price.
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