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Here Are Wednesday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Bloom Energy, Caesars Entertainment, CarMax, Caterpillar, Ford, MPLX LP, Noble, Reddit, Texas Instruments, and More

Wall Street analysts reshuffled their bets on Wednesday with a wave of upgrades, downgrades, and fresh initiations spanning energy, autos, crypto infrastructure, and quantum computing. Find out which names got boosted and which got cut before the market opens.

By Lee Jackson
Published July 29, 2026, 8:16am ET · 4 min read

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Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading lower after a strong bounce-back day for all the major indices, except the Nasdaq. Powerful earnings releases for the second quarter, tumbling oil prices, and most across Wall Street agree that the Federal Reserve Chariman Kevin Warsh will keep interest rates where they are now. The Dow Jones Industrial traded over 500 points higher to close up 1.03% at $52,747, while the S&P 500 had a more muted day, gaining 0.21% to 7,428. The small-cap Russell 2000, which is still leading all of the major indices this year, closed at 2,954, up 0.25%. The Nasdaq, which closed well off the lows of the day, was under pressure again as semiconductor stocks continued to be sold amid a big rotation. When the final bell rang, the Nasdaq stood at 28,876, down 0.22%. With more big earnings on the way this week, we could see more of the same.

Treasury Bonds:

Just like Monday, yields were lower across the entire yield curve for the same reason: investors grabbed some of the highest Treasury yields since 2025. Falling oil prices and concerns over inflation were a solid tailwind for the Treasury complex and could continue this week if rates do indeed stay where they are. The 30-year long bond closed Tuesday’s session at 5.09%, while the 10-year note was last seen at 4.60%. 

Oil and Gas:

Oil prices plunged again on Tuesday to a 2-week low as hopes for a settlement of the Iran conflict remained an ongoing triggering flash point for every move higher or lower. When the final bell rang, Brent Crude closed at $83.92, down 5.02%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $79.18, down 4.15%. Natural gas closed the day at $2.64, down 4.55%. 

Gold:

Things didn’t go quite as well for the precious metals on Tuesday. A stronger dollar and some caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, where the higher-for-longer mantra is becoming more entrenched, weighed on prices. The closing price for Gold was $4,029, down 1.14%, while Silver closed at $57.01, down 2.21%.

Crypto:

Cryptocurrency markets traded lower on Tuesday, pushed down by falling Bitcoin prices, fading hopes for the CLARITY Act, and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. Bitcoin dropped approximately 3% to $63,000, touching a 10-day low and briefly dipping to $62,684 before recovering later in the afternoon. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin traded at $64,405, while Ethereum traded at $1,912.


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 Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

 

Upgrades:

  • Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Clear Street, with a $290 target price.
  • CarMax (NYSE: KMX | KMX Price Prediction) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan, which lifted the target price for the shares to $60 from $38.
  • Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, which bumped the target price for the legacy automobile company to $20 from $19.
  • Noble (NYSE: NE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Fearnley, with a $50 target price.
  • Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Arete, with a $405 target price. ,

Downgrades:

  • Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: CZR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Cowen, with an unchanged $31 target price objective.
  • Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which slashed the target price for the stock to $900 from $1.200.
  • HF Sinclair (NYSE: DINO) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Freedom Broker, which raised the target price for the shares to $73 from $62.
  • MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Wolfe Research, without a target price.
  • Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $103 from $113.

Initiations:

  • Kinetik Holdings (NYSE: KNTK) was resumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley, with a $64 target price.
  • NeoVolta (NASDAQ: NEOV) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Northland, with a $15 target price.
  • Reddit (NYSE: RDDT) was started with an Overweight rating at KeyBanc, with a $225 target price for the shares.
  • Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, with a $300 target price. 
  • Xanadu Quantum Technologies (NASDAQ: XNDU) was initiated with an Outperform rating at CIBC, with a $22 target price.

 

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Lee Jackson

Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad, diverse career, including a stint as creative services director at an NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry.

Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans more than 30 years, including nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career spanned pivotal sell-side Wall Street events, from the dot-com rise and bubble to the Long-Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This reflects his resilience and adaptability amid market volatility.

Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, gained through a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing across various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies of Wall Street in a way only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.

Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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