Here Are Friday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Atmos Energy, Celanese, Check Point Software, Chewy, Dell Technologies, Fortinet, Global Payments, HP, Shopify, and More
Markets are bracing for Friday's CPI data after a brutal week of selling across stocks, bonds, and crypto, and Wall Street analysts are already reshuffling their ratings on names like Dell, Shopify, Novo Nordisk, and Fortinet before the dust settles.
Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading higher as we prepare to wrap up a holiday-shortened trading week that has been a grim reminder that we could be in for a long-overdue correction, and a bear market may also be in the cards. When the dust finally settled Thursday, all of the major indices finished the session lower, and once again the small-cap heavy Russell 2000 took the biggest shot, closing at 2,890, down 1.04%, while the Nasdaq closed out at 26,081, down 0.65%.
The Dow Jones Industrials closed at 52,064, down 0.60%, and the S&P 500 rounded out the casualty list, falling 0.58% to end Thursday trading at 7,591. With consumer price index data due today, after an in-line report yesterday for the produce price index, a similar result could help calm things and end the week on a positive note.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were higher across the entire Treasury curve as the same set of issues that have been dogging the market for weeks remained in place. Higher oil, continued geopolitical worries, and, last but not least, $40 trillion in U.S. debt with no answers on how to address it continue to weigh on the stock and debt markets. The 30-year bond closed the day at 5.37%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.96%.
Oil and Gas:
The energy complex surged higher on Thursday as U.S.-Iran exchanges and the potential for the conflict to expand kept a firm bid under the sector, and likely will until conditions indicate otherwise. The final print for Brent Crude was posted at $108.60, up 7.2%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $102.50, up 6.69%. Natural gas finished at $2.83, up 0.43%.
Gold:
Precious metals took the lead from the equity and debt markets Thursday. The monthly headline Producer Price Index (PPI) for August rose in line with forecasts, but the annual year-over-year rate came in slightly hotter than expected. That, plus overall weakness in bonds, was all it took for some profit-taking. Gold closed at $4,315, down 1.93%, while Silver was last seen at $63.45, down a massive 5.53%.
Crypto:
Cryptocurrency prices broadly corrected on Thursday, weighed down by the hotter-than-expected U.S. PPI data and rising Treasury yields amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Alerian Galaxy Global Cryptocurrency Index fell 2.24% to close at 6,484.48. During the day, Bitcoin slid below the $78,000 threshold to trade around $77,000, marking its fourth straight day of declines, while Ethereum (ETH) edged down to about $2,464. The retreat spread across the wider market as 95 of the top 100 digital assets declined, with speculative memecoins taking the brunt of the damage, including a 5% drop in Dogecoin. At 8 AM ET, Bitcoin was trading at $76,875, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,459.
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 from Friday, September 11. 2026.
Upgrades:
- Element Solutions (NYSE: ESI | ESI Price Prediction) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Goldman Sachs, with a $44 target price.
- International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $46 from $48.
Downgrades:
- Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which cut the target price for the stock to $180 from $198.
- Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush, which dropped the price target to $135 from $160.
- Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which trimmed the target price to $24 from $29.
- Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush, which lifted the target price for the stock to $155 from $125.
- Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, with an unchanged $40 target price.
Initiations:
- Celanese (NYSE: CE) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Keybanc, with a $57 target price.
- Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) was started with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital, with a $640 price target.
- Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Piper Sandler, with a $101 target price.
- HP (NYSE: HPQ) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating at RBC Capital, with a $33 target price.
- Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Bernstein, with a $160 target price.
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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.
