Pre-Market Stock Futures:
The futures are trading higher as we get ready to close out a volatility-filled week that saw a massive roller coaster ride on Thursday after NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) earnings ignited a rally on the open that reversed at midday and finished the day deep in the red. Wall Street pundits cited everything from the old Wall Street adage “Buy the rumor and sell the news” to the September jobs report, which was finally released and came in stronger than expected. That increased concerns that the Federal Reserve will not lower interest rates by another 25 basis points next month. That narrative changed (and the futures reversed) this morning when New York Fed President John Williams said he thinks rates can be reduced due to the current weakness in the jobs market. After trading much higher through the morning on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrials and all the major indices reversed and ended the day at 45,752, down 0.84%, the S&P 500 closed at 6538, down 1.56% and the NASDAQ, which has been the proverbial whipping boy for the last week, was last seen at 22,078, down 2.16%.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields across the curve were lower on Thursday, as the sharp market reversal following NVIDIA’s positive earnings sent investors running to the safe haven of U.S. sovereign debt. Even though worries over the Fed pausing in December and not cutting rates remain a factor, the massive volatility spike made bonds a good landing area on Thursday. The 30-year bond finished the day at 4.73% while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.10%.
Oil and Gas:
After an up-and-down week, both of the major oil benchmarks finished Thursday lower. Brent Crude closed down 0.72% at $63.05, while West Texas Intermediate was down 0.96% to close at $58.68. The usual suspect issues were behind the selling: Oversupply and slowing demand, the likelihood of rates not being cut in December, and a host of recurring problems were seen as catalysts. Natural gas was the big loser yesterday, closing at $4.48, down 1.63%.
Gold:
Despite all the volatility and the massive reversal in equities on Thursday, Gold finished the day basically flat, with the spot price last seen at $4,080. This was surprising given the significant safe-haven buying of Treasuries. UBS remains very positive on the bullion and raised its target price to $4,900 by the second quarter of 2026, citing political and financial risks.
Crypto:
Thursday was yet another negative day for the cryptocurrency market, with major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum experiencing sharp price declines and the total market cap declining. The ongoing downturn has been attributed to a combination of factors, including a sell-off in riskier assets. Some analysts see it as a potential continuation of the sector’s cyclical downturn. At 4 PM EST, Bitcoin traded at $87,062, while Ethereum traded at $2,873. Both crypto coins have surrendered all of the 2025 gains.
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, November 21, 2025.
Upgrades:
- Block Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Compass Point with a $73 target price.
- Cushman & Wakefield plc (NYSE: CWK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi with an $18 target price.
- DNOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW) was raised to Positive from sell at Susquehanna with a $16 target.
- Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) is raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs with a $28 target price objective.
- Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Fubon, which has a $46 target price.
- WillScot Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: WSC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which has a $22 target.
Downgrades:
- Aecom (NYSE: ACM) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird with a $143 target price.
- Bath & Body Works Inc. (NYSE: BBWI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs with a $17 target. Morgan Stanley cut the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight, with a $18 target.
- Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays with a $105 target. Wells Fargo also downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight, with a $105 target price.
- Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BNPP Exane with a $79 target price.
- Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) was cut to Reduce from Neutral at HSBC with a $157 target price objective.
Initiations:
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) was reinstated with an Outperform rating at Raymond James, which has a $377 target price.
- Boyd Gaming Inc. (NYSE: BYD) was started with a Neutral rating at Citi with an $86 target price.
- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was reinstated with an Outperform rating at Raymond James, which has a $420 target price objective for the shares.
- Caesars Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: CZR) was started with a Neutral rating at Citi with a $23 target price.
- International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was reinstated with an Outperform rating at Oppenheimer with a $360 target price.
- Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ZETA) was initiated with a Buy rating at Citi with a $26 target price.
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