Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading mostly higher after another risk-off day on Wall Street on Wednesday. Despite more solid news on the inflation front, as the producer price index report came in below estimates, the swirling geopolitical issues around the world and at home are starting to weigh on Wall Street’s bullishness. The potential for the U.S. to take action in Iran, which President Trump downplayed later in the day, which threatened military action in retaliation, plus domestic issues related to the ICE efforts to remove illegal immigrants, many of whom are dangerous criminals, are starting to try investors’ patience. All of the major indices finished the day lower, except the Russell 2000, which is leading the pack two weeks into the new trading year. The Nasdaq was the biggest loser on Wednesday, dropping 1% to close at 23,471. The Dow Jones Industrials closed down 0.13% at 49,128, while the S&P 500 closed lower by 0.53% at 6,926. The big winner once again was the Russell 2000, which closed up 0.55% at 2,647, as small-cap U.S. stocks finally started to draw some attention and rotation dollars.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were down across most of the yield curve as buyers stepped into all of the maturities except for short-duration T-bills. Demand for safe-haven assets amid mixed economic signals and stock market volatility, combined with the potential for a stronger-than-expected economy, helped spur demand at current yield levels. With retail sales stronger than expected and inflation cooling, more rate cuts are coming, but they may be pushed to the summer. The 30-year-long bond closed at 4.79%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.14%.
Oil and Gas:
Once President Trump backpedaled on a military response to Iran yesterday, the energy complex, which was trading up again, reversed course. Both of the major benchmarks traded lower, finishing down across the board. Brent Crude closed at $64.55, down 1.41%, while West Texas Intermediate finished the session at $60.20, down 1.55%. Natural gas was hammered, closing down a stunning 9.62% at $3.09. Analysts and traders cited lower flows to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export terminals, particularly after an outage at Corpus Christi, reducing demand despite some cold-weather forecasts. They also noted existing concerns about high storage levels and milder-than-expected early January temperatures, which are diminishing heating demand.
Gold:
Gold continued its seemingly never-ending move higher, closing the day at $4,620, up 0.74%. The combination of safe-haven demand, continuing purchases by global central banks and retail and institutional investors, and positive economic data helped to drive the precious metal higher yet again. Silver continued an incredible hot streak and closed the day up 6.6% at $92.80. The combination of industrial demand (solar, EVs, AI), tight physical supply, investor interest as a safe haven amid economic uncertainty, and supportive government policies, which add to its “critical mineral” status, continues to drive Silver towards the $100 level.
Crypto:
Crypto markets saw a big rally on Wednesday, with Bitcoin surging past the $97,000 level, driven by renewed institutional interest as ETFs see significant inflows, and breaking key resistance levels, which in turn boosted altcoins like Ethereum and XRP. Strong U.S. spot ETF inflows, the highest in months, and positive sentiment from corporate Bitcoin buys, like Strategy, are fueling upward momentum, pushing markets higher. At 8 a.m. EST, Bitcoin is trading at $96,866, while Ethereum is quoted at $ 3,362.
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 Thursday, January 15, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT | AMAT Price Prediction) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, which raised the target price for the stock to $360 from $250.
- Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays with a $148 target price.
- Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC, which bumped the target price for the stock to $193 from $187.
- DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo with a $48 target price.
- Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which has set a $250 price target.
Downgrades:
- Albertsons Inc. (NYSE: ACI) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, which lowered the target price to $14 from $20.
- Flutter Entertainment plc. (NYSE: FLUT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, which trimmed the target price to $228 from $248.
- GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEHC) was cut to Sell from Neutral at UBS, which actually bumped the target price up to $77 from $73.
- Nutanix Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, which lowered the target price for the stock to $53 from $64.
- Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ: RKLB) was cut to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc without a target price.
Initiations:
- BankUnited Inc. (NYSE: BKU) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Raymond James with a $51 target price.
- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO was started with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital, which has set a $370 target price objective.
- Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was initiated with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital with a $50 target price.
- NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was initiated with an Outperform rating at RBC Capital with a $240 target price.
- Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ: QUBT) was initiated with a Buy rating at Rosenblatt, which has set a $22 target price for the stock.
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