Here Are Thursday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Agnico Eagle, First Solar, Fortinet, General Motors, NVR, StoneCo, Werner Enterprises, Zillow, and More

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading higher after a back-and-forth day on Wall Street. The major indices traded all over the place before closing mixed, as the top news of the day centered on the Federal Reserve’s January meeting, where, as expected, interest rates stayed put after three 25-basis-point increases in the last half of 2025. The Dow Jones Industrials closed modestly higher at 49,015, up just 0.02%, while the S&P 500 crossed the 7,000 level for the first time on the day before retreating into the close and finished flat at 6,978. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the winner on the day, closing up 0.17% at 23,857. For the fifth straight day, small-caps closed lower with the Russell 2000 ending at 2,653, down 0.49%. Despite recent weakness, the index still leads the rest of the U.S. indices by a wide margin year to date.

Treasury Bonds:

Yields were modestly higher across the entire Treasury curve on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected decision to keep the Federal funds rate at 3.5%-3.75%. The wait-and-see message from Chairman Powell was also no surprise, as inflation, while much better than in the last few years, has remained stubbornly at 2.7%-2.8%, well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The 30-year-long bond closed the session at 4.86%, and the benchmark ten-year note ended the day at 4.25%

Oil and Gas:

Oil continued to climb as prices across the energy complex rose again on Wednesday, and the trend remains the same. The real threat of military engagement in the Middle East region, specifically with Iran, is once again on the front burner. While Iran’s defenses are very vulnerable, according to reports, the nations’ retaliatory capabilities remain intact. Combine that geopolitical mess with weather conditions in the United States disrupting production and product transfer, and you have a strong tailwind for the sector. Brent Crude closed Wednesday at $68.67, up 1.63%, while West Texas Intermediate settled at $63.53, up 1.83%. Natural gas continued to roll higher as bitterly cold weather in some parts of the country combined with way below temperatures in another large swath of the nation pushed the commodity to a $7.20 close, up 3.55%

Gold:

With the largest daily dollar gain on record posted on Wednesday, Gold continued its parabolic move higher, closing at $5,414, up 4.53%. From dollar weakness to the Fed losing credibility to global geopolitical cauldrons of trouble, there are more than a few issues that continue to push Gold higher. Silver continued to hold on for the ride, closing at $116.55, up 3.98%. 

Crypto:

Cryptocurrency markets experienced a mid-week rebound, with Bitcoin surging to break back above the $89,000 to $90,000 level following recent declines. The rally was driven by a weakening U.S. dollar, which fell to a four-year low, and anticipation surrounding a key Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which turned out as expected. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin is trading at $87,870, down 2.7%, and Ethereum is quoted at $2,928, down 3.1%.

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 29, 2026. 

Upgrades:

• General Motors Company (NYSE: GM | GM Price Prediction) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at DZ Bank with a $98 target price.
• Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Rosenblatt with a $100 target price objective.
• NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Zelman, with a $7,675 target price.
• Werner Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: WERN) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird, which raised the target price for the shares to $34 from $27.
• Zillow Group (NASDAQ: ZG) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays, which bumped the target price for the stock to $72 from $66.

Downgrades:

• AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette, which nudged the target price to $12 from $11.
• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital with a $263 target price.
• Omerga Healthcare Investors Inc. (NYSE: OHI) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $45 from $48.
• Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NYSE: PB) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, which trimmed the target price for the stock to $74 from $77.
• StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Grupo Santanfdar with a $21 target price.

Initiations:

• Agnico Eagle Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan with a $248 target price.
• American Healthcare REIT Inc. (NYSE: AHR) was initiated with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital with a $55 target price objective.
• Barrick Mining Inc. (NYSE: B) was started with an Overweight rating at JPMorgan, which has a $68 target price for the gold mining giant.
• Lightpath Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: LPTH) was started with a Buy rating at Canaccord with a $15 target price.
• SharpLink Gaming Ltd. (NASDAQ: SBET) was started with a Buy rating at Canaccord, which has set a $16 target price for the stock.