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Pre-Market Stock Futures:
Futures are trading lower this morning, as issues in the Strait of Hormuz get murkier. Depending on how the oil situation is going, that is dictating market direction, and on Wednesday, there was no late-day rally to save the stock market, as the black gold was up 5%. All of the major indices finished lower, except the Nasdaq, which closed modestly higher at 22,716, up 0.08%. The Dow Jones Industrials took the biggest hit, closing down 0.61% at 47,417, while the S&P 500 ended trading at 6,775, down just 0.08%. The small-cap Russell 2000 finished the session at 2,542, down 0.20%. Investors should take any big moves higher to clear the board some and start building a cash pile, as the worsening geopolitical situation, in tandem with the potential for more bad news on the private credit front, could lead to a much bigger selloff.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields were higher across the entire curve on Wednesday, and while the inflation numbers came in as expected, all of Wall Street knows that the story next month will be dramatically different. Toss in some strength in the dollar, and all the ingredients for bond weakness were in place. The 30-year-long bond closed Wednesday’s session at 4.88%, while the benchmark 10-year note finished the day at 4.23%.
Oil and Gas:
Once again, the oil pendulum swung, and this time not in the way that consumers would like to see. As mentioned, despite the International Energy Agency (IEA) pledging to release 400 million barrels of oil, and President Trump saying that we will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil finished the day much higher. Brent Crude closed trading at $92.17, up 4.98%, while West Texas Intermediate was last seen at $87.76, up 5.16%. Natural gas also jumped higher, ending Wednesday’s trading at $3.20, up 5.93%.
Gold:
After a volatile week for precious metals, things calmed down some on Wednesday, with less panic-related volatility in trading. Many top analysts feel that gold and silver are in a consolidation phase after both had huge moves higher over the last year. JPMorgan reaffirmed that, and while there is a growing case for gold not moving any higher from current levels, they feel that case is dead wrong. Gold finished Wednesday at $5,175, down just 0.29%, while Silver was last seen at $85.62, down 2.91%.
Crypto:
The Cryptocurrency markets on Wednesday showed resilience and signs of a potential rebound, with Bitcoin holding near the $70,000 mark despite ongoing geopolitical tensions. While the overall tone improved, crypto traders remain very sensitive to fluctuating oil prices and potential impacts from the Iran conflict. Options traders showed increased confidence, with positions signaling bets for a move toward $80,000. At 8 AM EDT, Bitcoin traded at $70,513, while Ethereum traded at $2,064.
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, March 12, 2026.
Upgrades:
- Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Williams Trading, with an $84 target price.
- Kinross Gold Inc. (NYSE: KGC) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, which raised the target price for the shares to $45 from $36.
- Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which lifted the target price for the stock to $66 from $54.
- Ryanair Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI, with the target price raised to $80 from $75.
- Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP | SHOP Price Prediction) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler, which has set a $165 target price.
Downgrades:
- Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which lowered the target price for the stock to $35 from $45.
- General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, which lowered the target price for the shares to $15 from $20
- MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which lowered the target price for the stock to $2,150 from $2,650.
- Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at DNB Carnegie, with a $76 target.
- Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform by RBC Capital, which nudged the target price for the mining giant to $15.50 from $14.50.
Initiations:
- Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET) was initiated with a Buy rating at TD Cowen, which has set a $170 target price.
- GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY) was started with a Neutral rating at Piper Sandler, which has set a $93 target price objective.
- Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Baird, with a $275 target price.
- Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) was initiated with a Hold rating at TD Cowen, with a $675 target price.
- Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX) was assumed with a Neutral rating at Piper Sandler, which has set a $98 target price for the stock.