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Pre-Market Stock Futures:
The futures are trading higher after NVIDIA Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA) blew out its fiscal third-quarter results and offered strong forward guidance, though perhaps not as robust as Wall Street had hoped. Shares were up over 5% after the company reported earnings per share of $1.30, above estimates of $1.25, and revenue of $57 billion, above estimates of $55 billion. Before the huge aftermarket news event, all of the major indices finished the day higher after four losing days in a row. The NASDAQ led the way, closing the day up 0.59% at 22,564; the S&P 500 closed at 6642, up 0.38%; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was last seen at 46,138, up just 0.10%. Some analysts and pundits theorized that the bounce-back was a combination of “Buy the Dip” traders and Hedge Funds closing out their short positions. With the Thanksgiving Holiday just a week away, and Wall Street expected to be all but empty by Wednesday, some Portfolio Managers may be resetting their books in anticipation of a Santa Claus rally after the holiday that could run into the new year. One thing is for sure: the AI/Hyperscaler/Circular financing bubble concerns are not going away, despite the strong NVIDIA results.
Treasury Bonds:
Yields across the curve were modestly higher on Wednesday as some very mild profit-taking hit the fixed-income tape. Once again, fixed-income traders are anxiously awaiting economic data to help them gauge the Federal Reserve’s path in December. With the September jobs numbers expected to be released as soon as today, they will be the first of many reports closely scrutinized. The 30-year bond closed at a 4.75% yield, with the benchmark 10-year note last seen at 4.13%.
Oil and Gas:
The major benchmarks both closed trading down on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate taking the biggest hit, down 2.16% to finish the day at $59.36, while Brent Crude was last seen at $63.60, down 1.99%. Sadly, the primary reason for the decline in Oil was attributed to the positive commentary that the United States is renewing its push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and has drafted a framework for it. Natural gas bucked the trend in a big way, closing up 4.35% at $4.56. Cold weather and electricity demand continue to drive the commodity higher.
Gold:
Gold finished the day modestly higher at $4074.50. Once again, demand for safe-haven assets and investors taking advantage of the decline from all-time highs were cited as the reason for the solid results on Wednesday. Traders and investors were anxious to see the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting and the delayed U.S. employment report. These releases were expected to provide clues about the future trajectory of U.S. interest rates. Wall Street is pricing in a less than 50% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in December.
Crypto:
The cryptocurrency market experienced a general sell-off, with the major coins like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) extending recent losses and dropping below key psychological price levels. At 4 PM EST, Bitcoin was trading at $90,342, while Ethereum was trading at $2,931. Cryptocurrency traders noted that Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued their streak of significant daily outflows, a clear sign that retail investors are very nervous.
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, November 20, 2025.
Upgrades:
- Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE: APO) is raised to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley with a $180 target price.
- AVITA Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: RCEL) is upgraded to Neutral from Sell at BTIG with a $4 target price.
- Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) is upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, which trimmed the target price to $51 from $52.
- Design Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: DSGN) is raised to Outperform from Market Perform at RBC with a $13 target price.
- Jack Henry and Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY) has been raised to Strong Buy from Market Perform at Raymond James with a $198 target price objective.
- Marsh & McLennan Co. (NYSE: MMC) Barclays upgraded the shares to Overweight from Equal-Weight and lowered the target price to $206 from $221.
- Nasdaq Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley, which has a $110 target price.
- NVIDIA Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDA) was maintained with a Buy rating at KeyBanc, and they raised the target price for the stock to $275 from $250. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and has a $250 target.
Downgrades:
- AON Inc. (NYSE: AON) was downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Barclays with a $379 target price.
- BellRing Brands Inc. (NYSE: BRBR) was cut to Hold from Buy at TD Cowen with a $31 target price.
- Eversource Inc. (NYSE: ES) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho Securities with a $68 target price objective.
- MarketAxess Inc. (NASDAQ: MKTX) was downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley with a $209 target price.
Initiations:
- Astera Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: ALAB) is initiated with an Outperform rating at BNPP Exane with a $225 target price.
- Bruker Corp. (NASDAQ: BRKR) was started with a Buy rating at Rothschild & Co. Redburn with a $60 target price.
- IonQ Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan with a $47 target price.
- Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RYAN) was started with a Neutral rating at Piper Sandler with a $60 target price.