Here Are Monday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: AstraZeneca, Celestica, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Domino’s Pizza, Fortune Brands, Golar LNG, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Roku, and More

Quick Read

• Gold surged to $4,602 and crypto rallied on U.S. Treasury buyback plans while Monday futures traded lower entering the final week of August.

• Baird cut both CMG and DPZ to Neutral while UBS upgraded CLS to Buy, lifting its target price to $430 from $410.

• Jersey Mike’s Subs received Outperform or Overweight initiations from three firms following its recent IPO. Those firms were Piper Sandler, Baird, and RBC Capital.

• Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and AstraZeneca didn’t make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading lower as we enter the final week of August, after a big risk-on Friday when traders and investors shook off a rough Thursday and all major indices finished the session higher. Financial media cited strong earnings, some positive economic numbers, and surging cryptocurrency strength as major reasons. The Dow Jones Industrials led the charge, closing up 0.98% at 53,277, and despite the solid bounce-back, the legacy index still posted back-to-back weekly losses. The small-cap Russell 2000 also had a strong session on Friday, closing up 0.85% at 3,017, and still leads all of the major indices up 21% in 2026. The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,674, up 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed out the day at 26,180, up 0.44%.

Treasury Bonds:

So much for the Treasury Department buying the long end of the Treasury curve to lower rates; for the second day running, yields were higher across the entire Treasury complex. Friday’s close erased all the gains the surprise move generated on Wednesday, when the plan was announced. The 30-year long bond closed the day at a 5.27% yield, while the 10-year note was last seen at 4.47%. 

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Oil and Gas:

Prices for the major oil benchmarks were essientially flat on Friday, as geopolitical tensions and the still-slow movement of cargo through the Strait of Hormuz continue to weigh on the sector. When the final bell rang on Friday, Brent Crude closed the day at $94.07, up o.29%, while West Texas Intermediate finished the day unchanged at $86.82. Natural gas had a solid day, closing at $2.76, up 0.91%

Gold:

Precious metals closed out a wild week on a winning note as gold surged past the $4,500 level to close at $4,602, up 1.87%. Treasury bond buybacks, combined with technical strength and momentum, provided the tailwind the bullion needed as Gold closed the day at $4,602, up 1.87%, while Silver ended trading at $68.86, up 1.32%.

Crypto:

Crypto markets surged higher on Friday, boosted by the U.S. Treasury’s plans to ramp up long-term bond buybacks and a fresh wave of regulatory optimism after a White House crypto summit that helped to push the Clarity Act forward. Our research indicates that much of Friday’s buying came from traders and hedge funds covering short positions.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports every day to identify fresh investment ideas for investors and traders alike. These daily analyst notes include recommendations on stocks to buy, sell, or avoid, as well as new coverage initiations. Important reminder: No single analyst report should ever be the sole basis for buying or selling a stock.

Here are some of the top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Monday, August 24, 2026.  

Upgrades:

• Celestica (NYSE: CLS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, which lifted the target price to $430 from $410.

• Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird,  which raised the price target for the stock to $250 from $220.

• Golar LNG (NASDAQ: GLNG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Pareto, with a $70 target price.

• Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JANX) was raised to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research, with a $23 target price.

• PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research, with a $158 target price objective.

Downgrades:

• Black Rock Coffee Bar (NASDAQ: BRCB) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which trimmed the target price to $10 from $12.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which lowered the target price for the popular restaurant chain to $40 from $44.

• Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, with an unchanged $350 target price.

• Volaris (NYSE: VLRS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTG Pactual, with a $9 target price.

Initiations:

• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was initiated with an Outperform rating at CICC, which has a $198 target price for the shares. 

• Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) was started with an Outperform rating at Baird, with a $325 target price.

• Fortune Brands Innovations (NYSE: FBIN) was started with an Overweight rating at Wells Fargo, with a $52 target price.

• Jersey Mike’s Subs (NYSE: JMKE) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Piper Sandler, with a $29 target price. Baird started the shares with an Overweight rating and a $27 target, while RBC Capital initiated the stock with an Outperform rating and a $28 target. The stock was a recent IPO.

• Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) was assumed with a Neutral rating at JPMorgan, with a $160 target price.

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