Here Are Thursday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Digital Realty, GE Vernova, Micron Technology, Merck & Co., Rivian, United Airlines, and More

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading higher on Thursday as we grind closer to the Christmas holiday, which is just a week off now. The song remains the same for the AI/Datacenter trade, and participants are finding it’s going to be a bit tougher here at the end of the year than in the last 6 months, as we rallied almost 30% off the April lows. The kicker for Wednesday was that various media outlets reported that Blue Owl Capital (NYSE: OWL) may not fund the $10 billion data center for OpenAI, which in turn hammered Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL). Blue Owl had been in talks with Oracle about funding a 1-gigawatt facility for Michigan, but the spiraling increase in debt was reported to have turned the tables, at least for now. That led to steep losses across the major indices, with the Nasdaq taking the biggest hit, closing down 1.81% at 22,693. The Dow Jones Industrials fared the best on Wednesday, down 0.47% to finish the session at 47,885, while the S&P 500 was last seen at 6721, down 1.16%. 

Treasury Bonds:

Yields were flat across the Treasury curve on Wednesday as most traders remained on the sidelines awaiting this morning’s Consumer Price Index data. Wall Street has a 3.1% year-over-year expectation for the headline inflation number, and the same for the volatile Core CPI, which excludes food and energy. While inflation appears to be stabilizing, it is still above the Federal Reserves 2% target. The 30-year bond closed at 4.83%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last at 4.15%.

Oil and Gas:

For the first time in what seems like an eternity, prices across the energy sector were up across the board as President Trump imposed a blockade halting Venezuelan oil tankers’ movement around the globe. The reason cited was two-fold: the selling of oil to restricted countries like Russia, plus the ongoing narco-terrorist battle, designed to stop the constant flow of drugs from that country into the United States. Oil, which has been heavily shorted by hedge funds and other money managers, saw a big spike on Wednesday, with Brent Crude up 2.55% at $60.42, while West Texas Intermediate closed up 2.55% at $56.68. Natural gas, which has taken a beating over the last three weeks, closed up 5.17% at $4.09.

Gold:

Gold and Silver continued to surge higher, as late-to-the-game retail investors and Central Banks around the globe continue to buy and add to already huge positions, or initiate new ones. The weak employment numbers, combined with global geopolitical angst and the potential for more interest rate cuts in 2026, were the driving forces on Wednesday. Toss in the weak dollar and safe-haven demand, plus no overhead resistance for the bullion, and the stage was set. Gold closed on Wednesday at $4,344, while Silver was last seen at $65.99 on continued strong industrial demand.

Crypto:

The cryptocurrency market experienced significant volatility across the day on Wednesday, marked by an early surge during U.S. trading hours, followed by a sharp reversal and a general decline by midday. Analysts cited issues that largely mirrored a sell-off in technology stocks, suggesting a correlation with broader market jitters over AI stocks and speculation about the next U.S. Federal Reserve chairman. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin was quoted at $87,342, while Ethereum was trading at $2,871. 

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, December 18, 2025. 

 Upgrades:

• GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies and raised the target price for the company to $815 from $736.
• Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America with a $300 target price objective.
• Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital, which boosted the target price to $130 from $82.
• Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird, which lifted the target price for the shares to $25 from $14.

Downgrades:

• Argenyx SE (NASDAQ: ARGX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird, which also lowered the target price to $858 from $924.
• Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley with a $19 target price.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was cut to Underperform from Neutral at Bank of America, which dropped the target price down to $95 from $125.
• Realty Income Inc. (NYSE: O) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, which kept a $61 target price for the stock.

Initiations:

• Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was assumed in coverage at Goldman Sachs with a Buy rating, but the target price was dropped to $188 from $205.
• Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE: LUV) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating at Wells Fargo, with a $45 target price.
• United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) was started with an Overweight rating at Wells Fargo, which has set a $145 target price for the stock.
• Valvoline Inc. (NYSE: VVV) was started with a Buy rating at Roth Capital with a $42 target price objective.