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Here Are Thursday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Astera Labs, Block, CoreWeave, Digital Realty, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, MongoDB, StubHub, and More

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Quick Read

  • After two days of big-time selling, the stock market had a big risk-on day for investors on Wednesday.

  • Positive private-sector jobs numbers from ADP and potential good news on the fighting in Iran were a boost for stocks.

  • All eyes will now be focused on Friday’s non-farm payroll numbers for February, which are set at  65,000.

  • The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE.

Pre-Market Stock Futures:

Futures are trading lower after a solid risk-on Wednesday, when all major indices finished higher. Reports that filtered out of the media that Iran had backchannelled the CIA, looking for ways to end the current conflict, were all that was needed to flip the futures around before the open, and what started slow built to a solid buying respite amid what has been a tough stretch for stocks. The Nasdaq led the charge higher, closing up 1.41% at 22,837, while the red-hot small-cap Russell 2000 closed at 2,639, up 1.19%. The S&P 500 closed at 6,876, up 0.89%, and the Dow Jones Industrials wrapped up a welcome, stellar mid-week session. The February jobs numbers will hit the tape on Friday before the open. If they beat analysts’ expectations, as the ADP numbers did yesterday, it would be another huge positive for stocks.

Treasury Bonds:

After two days of relentless selling driven by a strong dollar, the war, and other issues, buyers stepped in, and yields across the entire Treasury curve fell, with the middle maturities attracting the most interest. The 30-year bond closed at 4.72%, while the benchmark 10-year note was last seen at 4.09%. 

READ: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks

Oil and Gas:

While the energy complex continued to trade lower on Wednesday, after a huge 12% increase in spot pricing since last Friday, the futures buying slowed to a much more manageable level. Brent Crude closed at $81.76, up 0.44%, while West Texas Intermediate ended at $75.28, up 0.97%. Natural gas closed down 4.29% at $2.93, as above-normal warm temperatures were seen across much of the country. 

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Gold:

After heavy selling yesterday, both Gold and Silver rebounded to modest gains. Many of the top analysts on Wall Street continue to see a consolidation in the precious metals market around current trading levels. Gold closed at $5,136, up 0.90%, while Silver closed Wednesday at $83.27, up 1.64%.

Crypto:

Cryptocurrency markets staged a solid recovery yesterday, with Bitcoin advancing more than 8% to surpass the $73,000 threshold, its highest level in nearly a month, following a period of decline driven by geopolitical instability and mixed messaging about the sector. Political momentum sparked the rally, as Donald Trump took to Truth Social late Tuesday to publicly back the Clarity Act. At 8 AM EST, Bitcoin was trading at $73,010, up 7.7% over the last 24 hours, while Ethereum was quoted at $2,138, up 9.5% over the last 24 hours. 

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 5, 2026.

Upgrades:

  • American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, which lifted the target price on the insurance giant to $90 from $83.

  • LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE: LYB) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital, which boosted the target price for the chemical behemoth to $68 from $38.

  • Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: VAC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Mizuho, which boosted the target price to $104 from $58.

  • MongoDB Inc. (NYSE: MDB) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Scotiabank, with a $310 target price.

  • Seadrill Ltd. (NYSE: SDRL) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup, which lifted the target price for the shares to $46 from $32.

Downgrades:

  • Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, which trimmed the target price for the shares to $231 for $248.

  • American Airlines Group Inc. (NYSE: AAL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Rothschild & Co. Redburn, with a $12.50 target price.

  • Edison International Inc. (NYSE: EIX) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Ladenburg, which bumped the target price for the utility to $63 from $59.50.

  • Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Arete, which lowered the target price for the social media giant to $676 from $732.

  • StubHub Holdings Inc. (NYSE: STUB) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, which lowered the target price for the stock to $10 from $18.

Initiations:

  • Astera Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: ALAB) was initiated with a Buy rating at Loop Capital, with a $250 target price objective.

  • Block Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America with an $88 target price.

  • CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Bernstein, with a $56 target price.

  • Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: DLR) was started with an Outperform rating at Bernstein, which has set a $218 target price for the stock.

  • Mastercard Incorporated. (NYSE: MA) was reinstated with a Buy rating at Bank of America with an $88 target price. 

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