Investors are trying to get used to the fact that the United States is now facing yet another federal government shutdown. Investors with a long memory also have history on their side as a reminder that any “shutdown panic selling” is just another buying opportunity. And with stocks having recently hit all-time highs, the S&P 500 is still up over 13% do far in 2025.
Investors should try to look past the current noise and start planning how they want their capital invested for 2026. Oggonomics scours the daily flow of Wall Street analyst research reports each morning. The goal is to look for new ideas and hidden gems that investors may have otherwise missed. This effort can be useful for short-term traders and longer-term investors alike.
Investors should always keep in mind that no single analyst report should ever be the sole basis to buy or sell a stock. That’s particularly the case if the latest analyst report has the most aggressive calls for implied upside versus other analysts. Also worth consideration is that analysts sometimes get their thesis wrong, and fundamentals can change in the blink of an eye.
Oggonomics has highlighted 13 “strategic” analyst calls this Wednesday ahead of catalysts other than just valuation or news reactions. These upgrades and initiations come with price targets which stand out above and beyond other analyst calls — and they are preemptive event-driven calls rather than just reactionary calls after earnings.
Please note that all of the analyst ratings and price targets mentioned in this report are from each firm named in this reporting. Oggonomics does not maintain any formal ratings and price targets on any of the stocks in this report.
Here are the 13 top strategic analyst calls seen from Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was added to the prized Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs as it is approaching an inflection point in organic revenue growth with a strong pipeline of new products on the horizon. Its $157 price target is versus a $133.94 prior close.
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, with its Buy rating and $335 target unchanged. The firm sees stronger demand for its industrial gases.
Capital One Financial corp. (NYSE: COF) was added to the Strategic Ideas List for Q4 at Wells Fargo. The firm noted that monthly credit improvements and accelerating share buybacks should act as catalysts that lead to beating earnings expectations. Its Overweight rating and $265 price target imply upside of 23% if the firm is correct in its assessments.
Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) was raised to Buy from Hold and its price target was raised to $475 from $385 (versus $380 last look at Jefferies. The firm believes Carvana should continue to deliver stronger growth and beat earnings estimates with even more expansion into new markets.
Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) was started as Buy with a $410 price target (versus $337.49 close) at BITG. The firm sees Coinbase rapidly scaling its derivatives business and its base app is also an underappreciated value creation.
Glaukos Corporation (NASDAQ: GKOS) was started as Buy with a $103 price target (versus $81.55 prior close) at Goldman Sachs. Its transformation is said to take Glaukos from a device company to a hybrid device and ophthalmic pharma company with a durable revenue growth opportunity that is underappreciated by most analysts.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, with its Buy rating and $222 target (versus $187.05 prior close) unchanged. Goldman Sachs is expecting Hershey to beat consensus earnings estimates, sees it taking more market share, and sees better pricing alternatives for Hershey versus its peers in candy.
Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) saw yet another price hike after BofA reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price objective to $27 from $26. BofA sees more global traction and positive earnings momentum starting this next earnings report. Barclays and Needham & Co. issued similar reports in previous days.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp (NYSE: MSGE) was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, with its Buy rating and $52 target (versus $45.50 prior close) unchanged. The call is based on higher concert bookings and more of its Christmas Spectacular shows making for 7% revenue growth in the coming two years.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold with an unchanged $528 price target (versus $476.48 close) at Deutsche Bank. The recent pullback is said to leave an attractive valuation that undervalues fundamental upside from its core ratings business and noting that the current share price also no longer demands high expectations to maintain upside.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) gets yet another big price target hike. KeyBanc Capital markets raised its price target to $250 from $230 and reiterated its Overweight rating, implying yet another 35% upside if its call proves correct. NVIDIA’s next-generation Rubin AI chips are slated to enter mass production in 2026 and (yet again) demand is greatly exceeding the expected supply.
SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform with a $140 price target (versus $100.62) at Raymond James. The catalyst for this upgrade and implied 40% upside (if proven to be true) is after the most recent pullback. Despite macro and short-term bookings risks, demand recovery has begun.
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: ZETA) saw multiple analyst calls on the heels of its acquisition of Marigold’s enterprise business. Canaccord Genuity reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $30 from $28. Truist reiterated its Buy rating and $34 price target. Needham & Co. reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $25 from $20. Zeta was last seen up 3% at $20.45.
