The stock market may be facing its third down-day in a row, but even with nearly a 2% pullback the S&P 500 is still up 12% so far in 2025. This bull market doesn’t seem as concerned about government shutdowns on the surface as history has proven shutdown-related drops have proven to be great buying opportunities. And the Fed’s rate-cutting cycle has only (likely) just begun.

Now is a time that investors need to look past the current noise and start planning how they want their capital invested for 2026.

Tactical Bulls tracks the daily flow of Wall Street analyst research reports to look for hidden gems and new ideas that might have otherwise been overlooked. This search can be useful for both 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 is particularly true if the latest analyst report has the most aggressive calls for implied upside compared to other analysts. Also worth consideration is that analysts sometimes get their thesis wrong, and fundamentals can change in the blink of an eye.

Tactical Bulls has highlighted 8 analyst upgrades and price target hikes that stand out above and beyond other analyst calls. Please note that all of the analyst ratings and price targets mentioned in this report are from each firm named in this reporting. Tactical Bulls does not maintain any formal ratings and price targets on any of the stocks in this report.

Here are the 8 tactical calls seen from Wall Street analysts from Thursday, September 25, 2025.

Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, but what stands out here is the price target was raised to $39 from $19 in the call. The stock was at $31.61 ahead of the call, but was last seen up 9% at $34.50 on only above-average trading volume (almost 700K shares at noon). Jefferies sees it as moving past execution risks and also Inflation Reduction Act uncertainty as data center announcements and a revival in its projects business driving more meaningful upside opportunities into the start of a growth era for this energy solutions provider. Its market cap is just $1.8 billion, but keep in mind that its 52-week range is $8.49 to $39.68.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup and its price target was hiked to $300 from $275 in the call. The reason this is considered “tactical” is because CME was put on “upside 90-day catalyst watch” from U.S. Treasury clearing, its OSTTRA joint venture, a partnership with FanDuel and a variable dividend (annual) plan that includes significant capital returns in the months ahead. CME closed at $264.43 ahead of the call and was last seen up 1.6% at $268.60.

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CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) was given a very strong tactical upgrade by Scotiabank, with an upgrade to Outperform from Sector Perform and a price target hike all the way up to $600 from $440 (versus a prior $476.33 close). The driving force here is that Scotia sees CrowdStrike materially reaccelerating its growth with potential upside to its 25% to 30% growth in annual recurring revenues (ARR) to 2027. The firm also sees CrowdStrike now able to chip away at its remaining 50% market share that is up for grabs from one of the fastest growth rates in the software space. Shares were down 0.2% at $475.35 in mid-day trading. CrowdStrike’s 52-week range is $272.67 to $517.98.

CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) may be a boring rail leader to most investors, but Wells Fargo formally upgraded CSX to Overweight from Equal-Weigh and raised its price target to $40 from $37. The driver here is that operational headwinds appear to be easing, new commercial agreements look significant, and should all lead to earnings growth. CSX closed at $33.82 ahead of the call and shares were up less than 0.1% in mid-day trading.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE: LEVI) has had its ups and down around earnings, but the stock is now approaching its 2024 highs. Needham & Co. started coverage of LEVI with a Buy rating and set a $28 price target, versus a prior $23.21 closing price. The driver for the upgrade is that the go-to name in jeans is executing on strategic initiatives, benefitting from strong denim trends as a “Classic American brand,” and its outlook for the rest of 2025 is deemed conservative. The tactical call here is for a favorable setup that can lead to “beat-and-raise” for earnings and guidance. LEVI was last seen down 15 at $23.00 in mid-day trading.

Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NVGS) is being given a tactical call by Deutsche Bank, with coverage initiated as Buy and with a $24 price target. This offers nearly 50% in implied upside from the prior $16.39 closing price plus its dividend. Navigator transports liquefied petroleum gases in ships with strong energy exposure here for exports. Deutsche Bank also sees room for stronger capital returns via dividend hikes and buybacks even as it continues to invest in and expand its fleet. Navigator currently has 59 vessels listed as “sophisticated gas carriers” with a market cap of only $1.1 billion and a valuation of less than 13-times current year expected earnings.

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NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is no stranger to higher price target, but Barclays reiterated its Overweight rating and hiked its prior $200 price target up to $240 on Thursday. The driver here is that Barclays is now calling for approximately $2 trillion worth of AI upgrades and capacity additions by 2030 and called it the most attractive among its peers after adding in $35 billion in revenue from its recent OpenAI announcement. NVIDIA’s stock was basically flat for the day at $177.00 shortly after the noon hour. 

uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ: QURE) has just seen an incredible 250% gain the prior day on the heels of meeting its goals on its Huntington’s Disease trial supporting potential FDA approval. Mizuho reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $60 from $30. Wells Fargo also reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target up to $65 from $30. The catalysts are now calling for FDA filings early in 2026 and an approval verdict later in 2026. This was a $13.66 stock before the news, it jumped to $47.50 on Wednesday (on nearly 70 million shares!) and was last seen up 4.6% at $49.70 on Thursday. uniQure had about 8.3 million shares in the short interest as of 9/15/25 that probably aided a short squeeze of all magnitudes that added to Wednesday’s exponential share gains.