Five stocks stand out heading into Friday, September 4, 2026, each riding a bullish rating change issued on Thursday, September 3. The market is closing the first week of September after August's digestion of Nvidia's fiscal Q2 report from August 26 and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole remarks. The Federal Open Market Committee held the federal funds target range at 3.50% to 3.75% at its July 29 meeting, and the CME Group FedWatch tool still prices roughly an 80% probability that policy rates hold steady through the balance of 2026.
The five ideas below span semiconductors, auto services, uranium, life-sciences tools, and nuclear-defense engineering. These are editorial notes for consideration only, not personalized investment advice.
Broadcom (AVGO) – Macquarie Turns Bullish on Custom-Silicon Ramp
Semiconductor and infrastructure software leader Broadcom was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform on Thursday by Macquarie. The thesis focuses on the custom-silicon ASIC business for hyperscaler customers ramping faster than prior expectations, VMware integration continuing to drive subscription-revenue growth, and networking-switch demand from AI back-end fabric buildouts extending the visibility runway.
Shares traded near $356.39 during Thursday's session, down about 2.96% on the day as chip stocks pulled back broadly, giving Broadcom a market capitalization near $1.7 trillion. The 52-week range of $289.96 to $495 shows the stock has retraced from summer highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 45.50 as software-mix improvement lifts the durable-earnings component.
Consensus is broadly bullish. Twenty-eight sell-side firms rate Broadcom a strong buy, with 26 bullish and two neutral. The average price target of $511.36 implies roughly 43% upside from Thursday's level, and Evercore ISI's Mark Lipacis holds the high near $578 after maintaining Outperform on September 3.
Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. TD Cowen's Joshua Buchalter trimmed his price target to $475 from $500 on September 3 while maintaining Buy, and Raymond James' Srini Pajjuri sits at Outperform with a more modest $475 target. Custom-silicon program-timing risk, hyperscaler capex normalization, and VMware customer-retention trajectory all remain factors to monitor.
Copart (CPRT) – JPMorgan Turns Bullish on Salvage-Volume Recovery
Online auto-salvage auction operator Copart was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight on Thursday by JPMorgan. The thesis focuses on salvage-volume recovery as insurance-claim frequency normalizes, average selling prices improving with used-vehicle inventory tightness, and international expansion in Germany and the UK compounding at a faster pace than the domestic mix implies.
Shares traded near $33.45 during Thursday's session, up about 4.00% on the upgrade catalyst, giving Copart a market capitalization near $31 billion. The 52-week range of $26.81 to $50.11 shows the stock has retraced meaningfully from prior highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 20.77, closer to historical averages after multiple compression.
Consensus reads hold on the broader panel. Five sell-side firms cover the name with two bullish, two neutral, and one bearish. The average price target of $40.80 implies roughly 22% upside from Thursday's level, and Baird's Craig Kennison sits near the high at $48 from February.
Risks: The bearish view is real. Barclays' John Babcock maintained Underweight on August 26 with a $25 target, cutting from $26. Insurance-claim frequency trends, used-vehicle price durability, and international-segment execution in Germany all remain primary swing factors that could pressure the thesis.
Cameco (CCJ) – Jefferies Initiates on Uranium Supply Deficit
Uranium mining and nuclear-fuel services operator Cameco was initiated with a Buy rating on Thursday by Jefferies. The thesis focuses on a widening supply deficit as utilities scramble to secure long-term uranium contracts, Cameco's Westinghouse joint venture providing downstream reactor-services exposure, and small-modular-reactor commercialization timelines becoming a multi-year tailwind rather than a distant catalyst.
Shares traded near $99.88 during Thursday's session, up about 3.63% on the upgrade catalyst, giving Cameco a market capitalization near $43.5 billion. The 52-week range of $74.63 to $135.24 shows the stock has consolidated below prior highs after the summer uranium rally cooled. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 168.13, unusually elevated as earnings normalize post-restart.
Consensus is uniformly constructive. Six sell-side firms rate Cameco a strong buy, with five bullish and one neutral. The average price target of $137.03 implies roughly 37% upside from Thursday's level, and RBC Capital's Andrew Wong holds the high at $175 from June 29.
Risks: Not everyone is aligned. Barclays' Richard Garchitorena maintained Equal-Weight at $97 on August 4, trimming from $104. Uranium spot-price volatility, contract-book pacing with utility customers, and Kazakh production ramp-up dynamics all remain factors to monitor.
Thermo Fisher (TMO) – CLSA Initiates on Bioprocess Recovery
Life-sciences tools and diagnostics leader Thermo Fisher Scientific was initiated with an Outperform rating on Thursday by CLSA. The thesis focuses on bioprocess capital-equipment orders recovering off cyclical lows, biopharma-services demand stabilizing, and margin expansion coming through as PPD clinical-research services scale operating leverage.
Shares traded near $613.50 during Thursday's session, up about 0.82%, giving Thermo Fisher a market capitalization near $228 billion. The 52-week range of $435.27 to $647 shows the stock has rallied strongly off prior lows. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 32.96.
Consensus reads buy on 15 covering firms, with 11 bullish and four neutral. The average price target of $616.13 sits near Thursday's level, and Morgan Stanley's Tejas Savant sits among the highest bulls at $650 from July 27.
Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. Piper Sandler's David Westenberg maintained Neutral at $600 on July 27, and RBC Capital's Dan Leonard carried Sector Perform at $580 the same week. Bioprocess capital-equipment order pace, China academic-and-government demand normalization, and PPD clinical-services attach rates all remain factors to monitor.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) – Jefferies Initiates on Nuclear-Defense Backlog
Naval nuclear-reactor and specialty-nuclear-components manufacturer BWX Technologies was initiated with a Buy rating on Thursday by Jefferies. The thesis focuses on the US Navy shipbuilding budget continuing to support long-cycle reactor-supply visibility, commercial small-modular-reactor engineering-services demand ramping, and medical-isotope production adding a growth vector beyond the core defense franchise.
Shares traded near $160.44 during Thursday's session, up about 3.06% on the upgrade, giving BWX Technologies a market capitalization near $14.7 billion. The 52-week range of $147.74 to $241.82 shows the stock has retraced sharply from prior highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 41.41, elevated as engineering-services investment weighs on near-term earnings.
Consensus reads buy on five covering firms, with three bullish and two neutral. The average price target of $222.40 implies roughly 39% upside from Thursday's level, and Deutsche Bank's Scott Deuschle holds the high at $255 from May 15.
Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. Wells Fargo's David Strauss upgraded to Equal-Weight but trimmed his target to $170 on August 27, and Truist Securities' Alexandra Mandery maintained Hold at $202 on August 14. Navy shipbuilding budget-timing risk, small-modular-reactor commercial-program pacing, and Canadian defense-contract execution all remain factors to monitor.
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