Five stocks stand out heading into Monday, September 21, 2026, each carrying a bullish rating change issued on Friday, September 18. 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 design software, protein-focused packaged food, waste services, premium drinkware, and midstream energy. Editorial notes only, not investment advice.
Autodesk (ADSK) – Goldman Sachs Turns Bullish on Design Software
Design and engineering software leader Autodesk was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform on Friday by Goldman Sachs with a $265 price target. The thesis focuses on subscription-model transition maturing into durable free-cash-flow growth, generative-design and AI-assisted workflow tools driving average-revenue-per-user expansion, and construction-software segment (Autodesk Construction Cloud) taking share from legacy on-premise competitors.
Shares traded near $217.56 during Friday's session, down about 0.49%, giving Autodesk a market capitalization near $46 billion. The 52-week range of $185.50 to $326.54 shows the stock trading near the low end of the year's range after a summer drawdown. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 28.20.
Consensus reads strong buy on the broader panel. Twenty-three sell-side firms cover the name with 20 bullish and three neutral. The average price target of $323 implies roughly 48% upside from Friday's level, and Piper Sandler's Clarke Jeffries sits near the high at $373 with Overweight from August 29, 2025.
Risks: The panel is not entirely uniform in target level. BTIG's Nick Altmann reiterated Buy at $300 on September 18, and Argus Research's Joseph Bonner reiterated Buy at $355 on September 2. Construction-software adoption pace, generative-design monetization, and macro-driven design-sector capital-expenditure trends all remain factors to monitor.
Tyson Foods (TSN) – JPMorgan Turns Bullish on Protein Cycle
Diversified protein producer Tyson Foods was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight on Friday by JPMorgan analyst Thomas Palmer, who set a $63 price target (trimmed from $65). The thesis focuses on beef segment margins bottoming as cattle-cycle dynamics improve, chicken segment maintaining structural margin gains from previous plant-network restructuring, and prepared-foods segment (Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park) contributing accretive branded-margin growth.
Shares traded near $53.07 during Friday's session, up about 1.55% on the upgrade catalyst, giving Tyson Foods a market capitalization near $19 billion. The 52-week range of $50.56 to $69.48 shows the stock trading near the low end of the year's range. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 32.55, and the dividend yield sits near 4%.
Consensus reads buy on the broader panel. Seven sell-side firms cover the name with four bullish and three neutral. The average price target of $67.14 implies roughly 27% upside from Friday's level, and Barclays' Benjamin Theurer sits at the high at $75.
Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. Bernstein's Alexia Howard maintained Market Perform at $63 on July 2, and B of A Securities' Peter Galbo maintained Neutral at $68 the same day. Beef-cycle trajectory, chicken-segment margin durability, and prepared-foods branded-price elasticity all remain factors to monitor.
Waste Connections (WCN) – UBS Turns Bullish on Waste Services
Solid-waste-services operator Waste Connections was upgraded from Neutral to Buy on Friday by UBS analyst Jon Windham, who raised his price target to $200 from $176. The thesis focuses on pricing-led revenue growth outpacing cost inflation across the collection network, exclusive-market franchise structure protecting margins in secondary and rural markets, and merger-and-acquisition strategy continuing to consolidate the fragmented waste-hauling industry.
Shares traded near $156.28 during Friday's session, up about 0.68%, giving Waste Connections a market capitalization near $39 billion. The 52-week range of $146.89 to $179.74 shows the stock trading near the low end of the year's range. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 37.82, and the dividend yield sits near 1%.
Consensus reads strong buy on the broader panel. Twelve sell-side firms cover the name with 10 bullish and two neutral. The average price target of $203.33 implies roughly 30% upside from Friday's level, and Stifel's Shlomo Rosenbaum sits near the high at $213 with a Buy rating on February 13.
Risks: Not all commentary is bullish. Barclays' William Grippin maintained Equal-Weight at $187 on July 28, and Citigroup's Bryan Burgmeier maintained Neutral at $199 in September 2025. Pricing-power durability, merger-and-acquisition-pipeline execution, and exclusive-market-franchise contract renewals all remain factors to monitor.
YETI Holdings (YETI) – Stifel Turns Bullish on Premium Drinkware
Premium drinkware and outdoor products maker YETI Holdings was upgraded from Hold to Buy on Friday by Stifel analyst Jim Duffy, who raised his price target to $50 from $45. The thesis focuses on international expansion (Australia, Europe, Japan) providing incremental growth beyond a maturing U.S. drinkware market, product-category adjacencies (coolers, cargo, bags) contributing accretive top-line growth, and gross-margin recovery as tariff-cost dynamics normalize.
Shares traded near $42.44 during Friday's session, up about 2.96% on the upgrade catalyst, giving YETI a market capitalization near $3.2 billion. The 52-week range of $31.66 to $53.99 shows the stock trading in the middle of the year's range. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 18.53.
Consensus reads buy on the broader panel. Eleven sell-side firms cover the name with seven bullish and four neutral. The average price target of $53.09 implies roughly 25% upside from Friday's level, and the panel high sits at $63.
Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. Morgan Stanley's Megan Alexander maintained Equal-Weight at $49 on August 20, and UBS's Peter Grom trimmed his target to $40 from $47 on April 7 while maintaining Neutral. International-expansion pace, product-category adjacency traction, and tariff-cost trajectory all remain factors to monitor.
Targa Resources (TRGP) – TD Cowen Turns Bullish on Midstream
Permian Basin-focused midstream energy operator Targa Resources was upgraded from Hold to Buy on Friday by TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman, who raised his price target to $350 from $275. The thesis focuses on Permian gathering-and-processing volumes reaccelerating as producer activity firms, downstream NGL fractionation and export capacity (Grand Prix pipeline, Mont Belvieu, and Galena Park terminal) providing accretive fee-based cash flow, and dividend-growth trajectory remaining well-covered.
Shares traded near $294.55 during Friday's session, up about 3.33% on the upgrade catalyst, giving Targa Resources a market capitalization near $63 billion. The 52-week range of $144.14 to $307.94 shows the stock trading near multi-year highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 28.03, and the dividend yield sits near 2%.
Consensus reads strong buy on the broader panel. Fifteen sell-side firms cover the name with all 15 in the bullish camp. The average price target of $300.67 sits roughly in line with Friday's level, and Morgan Stanley's Robert Kad sits at the high at $359.
Risks: Even a fully bullish consensus carries dispersion. BMO Capital's Ameet Thakkar maintained Outperform at $196 in November 2025 (well below current price, though bullish stance), and Wells Fargo's Michael Blum maintained Overweight at $270 on May 8. Permian-volume trajectory, NGL-export-capacity utilization, and dividend-growth sustainability all remain factors to monitor.
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