Five stocks stand out heading into the first trading session of September on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, each riding a bullish rating change issued on Monday, August 31. The tape opens the new month 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 agricultural equipment, apparel retail, aluminum, optical networking, and industrial real estate. These are editorial notes for consideration only, not personalized investment advice.
Deere (DE) – Baird Sees Ag Cycle Turning
Agricultural equipment leader Deere headlined Monday's upgrades when Baird analyst Mircea Dobre moved shares from Neutral to Outperform with an $800 price target, up sharply from $640. Dobre's thesis: North American row-crop demand is bottoming, dealer inventories have normalized after two years of destocking, and Precision Ag revenue offers a structural offset to traditional equipment cyclicality.
Shares traded near $651.43 during Monday's session, up about 3.35% on the day, giving Deere a market capitalization near $175.8 billion. The 52-week range of $433 to $674.19 shows the stock trading near multi-year highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 36.18, elevated as the ag cycle rebuilds off trough earnings.
Consensus is constructive. Fifteen sell-side firms rate Deere a buy, with nine bullish and six neutral. The average price target of $683.90 implies roughly 5% upside from Monday's level, and Truist Securities' Jamie Cook holds the high at $804 after maintaining Buy on August 24.
Risks: Not everyone is aligned. Citigroup's Kyle Menges maintained Neutral in March with a $625 target, and JP Morgan's Tami Zakaria carried Neutral at $495 in September. Row-crop commodity prices, farmer sentiment, and used-equipment values remain the primary swing factors for the ag-machinery cycle.
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) – Argus Turns Bullish After Post-Print Reset
Apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch was upgraded from Hold to Buy on Monday by Argus. The thesis: the post-earnings selloff overshot, Hollister's teen momentum is durable heading into fall, and international expansion offers a multi-year growth runway that current multiples do not capture.
Shares traded near $143.37 during Monday's session, down about 3.40% on the day and giving back some of last week's gains, giving Abercrombie a market capitalization near $6.4 billion. The 52-week range of $65.45 to $154.58 shows a stock that has more than doubled off cycle lows. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 12.27, one of the cheaper valuations in apparel retail.
Consensus reads buy on nine ratings, with five bullish and four neutral. The average price target of $149.89 implies modest upside from Monday's level, and UBS's Mauricio Serna holds the high at $185 after raising his target on August 27.
Risks: Citigroup's Paul Lejuez downgraded to Neutral on August 27 with a $156 target, and Barclays' Adrienne Yih carries Equal-Weight at $155. Teen-consumer discretionary spending, back-to-school channel performance, and inventory discipline heading into holiday all remain factors to monitor. Any softening in Hollister comparable-sales momentum would test the thesis.
Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) – UBS Sees Rolled Products Cycle Turning
Rolled aluminum products maker Kaiser Aluminum was upgraded from Neutral to Buy on Monday by UBS analyst Alex Stansbury, who raised his price target to $184 from $179. Stansbury's thesis: aerospace and automotive rolled-products demand is inflecting, packaging volumes are stabilizing, and Warrick Rolling Mill investment ramp is finally converting into free-cash-flow generation after multiple years of drag.
Shares traded near $157.60 during Monday's session, up about 0.78%, giving Kaiser Aluminum a market capitalization near $2.6 billion. The 52-week range of $73.08 to $199.89 shows the stock has more than doubled off the lows but has retraced from earlier highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 11.68, a discount to broader materials peers.
The panel is mixed. Four sell-side firms cover Kaiser Aluminum with two bullish and two bearish for a hold consensus. The average price target of $169.50 sits roughly 8% above Monday's level, and UBS's fresh $184 alongside KeyBanc's Samuel McKinney at $183 marks the high end.
Risks: Wells Fargo's Timna Tanners carries Underweight at $169 as of July 24, and JP Morgan's Bill Peterson downgraded to Underweight in April at $142. Aluminum midwest premium prices, aerospace supply-chain normalization, and Warrick's ramp trajectory all remain factors. This is the most contested name on the list.
Lumentum (LITE) – Evercore ISI Initiates on AI Optical Buildout
Optical component and photonics maker Lumentum was initiated with an Outperform rating on Monday by Evercore ISI. The thesis focuses on Lumentum's exposure to hyperscaler AI-networking capex through datacom transceivers, the ramp of externally modulated lasers for coherent applications, and margin recovery as the industrial segment stabilizes off cycle lows.
Shares traded near $909.07 during Monday's session, up about 1.57%, giving Lumentum a market capitalization near $70.7 billion. The 52-week range of $125 to $1,085.68 reflects the stock's dramatic re-rating as AI-networking demand accelerated. Lumentum is not yet profitable on a trailing basis, with the price-to-earnings multiple negative at -9.78 as capacity investment continues.
Consensus is broadly bullish. Thirteen sell-side firms rate Lumentum a buy, with nine bullish and four neutral. The average price target of $944.31 implies modest upside from Monday's level, and JP Morgan's Joseph Cardoso holds the high at $1,280 after maintaining Overweight on August 12.
Risks: The neutral camp is not trivial. Morgan Stanley's Meta Marshall carries Equal-Weight at $1,000 as of August 12, and TD Cowen's Sean O'Loughlin sits at Hold with $820. Hyperscaler capex durability, gross-margin trajectory on new-generation transceivers, and competitive dynamics against Coherent and Marvell all remain factors.
STAG Industrial (STAG) – Baird Turns Bullish on Industrial REIT
Industrial REIT STAG Industrial was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform on Monday by Baird analyst David Rodgers, who kept his price target at $42. Rodgers pointed to same-store rent-growth trends stabilizing, occupancy resilience in secondary-market industrial submarkets, and STAG's balance-sheet flexibility as reasons to turn constructive on the name.
Shares traded near $37.24 during Monday's session, up about 0.17%, giving STAG a market capitalization near $7.2 billion. The 52-week range of $34.40 to $42.61 shows the stock caught in a tight consolidation range. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple is 28.65, and the dividend yield sits near 4%.
The panel remains cautious. Seven sell-side firms rate STAG a hold on balance, with two bullish, four neutral, and one bearish. The average price target of $41.14 implies roughly 10% upside from Monday's level, and Evercore ISI's Steve Sakwa holds the high at $43.
Risks: Barclays' Brendan Lynch carries Underweight at $41, and Wells Fargo's Blaine Heck sits at Equal-Weight with $40. Industrial new-supply pressure in Sun Belt submarkets, tenant credit concerns among smaller industrial users, and interest-rate sensitivity remain the primary risks. The mixed panel underscores this is a contested REIT call.
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