Levi Strauss & Co.

Raymond James initiated analyst coverage on 172-year-old jeans maker Levi's with a buy recommendation (Outperform rating) and a target price of $26 per share, SeekingAlpha <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/4534845-levi-strausss-growth-levers-insulates-business-from-import-tariffs---raymond-james">writes</a>. This implies a potential upside of about 24% to the closing price of the stock on December 23.

Raymond James gave a rating on shares of Levi's for the first time and advised buying immediately

Capricor Therapeutics, Inc.

Shares of biotech Capricor Therapeutics have <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/capr?mod=search_symbol">surged</a>&nbsp;about 530% over the past month after the company reported positive results from a <a href="https://www.capricor.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/331/capricor-therapeutics-announces-positive-topline-results">phase III trial</a>&nbsp;of its experimental therapy, deramiocel, for a rare disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. If the drug receives regulatory approval, Capricor shares could rise another 75%, according to Wall Street.

Biotech Capricor soars 530% in last month; Wall Street still sees more upside

Apple Inc.

Arista Networks, Inc.

Amphenol Corporation

Evercore's top ideas for next year included the "AAA" portfolio of Apple, Amphenol and Arista Networks

Analyst names three technology stocks for "buy-and-forget" investments

Ryanair Holdings plc

Tight cost controls, profit growth and share buybacks have supported the stock price of Europe's largest low-cost carrier

Ryanair shares are up 55% this year. Is it too late to invest in them?

Microsoft Corporation

Oracle Corporation

Salesforce, Inc.

Intuit Inc.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Snowflake Inc.

Samsara Inc.

Windows operating system developer and Azure cloud service owner Microsoft, agent AI developer Salesforce, and Oracle, which specializes in serving hyperscalers, were among the favorites for 2026 among stocks of enterprise software creators according to investment firm Evercore, Seeking Alpha<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/4534032-microsoft-salesforce-among-evercores-top-software-stocks-for-2026"> reports</a>. In addition, Intuit, which makes financial software for small businesses, as well as cloud processing and storage platform Snowflake and Samsara, which offers software for the Internet of Things, made the list.

"Party in the Software Marketplace": Evercore named seven favorites among software developers

Summit Midstream Corporation

Investors may want to look at shares of Summit Midstream Corporation, a small-cap operator of oil and gas transportation and storage infrastructure, Noble Capital Markets argues in an&nbsp;<a href="https://dashboard.channelchek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SMC_20251218_279471.pdf">initiation report</a>&nbsp;on the company.

Noble first to initiate on Summit Midstream, citing fruits of 'multiyear reset'

As the year draws to a close, investors traditionally turn their attention to the so-called "Santa Claus rally," a period that covers the last five trading days of December and the first two of January, when equities have historically tended to rise. The key question is whether investors can count on this seasonal effect and which segments of the market have delivered the most consistent results. For <i>Oninvest</i>, analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov has looked at how small-cap ETFs have behaved during this window over the last 15 years and compared those patterns with the performance of individual stocks from the Russell 2000.

Small caps and the Santa Claus rally: What the data shows

D-Wave Quantum Inc.

IonQ, Inc.

Quantum Computing Inc.

Rigetti Computing, Inc.

Shares of quantum computing company D-Wave could rise about 40% over the next two months, Freedom Broker argues in a short-term trade idea seen by <i>Oninvest</i>. A potential increase in U.S. government involvement in the sector is seen as the key growth driver. At the same time, concrete details remain limited, as “sector shares are capable of reacting sharply even to rumors,” and market dynamics “largely determined by sentiment,” Freedom wrote. Year to date, D-Wave shares have about <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/QBTS/">doubled</a>,&nbsp;yet Wall Street believes the rally is not over.

Freedom: D-Wave offers 40% upside on two-month horizon amid U.S. government support

Lemonade, Inc.

Morgan Stanley has <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/lemonade-upgraded-to-equal-weight-from-underweight-at-morgan-stanley/ar-AA1SsuNC">upgraded</a>&nbsp;from "underweight" to "equalweight" mid-cap insurer Lemonade while setting the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/lmnd/analystestimates?mod=mw_quote_tab">most optimistic target price</a> on Wall Street. The company is showing sustained growth in its auto insurance business and is steadily moving toward EBITDA profitability, the investment bank argued. Against this backdrop, Lemonade shares jumped more than 8% on Tuesday, December 16.

Morgan Stanley upgrades insurer Lemonade to 'equalweight', sets $85 per share TP

Nektar Therapeutics

Pfizer Inc.

Eli Lilly and Company

AbbVie Inc.

Freedom Broker has issued a short-term investment idea to buy shares of Nektar Therapeutics, a small-cap biotech developing a drug for alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss. On Tuesday, December 16, the company is set to <a href="https://ir.nektar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nektar-hold-conference-call-discuss-topline-results-36-week">release</a>&nbsp;new clinical trial data on its lead therapy. If the results are positive, Nektar shares could gain about 22% over the next two months, Freedom Broker analysts said.

Freedom Broker: Nektar may jump 22% in two months on potential upbeat trial results

REV Group, Inc.

Vox Royalty Corp.

Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc.

Contango Silver & Gold Inc.

Aviat Networks, Inc.

Freedom Broker has named five small caps that investors should watch ahead of a potential "Santa Claus rally" – the <a href="https://get.investors.com/infographics/santa-claus-rally/">calendar effect</a> involving a rise in stock prices during the last five trading days in December and the first two in January.&nbsp;

Freedom Broker offers five small caps ahead of potential Santa Claus rally

Ferrari N.V.

Renault SA

Volkswagen AG

Bank of America has bet that some European automakers will be in a favorable position for price gains in 2026 thanks to a likely easing of regulatory rules, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/15/here-are-bank-of-americas-top-european-auto-picks-for-2026.html">reports</a>. The sector's relatively cheap stocks retain catch-up potential amid a possible revision of CO2 emissions regulations, according to Horst Schneider, head of sector research at BofA. The analyst predicts a traditionally strong first quarter for the sector, followed by a correction and a new upturn by the end of the year.

Investment ideas