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Strong Buy Stocks for Friday, September 18, 2026: Five Names Riding Thursday's Analyst Upgrades

Five stocks stand out heading into Friday, September 18, 2026, each carrying a bullish rating change issued on Thursday, September 17. 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 intermodal freight, packaged food, blood-management devices, equipment rental, and precision-timing semiconductors. Editorial notes only, not investment advice.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) – Citizens Turns Bullish on Intermodal Freight

Intermodal and dedicated-fleet trucking operator J.B. Hunt Transport Services was upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform on Thursday by Citizens. The thesis focuses on intermodal volumes reaccelerating as trans-Pacific rail-conversion trends firm, dedicated contract-services segment producing durable margin expansion through fleet-utilization gains, and pricing power holding on contract renewals as truckload capacity remains constrained.

Shares traded near $238.56 during Thursday's session, up about 0.77%, giving J.B. Hunt a market capitalization near $22 billion. The 52-week range of $130.12 to $299.76 shows the stock trading in the upper half of the year's range after a strong summer recovery. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 33.81, and the dividend yield sits near 1%.

Consensus reads buy on the broader panel. Twenty sell-side firms cover the name with 12 bullish, seven neutral, and one bearish. The average price target of $293.95 implies roughly 23% upside from Thursday's level, and the panel high sits at $370.

Risks: The panel is not uniformly aligned. UBS's Thomas Wadewitz maintained Neutral at $264 on September 17 (target trimmed from $291), and Baird's Daniel Moore trimmed to $290 from $320 the same day while maintaining Outperform. Intermodal-volume trajectory, dedicated-fleet margin durability, and truckload-competition dynamics all remain factors to monitor.

Kraft Heinz (KHC) – RBC Initiates Contrarian Bullish

Packaged-food giant Kraft Heinz drew a fresh Outperform initiation on Thursday from RBC Capital. The thesis focuses on planned corporate simplification (a potential split of the Kraft and Heinz portfolios) unlocking sum-of-the-parts value, category-specific pricing normalization stabilizing volumes, and productivity-savings program funding renewed advertising investment behind core brands.

Shares traded near $24.89 during Thursday's session, up about 0.63%, giving Kraft Heinz a market capitalization near $30 billion. The 52-week range of $21.04 to $28.09 shows the stock trading in the middle of the year's range. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple reads negative at negative 8.70 on a depressed earnings base tied to impairment charges, and the dividend yield sits near 6%.

Consensus reads sell on the broader panel, making RBC's initiation a clear outlier. Fourteen sell-side firms cover the name with zero bullish, 10 neutral, and four bearish. The average price target of $23.64 sits below Thursday's level, and the panel high sits at $28.

Risks: The panel remains cautious in aggregate. Evercore ISI Group's David Palmer maintained In-Line at $23 on September 14 (target trimmed from $24), and TD Cowen's Robert Moskow maintained Hold at $22 on August 6. Portfolio-split execution, packaged-food volume trajectory, and private-label competitive dynamics all remain factors to monitor.

Haemonetics (HAE) – Citigroup Turns Bullish on Blood-Management Franchise

Blood-management medical-device maker Haemonetics was upgraded from Neutral to Buy on Thursday by Citigroup analyst Joanne Wuensch, who raised her price target to $123 from $92. The thesis focuses on plasma-collection franchise growth stabilizing as commercial-plasma-collector customer relationships reset, hospital segment (interventional-technology portfolio) gaining traction on Vascade and Vivasure product ramps, and margin expansion holding as manufacturing productivity gains compound.

Shares traded near $108.87 during Thursday's session, up about 2.48% on the upgrade catalyst, giving Haemonetics a market capitalization near $5 billion. The 52-week range of $47.32 to $109.83 shows the stock trading near multi-year highs. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple sits at 53.32.

Consensus reads strong buy on the broader panel. Nine sell-side firms cover the name with eight bullish and one neutral. The average price target of $103.22 sits roughly in line with Thursday's level, and Raymond James' Andrew Cooper sits at the high at $125 with an Outperform rating on September 3.

Risks: Even a strong-buy consensus carries dispersion. Citigroup's own prior Neutral stance held from February at $75 (later $64 and $70), and the plasma-collection segment remains exposed to commercial-collector customer concentration. Interventional-technology adoption pace, plasma-franchise stabilization, and margin-expansion trends all remain factors to monitor.