Buy, Sell, or Hold? Wednesday’s Top Upgrades and Downgrades: Adobe, Apple, Duolingo, Exxon Mobil, Fiserv, Fortinet, Gartner, Lockheed Martin, Skyworks Solutions, Visa and More

Major banks like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank are investing $270M in a stablecoin venture, 'Project Faro,' to compete with Tether and Circle, which control 85% of the $290B market. SoFi launched SoFiUSD, a stablecoin available on multiple blockchains, and Anchorage Digital enables stablecoin settlements on Visa's network. Mastercard and Visa are expanding stablecoin services, while Circle is partnering for USDC settlement in Latin America.

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced ExxonMobil's potential return to the country's oil sector, following a memorandum of understanding with state-owned PDVSA. The agreement aims to provide legal certainty for investments in mature and undeveloped fields with billions of barrels of reserves. ExxonMobil previously exited in 2007 due to unfavorable terms and seized assets. The government hopes to leverage ExxonMobil's technology to boost production.

Guyana's fifth oil project, Uaru, will start production next week, adding 250,000 barrels per day (bpd). ExxonMobil operates the Stabroek Block, with partners Chevron and CNOOC. The project will increase Guyana's total production to 1.3 million bpd. Exxon has plans for additional projects, including Whiptail and Hammerhead, with investments totaling $19.5 billion.

Disney (DIS) and Adobe (ADBE) have agreed to a multi-year partnership to develop custom AI models for Disney's theme parks, studios, and sports media. The collaboration aims to accelerate project timelines and enhance fan engagement. According to Disney, Adobe's tools can reduce development time from months to hours or days. The models will be proprietary to Disney.

ExxonMobil affiliates are challenging an EU carbon-storage rule under the Energy Charter Treaty, according to a European Commission document. The EU aims for 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030, with 44 producers required to contribute. ExxonMobil argues the business case for carbon capture is not yet viable and warns of potential energy cost increases. The Commission's 2026 report projects 27.1 million tonnes of capacity by 2030, but notes incomplete data.

Soros Fund Management increased its Intel stake to 2.83 million shares, worth $340.3 million, while reducing Apple holdings by 25.7% to 393,680 shares. Intel shares rose 62% in 2026 but faced pressure due to cash flow concerns. The changes were disclosed in a regulatory filing.