Jefferies
Jefferies is a New York-based global investment bank and broker-dealer, the core business of NYSE-listed Jefferies Financial Group. Its equity research covers more than 3,600 stocks across the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 1,22912M
- Actions
- 3,18012M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 1,542 / 1,638
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 202 / 205
- Initiations
- 85
- Buy-rated
- 60%of 958 rated
- Median upside
- +17.8%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 717 / 487
- On record
- Feb 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
Jefferies had more than 300 equity analysts covering over 3,600 stocks as of January 2026. It placed fifth in Extel's 2025 All-America Research Team leaders table, and since 2019 it has published Christopher Wood's weekly GREED & fear, which he has written since 1996. In 2025 its leaders wrote that research was built to support sales, trading and equity capital markets.
Boyd Jefferies founded the firm in Los Angeles in 1962 with $30,000 of borrowed capital, trading listed stocks between institutions in the 'third market.' Under Rich Handler, CEO since 2001, it moved its headquarters to New York and grew into a full-service investment bank. In 2013 it merged into its largest shareholder, Leucadia National, which took the Jefferies Financial Group name in 2018 and later divested most of its non-financial holdings. SMBC agreed in 2025 to lift its economic stake to up to 20%.
Milestones
- 1962
Boyd Jefferies founds the firm in Los Angeles
- 2001
Rich Handler becomes chief executive
- 2013
Merges with largest shareholder Leucadia National Corporation
- 2018
Leucadia renamed Jefferies Financial Group
- 2021
Strategic alliance with SMBC begins
- 2025
SMBC agrees to raise economic stake to up to 20%
Firm facts
- Legal name
- Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
- Type
- Full-service
- Founded
- 1962
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Listing
- NYSE: JEF
- Chief Executive Officer, Jefferies Financial Group
- Rich Handler
- Rating scale
- BuyHoldUnderperform12 months
- Website
- jefferies.com
Research philosophy
Our top-ranked Equity Research team produces alpha-creating, high-conviction content that leads investment debates across our global coverage universe.
As of 2026, Jefferies says it has invested substantially in evidence-based research, giving analysts access to alternative data, including web-scraped information, credit-card transactions and web-traffic figures, alongside fieldwork, expert input and surveys. For each covered stock, it presents base, upside and downside scenarios and dates for potential catalysts. Its Franchise Reports examine prospects two to three years ahead.
Rating methodology
Buy denotes an expected 12-month total return of 15% or more, Hold between +15% and -10%, and Underperform -10% or worse, with wider bands for stocks under $10.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 Apple Inc.AAPL | Underperform | $263.66 |
 GE Vernova Inc.GEV | Buy | $1,185 |
 CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.CRWD | Buy | $240 |
 Okta, Inc.OKTA | Buy | $200 |
 First Solar, Inc.FSLR | Hold | $228 |
 Southwest Airlines Co.LUV | Hold | $46 |
 Snowflake Inc.SNOW | Buy | $488 |
 Bloom Energy CorporationBE | Hold | $229 |
 CACI International IncCACI | Hold | $700 |
 International Business Machines CorporationIBM | Buy | $260 |
Most active analysts
- Julien Dumoulin-Smith94 notesIDACMSLNT
- Sheila Kahyaoglu68 notesLUVUALFTAI
- Brent Thill43 notesSNOWIBMDDOG
- Joseph Gallo31 notesCRWDCHKPNET
- Kaumil Gajrawala31 notesCLXCHDKDP
- Laurence Alexander31 notesSHWCBTALB
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | DCDauch CorporationDCH | Downgrade | Buy →Hold | $10.35 →$7.10 | Vanessa Jeffriess |
| Sep 22 | VLVLEEY | Upgrade | Hold →Buy | ||
| Sep 22 | ALAutoliv, Inc.ALV | Target | $120 →$119 | ||
| Sep 22 |  Capri Holdings LimitedCPRI | Reiterate | Hold | ||
| Sep 22 |  SAP SESAP | Reiterate | Buy | $206 →$260 | |
| Sep 22 |  Brinker International, Inc.EAT | Downgrade | Hold | ||
| Sep 22 | STSTAAR Surgical CompanySTAA | Target | $28 →$23 | ||
| Sep 22 | RXRxSight, Inc.RXST | Target | $6.50 →$5.75 | ||
| Sep 22 |  Alcon Inc.ALC | Reiterate | Buy | $105 →$85 | Michael Sarcone |