Wall Street's most watched gauge of investor anxiety rose to a three-week high on Friday as stock indexes sold off following a an upbeat jobs report that pushed back market expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

A Wells Fargo analyst recently raised the company's price target for RTX ( RTX 0.98%) stock to $151 from a previous target of $140 and maintained an "overweight" rating on the stock. As such, it represents a 31% premium to the current price, but is the new target warranted?

A soft finish to 2024 still left stocks with a second straight stellar year. The S&P 500 logged a 23.3% gain, which follows a 24% rise in 2023. The combined gains of more than 53% was the largest two-year percentage jump for the index since year-end 1998,

U.S. stocks tumbled, with the S&P 500 erasing its 2025 gains, after an upbeat jobs report stoked fresh inflation fears and reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will be cautious in cutting interest rates this year.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) - widely seen as Wall Street's fear and volatility gauge - soared about 9% on Friday to a three-week-high, after the latest job market update led to a big recalibration in Federal Reserve rate cut expectations.