Stock markets have had a tough time recently as investors grapple with macro pressures, upcoming elections and geopolitical tensions.
But investors and their portfolios can hold up amid the turmoil if they can ignore the short-term noise and select stocks that promise attractive returns over the long term.
In this regard, the ratings and investment theses of top Wall Street analysts can provide useful insights and help you make the right decisions.
With that in mind, here are three stocks that top Street pros favor, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks stocks based on analysts’ past performance.
Costco Wholesale
Membership-based warehouse chain Costco Wholesale Our top pick this week is Costco (COST). The company recently reported its June sales and announced a membership price increase. Starting September 1, Costco will increase its annual “Gold Star” membership fee by $5 to $65. Additionally, the annual fee for its premium “Executive Membership” will increase from $120 to $130.
Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlow reiterated his buy recommendation on Costco shares, raised his price target to $1,050 from $860, and said the stock remains a top pick after the company increased membership for the first time since June 2017. The analyst believes the increase in membership will be a positive catalyst for the stock price and the company’s earnings.
Tarlow noted that Costco has historically increased membership fees every 5.5 years on average, but this is the first increase in seven years. He believes the timing of the increase is right, given that the company’s membership numbers have remained stable and June numbers were strong.
“Historically, COST has not seen a significant impact on membership trends when fees have increased, so we believe the impact will be minor,” Tarlow said.
Analysts expect the fee hike to boost sales and earnings before interest and taxes, as membership fees make up a big chunk of Costco’s steadily growing operating profit. They estimate that the company’s earnings per share could grow by about 3% each year for the next two years.
Tarlow is ranked 321st out of more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks, and his ratings have produced profits 67% of the time, with an average return of 18.8%. (See Costco Dividend on TipRanks)
MongoDB
Next up: a database software company MongoDB (MDB) Shares fell sharply in May after the company weakened its second-quarter earnings guidance and lowered its full-year outlook. MongoDB blamed a slower-than-expected start to the year for both new workload acquisitions and increased consumption of its cloud-based database software product, Atlas.
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Fiennes recently lowered his price target on MDB shares to $400 from $500 to reflect near-term pressures, but reaffirmed his buy recommendation, saying he sees the sharp drop in the stock price as a buying opportunity.
Despite a slow start to the year, Feinseth was bullish on MongoDB, saying the company continues to gain traction among developers. He also noted that MongoDB’s Atlas DBaaS (database as a service) product is gaining momentum.
Feinseth expects the company to benefit from integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its products. “As MDB incorporates new AI-powered capabilities, it will improve developer productivity, accelerate application development, and accelerate the trend of rapid enterprise adoption,” Feinseth said.
The analyst also highlighted the company’s expansion into other key verticals such as healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, auto manufacturing, etc. He is optimistic about the prospects of MDB’s robust DBaaS platform given its superior capabilities and cost advantages compared to traditional database solutions.
Fiennes is ranked 191st out of more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks, and his ratings have been successful 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.6%. (See MongoDB stock buyback on TipRanks)
NVIDIA
Semiconductor giant NVIDIA NVDA is our third pick this week. The wave of generative artificial intelligence has significantly increased demand for the company’s advanced graphics processing units. Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari believes the stock has room to grow even more, despite its impressive gains so far this year.
Following a meeting with NVIDIA CFO Colette Kress, Hari reiterated his buy recommendation on the company’s stock with a price target of $135. The analyst said the meeting strengthened his “confidence in the sustainability of the ongoing Gen AI spending cycle.” The meeting also gave the analyst confidence in NVDA’s ability to maintain its lead through strong innovation in computing, networking and software.
Commenting on Nvidia’s next-generation AI graphics processor, Blackwell, analysts reported that the CFO said the company’s key suppliers are better positioned for Blackwell’s launch than previous generation transitions. Hari expects notable revenue contributions from the Blackwell platform in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and first quarter of fiscal 2026, but sees limited contribution in the third quarter of fiscal 2025.
Analysts believe Nvidia will continue to maintain its leadership position despite increasing competition, based on several factors, including a large installed base and improved access to supply. Additionally, the speed at which large enterprises and cloud service providers are building and deploying generative AI models gives Nvidia an advantage over competitors that are still developing advanced AI GPUs.
Hari is ranked 30th out of more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks, and his ratings have produced profits 69% of the time, with an average return of 30.2%. (See Nvidia options activity on TipRanks)
