Top Wall Street analysts are confident in the long-term potential of these stocks

Companies are opinion the ill effects of dampening consumer demand in a range of sectors, but select names are confident they can deliver solid flowering even as the economy becomes more challenging.

Wall Street analysts can help investors identify stocks that force what it takes to thrive amid short-term headwinds — and that can offer attractive returns going forward.

Here are five stockpiles favored by Wall Street’s top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their olden times performance.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) recently reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results. While the assembly’s earnings exceeded expectations, the top line reflected the impact of macro challenges on consumer spending. Apple’s overall profits declined for the fourth consecutive quarter due to notable declines in iPad and Mac sales.

Baird analyst William Power lowered his yield estimates and also cut his price target for AAPL stock to $186 from $204 to reflect the company’s flattish top front line guidance for the December quarter. That said, Power raised his EPS estimate slightly to $2.08 from $2.04 due to elevated margin guidance.    

Commenting on the guidance, Power noted that Apple’s Services business remains a key pillar. The analyst contemplates that management’s commentary about the expectation of continued strength in the Services business in the holiday quarter and the projected climb in iPhone revenue addressed some concerns.

Power explained that his $186 target price target is 29 fixes his calendar year 2024 EPS forecast, putting AAPL’s valuation at the high end of its historical average and at a premium to other technology and consumer fundamentals leaders, “reflecting strong execution, growing services contribution, continued eco-system benefits and strong free exchange flow.”

Power ranks No. 194 among more than 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings induce been profitable 55% of the time, with each delivering a return of 14.7%, on average. (See Apple Technical Judgement on TipRanks)

E-commerce and cloud computing behemoth Amazon (AMZN) impressed investors with its solid third-quarter earnings, which topped Wall Street’s expectations.  

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan noted that Amazon’s Q3 earnings drained was fueled by the momentum in its e-commerce business, expansion of the North America unit’s operating margin, and continued stabilization in Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) take growth.

The analyst added that the company’s restructuring initiatives, regionalization of its domestic fulfillment center network, and big name at overcoming the cost headwinds seen in the past 24 months have helped deliver an inflection point in North American e-commerce boundary lines.

Sheridan thinks that Amazon is well-positioned to outperform in the future, given that e-commerce margins continue to triumph over headwinds that emerged in recent years and its advertising business continues to expand. Further, AWS can still gain from long-tailed structural break created by the transitioning needs of enterprise customers, he said.  

“Looking over a multi-year timeframe, we reiterate our view that Amazon on compound a mix of solid revenue trajectory with expanding margins as they deliver yield/returns on multiple year investment cycles,” believed Sheridan, reiterating a buy rating and raising the price target for AMZN stock to $190 from $175.

Sheridan holds the 288th leaning among more than 8,600 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 57% of the time, with each grade delivering an average return of 10.1%. (See Amazon Options Activity on TipRanks).

Yet another tech giant on this week’s cant is Microsoft (MSFT), which recently delivered upbeat fiscal first-quarter results and issued an encouraging second-quarter profits outlook.

Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick noted that Microsoft’s revenue surpassed guidance, operated by strength across the board, with significant upside in the high-margin Windows offering.

The analyst highlighted that gate from Azure, MSFT’s cloud computing platform, grew 28% year-over-year, thanks to higher GPU capacity and marginally excel per-user services. He was also impressed with the improvement in the fiscal first quarter’s margins, thanks to the company’s conducting discipline.  

Zelnick is quite optimistic about the Microsoft 365 Copilot artificial intelligence (AI) add-on. He pointed out that 40% of the Affluence 100 were said to be already using the product in pre-release with very strong feedback. While the companions said it expects the related revenue from this new launch to increase “gradually over time,” he thinks that the angle is likely conservative.

“We believe this is the most anticipated new product we have ever seen released in our long interval covering the Software industry,” the analyst said about Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Zelnick raised his price goal from $380 to $395 and reiterated a buy rating on MSFT stock. He ranks No. 48 among more than 8,600 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings organize been successful 69% of the time, with each rating delivering an average return of 15.1%. (See Microsoft Hedge Pay for Trading Activity on TipRanks).

Zelnick is also bullish on ServiceNow (NOW), a cloud-based software company that mitigates enterprises automate and manage workflows. The company delivered market-beating third-quarter earnings and revenue, thanks to the impressive lump in subscription revenues and an aggressive push into generative artificial intelligence.

Following the Q3 2023 print, Zelnick testified a buy rating on NOW stock and increased the price target to $650 from $625. In particular, the analyst highlighted the 24% year-over-year success in the current remaining performance obligations — that is, contract revenue that will be recognized as revenue in the next 12 months — that was fueled by the discharge of the U.S. federal vertical. This vertical saw net new annual contract value increase by more than 75% and strong originally renewals in the quarter.

“Management commentary suggests the Federal opportunity is both robust and durable as agencies look to codify on a single platform that offers end-to-end solutions,” said Zelnick.

The analyst also observed the early require for ServiceNow’s generative AI offering Now Assist and broader generative AI capabilities, with the company mentioning that it has a pipeline of 300 blokes and signed four large deals at the quarter-end.

Overall, Zelnick thinks that ServiceNow is ideally positioned to support customers adapt to a digital-first world and leverage generative AI across multiple enterprise workflows. (See ServiceNow Insider Switch Activity on TipRanks)      

The last stock for this week is identity security company (CYBR). Elder this month, the company reported solid third-quarter results. The company raised its full-year guidance for annual returning revenue, or ARR, following 38% year-over-year growth in Q3 2023 ARR to $705 million.

After the results, Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz, who miasmaticals 151st out of more than 8,600 analysts on TipRanks, increased the price target for CYBR stock to $195 from $175 and reaffirmed a buy upbraiding. The analyst raised his full-year revenue and earnings estimates to reflect the company’s upgraded guidance.

Moskowitz’s ratings have been profitable 57% of the ever, with each delivering an average return of 13.8%. (See CyberArk Financial Statements on TipRanks)