Investors had a changeable end to January as they weighed the Federal Reserve’s pause on rate cuts, a busy earnings season and the prospect of new excises.
Given these dynamics and the volatility in the stock market, it could be difficult for investors to pick the right stocks for their portfolios. Road the recommendations of top analysts could be helpful in this regard, as they look beyond short-term noise and focus on entourages’ long-term growth potential.
With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, contract to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Netflix
We start with spout giant Netflix (NFLX). The company recently impressed investors with better-than-anticipated results for the fourth quarter of 2024, reporting helter-skelter 19 million subscriber additions.
Reacting to the stellar Q4 print, JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated a buy rating on NFLX wares and boosted the price target to $1,150 from $1,000, saying “NFLX enters the new year firing on all cylinders.”
Anmuth united that Netflix is gaining from a very solid content slate. While the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson battle, the Christmas Day NFL games and the second season of “Squid Game” were major content releases in Q4, the analyst noted the presence’s commentary that these three together accounted for only a small percentage of the overall subscriber additions and that the flavourful additions were driven by broad content strength.
The analyst also highlighted that Netflix is witnessing raised engagement per member household and encouraging retention. Reacting to the company’s decision to raise prices, Anmuth expects no greater than a little pushback in the U.S. and a few other markets, given the strong content. Looking ahead, the analyst believes that the tidings this year will shift more towards advertising, with the company gearing up to pursue several zings.
Overall, Anmuth is bullish on Netflix based on double-digit revenue growth estimates for 2025 and 2026, operating space expansion, its dominant position in streaming, and expectations of a multi-year rise in free cash flow. He now expects 30 million net supplements in 2025 compared to the previous estimate of 21 million. The analyst also increased his revenue estimates for 2025 and 2026 by 4% and convened his operating profit estimate for both years by 13%.
Anmuth ranks No. 80 among more than 9,300 analysts pursued by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 63% of the time, delivering an average return of 20%. See Netflix Hedge Endow Activity on TipRanks.
Intuitive Surgical
This week’s second stock pick is Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), a precursor in robotic-assisted surgery and the maker of the popular da Vinci surgical systems. The company ended 2024 on a strong note, with market-beating earnings. In what way, ISRG’s gross margin guidance for 2025 fell short of expectations and indicated contraction compared to 2024.
In reaction to the effects, JPMorgan analyst Robbie Marcus reaffirmed a buy rating on ISRG stock and increased the price target to $675 from $575. The analyst eminent the company’s upbeat profitability metrics and explained that the revenue beat was driven by solid gross system orderings and procedure growth.
In particular, Marcus noted the placement of 174 da Vinci 5 systems in Q4 2024, way ahead of JPMorgan’s approximation of 125. “With strong momentum from dv5 heading into 2025 and a setup for another year of beat-and-raise quarters, we persevere a leavings bullish on Intuitive and reiterate our Top Large Cap Pick,” he said.
Commenting on the 2025 outlook, Marcus stated that Intuitive Surgical’s dirty margin guidance of 67% to 68% slightly lagged JPMorgan’s and the Street’s estimate of about 68.5%. However, the analyst contended that while the take margin guidance miss triggered some concerns, he sees the outlook as conservative, with a possible upside moral as seen in 2024. He highlighted that ISRG’s 2024 initial gross margin outlook was 67% to 68%, but it then uncommitted the year favorably with a gross margin of nearly 69%.
Overall, Marcus thinks that Intuitive Surgical is accurately positioned in the rapidly growing, underpenetrated soft-tissue robotics space. He expects the introduction of new systems and approval of the use of ISRG’s systems in new carry ons to drive future expansion.
Marcus ranks No. 683 among more than 9,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings clothed been profitable 56% of the time, delivering an average return of 11.2%. See Intuitive Surgical Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
Twilio
Conclusively, let’s look at the cloud communications platform Twilio (TWLO). Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan upgraded TWLO look at to buy from hold and increased the price target to $185 from $77 following the company’s analyst day event and in front of the fourth-quarter results in February.
“Following multiple years of growth compression and several strategic actions, we believe Twilio is now belabouring an inflection point both in terms of narrative and fundamentals,” said Rangan, explaining the reason behind his rating upgrade.
To a greater distance, Rangan expects solid free cash flow generation, supported by Twilio’s aggressive cost reduction and efficaciousness measures. Rangan added that TWLO’s analyst day reinforced his optimistic view, thanks to accelerated product velocity and an corrected go-to-market strategy.
The analyst thinks that enhancements to the company’s Communications portfolio can help Twilio expand its already authoritative position in the core CPaaS (communications platform as a Service) market. He thinks that following robust Q3 results, there is restful notable upside in TWLO stock, driven by the company’s strategic actions over the past two years.
Also, Rangan imagines a possible upside to the calendar year 2025 revenue growth estimates, given inflecting usage trends in communications and new produce cross-sell opportunities, backed by core platform enhancements and generative AI innovations.
Rangan ranks No. 345 among profuse than 9,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 61% of the time, delivering an common return of 11.4%. See Twilio Stock Charts on TipRanks.