Top Wall Street analysts like these 3 stocks for long-term growth

With that in mind, here are three stocks that top Wall Street pros like, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on past performance.

This week’s first pick is Booking Holdings (BKNG), online travel agency. The company is benefiting from strong travel demand despite a difficult macroeconomic backdrop.

Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Fainseth recently reiterated his buy rating on Booking Holdings and raised his price target from $3,855 to $4,285. Analysts believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from long-term changes in consumer spending trends for travel and entertainment.

Analysts expect BKNG’s continued strength in travel demand and the company’s artificial intelligence efforts to drive booking growth. In particular, we expect the company’s AI advances, including its Connected Trip service, to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

“BKNG’s strong balance sheet and cash flow will continue to drive continued investment in key growth initiatives and resumption of share buybacks,” Feinseth said.

Overall, analysts believe that Booking Holdings has a dominant market position, solid execution, strong brand equity, a diversified global presence, and a technologically advanced platform, driven by higher capitalization. We expect it to generate profit margins.

Mr. Feinseth is ranked #253 out of over 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His rating is that he is profitable 62% of the time, and the average return is 10.9%. Additionally, see his Booking Holdings insider trading activity on TipRanks.

Sports apparel and footwear company Nike (NKE) recently reported fiscal second-quarter earnings per share that beat expectations. However, the company’s earnings were lower than expected, and the stock price fell following the results. Nike also lowered its full-year earnings outlook, primarily due to increasing macro challenges in China and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa).

Despite the mixed results, Baird analyst Jonathan Komp reiterated his buy rating on Nike stock, with a price target of $140. Analysts believe that a reset in NKE stock after the second quarter results will be a better entry point for investors, given that the company’s profit margins are expected to recover from fiscal year 2025 to 2027.

While the sales outlook revision could spark discussion about macro and brand-specific headwinds, analysts said NKE has a $2 billion cost-cutting plan, opportunities to improve gross margins and He remains bullish, saying, “By focusing on expanding new products, we still have prospects for medium-term profits.” EPS for teens and above will grow from 2025 to 2027, supporting a more attractive entry with a P/E ratio of approximately 25x by 2025. ”

In his research note, Komp also highlighted several other advantages of Nike, including the company’s strong brand, solid execution, competitive position and digital leadership.

Komp is ranked #376 out of over 8,600 analysts on TipRanks. His rating is that he was successful 53% of the time and gave an average return of 13.6%. Additionally, check out Nike His Hedge Fund trading activity on TipRanks.

Finally, we move on to the semiconductor company Micron Technology (Mu) is one of the world’s largest memory and storage chip providers. The company recently reported strong financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and issued solid guidance.

The company expects business fundamentals to improve throughout this year and is optimistic about capturing the growing demand for its AI solutions.

Following the strong results, JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sarr reaffirmed his buy rating on MU stock and raised his price target from $90 to $105. Analysts believe the company’s fiscal first-quarter results and better-than-expected outlook for fiscal second quarter reflect improving demand trends and normalization of customer excess inventory.

The analyst said these favorable developments are driving up the prices of DRAM and NAND products in several markets such as smartphones, PCs, Internet of Things (IoT), automotive and industrial sectors. Although demand in the data center and enterprise end markets remains somewhat soft, management expects customer overstock conditions to improve and reach more normal levels in the first half of this year.

“We believe stocks should continue to outperform through 2024 as the market continues to discount sales, margin and profitability improvements heading into CY25,” Sarr said, adding that MU has been named as one of the top semiconductor candidates for 2024.

Sur is ranked #98 out of over 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His rating is that he is successful 67% of the time, and the average return for each is 19.6%. Plus, check out his Micron financial statements on TipRanks.