Wall Street analysts like these stocks for long-term growth potential

Wall Street analysts like these stocks for long-term growth potential


The latest earnings reports from major technology companies have revived investors’ concerns about payoffs on elevated artificial intelligence (AI) spending.

While some companies failed to impress investors, others proved their ability to capitalize on solid growth opportunities offered by the ongoing AI boom.

With their expertise and in-depth analysis, top Wall Street analysts can help investors select stocks that can outperform the broader market and deliver impressive growth.

Here are three stocks favored by some of Wall Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Apple

iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) is this week’s first pick. In a recent research note, Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani reiterated a buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of $330. TipRanks’ AI Analyst is also bullish on AAPL stock, with an “outperform” rating and a price target of $289.

The five-star analyst noted that Apple’s January App Store revenue rose 7% year over year. However, Daryanani pointed out that Gaming revenues fell on a year-over-year basis for a third consecutive month, with January revenues down 3%. He explained that this weakness was due to tougher year-over-year comparisons. He expects Gaming revenues to see easier comparisons through the rest of the first half of calendar year 2026.

Daryanani highlighted that despite ongoing weakness in the Gaming category, revenues from the other five categories of App Store revenue grew by double digits, led by Music (up 21%), Other (21%), Photo and Video (18%), Social Networking (11%) and Entertainment (10%).

The analyst stated that Apple continues to deliver robust growth in Services revenue despite subdued App Store data, with the December quarter seeing 14% growth compared to the App Store’s 6.5% growth. Daryanani also noted that Apple’s recently reported revenue and EPS (earnings per share) for the December quarter exceeded expectations, with the company delivering better-than-expected gross margin, driven by limited memory impact and robust Services growth.

“We expect AAPL to continue to benefit from faster growing areas (Apple Pay, iCloud, Licensing, etc.), helping to offset <10% growth in App Store revs,” said Daryanani.

Daryanani ranks No. 160 among more than 12,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 20.6%. See Apple Options Activity on TipRanks. 

MongoDB

Database software provider MongoDB (MDB) is next on the list. Bank of America analyst Koji Ikeda is optimistic about the company’s growth prospects. He recently reaffirmed a buy rating on MDB stock and raised his price forecast to $500 from $480. TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on MongoDB stock with a price target of $380.

Commenting on concerns over whether MongoDB’s Atlas revenue growth will keep accelerating, Ikeda sees the potential for continued strength. His optimism is backed by the success of the company’s top-down enterprise and bottom-up product-led growth approach and an expanding product lineup for artificial intelligence (AI) and legacy app modernization. The analyst also expects MongoDB to gain from higher consumption, driven by rising enterprise workloads.

Ikeda highlighted the strengths of MongoDB database, saying it is fast, scalable and document-based, differentiating it from conventional relational databases like Oracle. The five-star analyst also noted the new features offered by the company, including vector search and application modernization capabilities, which bolster its position to win additional workloads.

While MDB stock is trading at a higher valuation compared to infrastructure software peers, Ikeda believes that a premium is justified, given the 30% Atlas growth compared to 11% for peers and MongoDB’s leading position in the database market.

Ikeda ranks No. 689 among more than 12,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 57% of the time, delivering an average return of 11.7%. See MDB Ownership Structure on TipRanks.

Western Digital

Data storage company Western Digital (WDC) recently announced better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and issued solid guidance. The robust demand for hard drives and flash storage amid the ongoing AI wave is boosting the company’s business.

Following Western Digital’s Innovation Day, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reaffirmed a buy rating on WDC stock with a price target of $345. TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on Western Digital with a price target of $285.

Mohan noted that Western Digital expects the AI and cloud storage market to grow exabytes (EB), a measure of data storage, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of over 25% through 2030. The five-star analyst also sees the possibility of hard disk drives (HDDs) gaining market share and accounting for more than 80% of storage in the cloud.

Additionally, Mohan emphasized Western Digital’s revised long-term growth targets. Over the next three to five years, the company aims to grow its nearline exabytes at mid-20% CAGR, with overall revenue above 20% CAGR. Mohan highlighted that a favorable mix shift to higher capacity HDDs, stable pricing, and a focus on cost improvements could fuel gross margin above 50%, an operating margin of more than 40%, and EPS higher than $20.

Meanwhile, Western Digital is planning capital spending at 4% to 6% of annual revenue and a free cash flow margin of more than 30%. Overall, Mohan is bullish on WDC’s prospects based on “secular growth of the HDD market,” as well as further gross margin upside.

Mohan ranks No. 110 among more than 12,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 25.1%. See Western Digital Financials on TipRanks.



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