September got off to a rocky start for the U.S. stock market as certain economic data showed signs of weakness.
When investors look beyond the short-term turmoil and search for stocks, they can consider the recommendations of leading Wall Street analysts. These experts conduct research and evaluate a company's ability to weather headwinds and deliver long-term growth.
With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Planet Fitness
The first choice this week is Planet Fitness (PLNT), a franchisor and operator of over 2,600 fitness centers. The company recently reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and reiterated its full-year guidance. Management attributed the second-quarter performance to the strength of the company's asset-light franchise model.
Recently, Baird analyst Jonathan Komp reiterated a Buy rating on PLNT stock with a price target of $92. The analyst gave the stock a new “Bullish Fresh Pick” designation as he is optimistic about the company's initiatives under new leadership and other growth drivers.
The analyst noted that management has made efforts to increase return on investment on new units through higher prices, reduced capital expenditures and extended remodeling schedules. CEO Colleen Keating wants to further strengthen the company's position by strengthening leadership, improving the member experience and increasing marketing efforts.
In addition to new leadership, Komp cited several reasons for his optimistic thesis, including Planet Fitness' solid value proposition to the consumer and a high-margin franchise model that should prove resilient even in a difficult macroeconomic environment.
The analyst added that “the growing cash return capacity and range of drivers through 2025E position the stock well for a slowing growth environment.”
Komp is ranked 266th among more than 9,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 56% of the time, generating an average return of 15.1%. (See Planet Fitness stock charts on TipRanks)
Ross Stores
We switch to off-price retail chain Ross Stores (RUST). The retailer reported positive second-quarter results as it attracted customers with its lower-priced offerings. Ross Stores raised its full-year profit forecast to reflect demand for its discount offerings and additional efficiencies.
In response to the strong second-quarter numbers, TD Cowen analyst John Kernan reiterated his buy rating on Ross Stores shares and raised his price target from $173 to $185. The analyst expects the company's increased merchandising efforts to drive up the forecast for the second half of the year.
Kernan emphasized that management initiatives to strengthen Ross Stores' value proposition and a broader product range of branded goods in certain categories, including women's apparel and beauty, have boosted the company's comparable sales in recent quarters.
Kernan noted that the company's margins and earnings are also benefiting from merchandising efforts and cost savings in distribution, logistics and store networks. Overall, the analyst expects ROST's operating margin to increase from 11.3% in fiscal 2023 to over 13% by fiscal 2028.
“We believe ROST's valuation discount to TJX is still too high (given similar growth and ROIC profiles), which could lead to near-term upside for ROST,” Kernan said.
Kernan is ranked 795th among more than 9,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 54% of the time and have produced an average return of 7.8%. (See Ross Stores technical analysis on TipRanks)
SentinelOne
Finally, there are cybersecurity providers SentinelOne (S). The company reported outperforming results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, the first time the company has achieved positive net income and earnings per share on an adjusted basis. SentinelOne also raised its full-year revenue guidance, supported by robust momentum and the strength of its AI-powered Singularity platform.
Following the results announcement, Baird analyst Shrenik Kothari reiterated his buy rating on SentinelOne shares with a price target of $29. The analyst cited the company's strong second-quarter performance and 32% annual recurring revenue growth, driven by new business and solid expansion within the existing customer base due to new products in cloud, data and AI.
Kothari added that despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, the company has raised its full-year outlook and expects improved net ARR in the second half of the year. The raised outlook reflects stronger pipeline retention and improved win rates, supported by notable progress in the company's go-to-market strategy.
Comment on expectations that SentinelOne will benefit from the July IT outage caused by its competitor CrowdStrikeKothari believes management is taking a “prudent” stance. Management emphasized the resilience of SentinelOne's offerings, noting that there was a shift in sentiment following the outage, with some of the world's largest organizations showing increasing interest in the company's platform.
“Overall, S is coping well with the transition to the new operating model and has a strong RPO [remaining performance obligation] Growth (40% y-o-y) indicates sustained demand and upside potential to the cautious outlook,” Kothari said.
Kothari is ranked 233rd among more than 9,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 69% of the time, generating an average return of 22.1%. (See SentinelOne Hedge Funds Trading Activity on TipRanks)