The stock market remains volatile as investors digest developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict, fears of disruption to artificial intelligence and concerns about the sustainability of the AI boom.
Investors looking for solid stock picks in this context can turn to recommendations from leading Wall Street analysts for useful insights. These experts look beyond short-term pressures and focus on a company’s ability to generate strong returns over the long term.
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.
Nvidia
Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA) is this week’s first choice. After meeting with Nvidia CFO Colette Kress, UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri reiterated a Buy rating on Nvidia shares with a price target of $245. In comparison, TipRanks AI Analyst has an “Outperform” rating with a price target of $230.
Arcuri said after the meeting that he was optimistic about Nvidia’s network growth and long-term margins. He noted that NVDA is very optimistic about expanding its networks. Management said the company already sees itself as the largest global network provider, with the goal of surpassing total sales of other network semiconductor providers by the end of 2026.
When it comes to gross margin, the five-star analyst emphasized that NVDA expects some variance in the near term due to the launch of new programs. Management sees 75% as a good long-term gross margin target and is not currently targeting significantly higher levels above 75%. Nvidia expects improvements in computing power and total cost of ownership (TCO), as well as improved customer economics, in each generation to help maintain strong margins over the longer term.
Among other key insights, Arcuri mentioned that while Nvidia expects a $550 billion backlog increase for Blackwell and Rubin, it has no plans to update that number further. This is because management believes customer focus has shifted to buildouts in 2027 and the company continues to see strong computing demand.
Nvidia’s confidence in expanding computing power is supported by its optimism about the investment sustainability of hyperscalers, thanks to their solid balance sheets and cash-flow generating capabilities. “Management also sees an expansion of financing mechanisms from pure capital expenditure to leases, SPVs and other vehicles,” Arcuri said.
Arcuri is ranked #5 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Its valuations were profitable 76% of the time and delivered an average return of 41.7%. See Nvidia stock buybacks on TipRanks.
Palo Alto Networks
We carry on Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a cybersecurity company. Recently, TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal reiterated a Buy rating on PANW stock with a price target of $255 following a virtual meeting with the company’s senior vice president of investor relations and strategic finance. TipRanks’ AI analyst is also bullish on PANW stock, with an Outperform rating and a price target of $181.
Eyal noted that there continues to be strong demand in Palo Alto for security providers with a unified platform ecosystem that integrates multiple security capabilities, particularly network security, SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), endpoint and SIEM (security information and event management).
The five-star analyst sees the increasing adoption of agent AI as the next potential long-term catalyst for Palo Alto. The analyst explained that as agent AI becomes increasingly embedded in all business operations, companies may favor consolidating security tools to deal with cyberattacks, as using traditional, fragmented tools may not be effective in protecting autonomous systems.
Eyal’s call with management also highlighted the factors driving SASE’s strength. In particular, customers who first adopted SASE during the pandemic are now reevaluating their architecture and vendors, allowing Palo Alto to gain market share as customers look for a more comprehensive solution. Additionally, PANW’s Prisma browser and strong time to market (GTM) supported by an experienced sales team are also driving SASE sales.
Finally, Eyal noted, “Opportunistic tuck-in acquisitions on an annual basis will continue to be an integral part of achieving $20 billion in NGS ARR.” [next-generation security annual recurring revenue] by FY30.”
Eyal is ranked #393 among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Its valuations were profitable 56% of the time and delivered an average return of 17.2%. See Palo Alto Networks ownership structure on TipRanks.
Micron technology
Storage and data storage solutions provider Micron technology (IN) is expected to report its fiscal second quarter results on March 18. The company is benefiting from AI-driven demand for its products and rising storage prices.
Ahead of the results, Stifel analyst Brian Chin reiterated his Buy rating on Micron shares and increased his price target to $550 from $360. TipRanks AI analyst has an Outperform rating on MU stock with a price target of $497.
“Storage prices are reaching levels we did not expect, evidence of the widening/persistent gap between supply and demand,” Chin said.
The five-star analyst believes the real opportunity for Micron lies not just in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), but in its server DDR5 product. In fact, Chin expects the gross margin of the company’s DDR5 RDIMM product to increase by more than 80%, significantly exceeding HBM’s margin.
Meanwhile, Chin does not expect the strength of memory prices to abate as supply controls continue to suggest that memory supply will remain relatively stable in the near term. He claims that consensus expectations are too low and underestimate the extent of the upward revision potential in the coming quarters.
The analyst highlighted that its revised estimates reflect solid average selling price (ASP) growth across Micron’s cloud, data center and mobile/client segments. While industry growth may be modest in the first quarter of 2026, Chin expects higher prices across all segments to boost gross margins.
Chin ranks 176th among more than 12,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Its valuations were profitable 66% of the time and delivered an average return of 34.5%. See Micron Technology financial data on TipRanks.