[Editor’s note: “7 Strong Buy Stocks the Street Loves” was previously published in April 2019. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.]
Which top stocks are Wall Street analysts the most bullish on? I mean stocks with a strong “buy” analyst consensus. These are the stocks that make the most compelling investing opportunities and are definitely worth keeping a close eye on.
Using TipRanks powerful stock screener, I set out to pinpoint seven stocks that command the support of the Street. You can customize the screener settings to match your investment strategy. In this case, I selected filters for stocks of all market cap size with a “buy” consensus from analysts and best-performing analysts alike. These are the top analysts with the highest success rate and average return.
Here I specifically select stocks with big upside potential from the current share price. This is based on the upside potential from the current share price to the average analyst price target.
Now let’s delve into these seven top stocks to buy now:
Strong Buy Stocks: Exact Sciences (EXAS)
Earlier this year, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has just received five back-to-back buy ratings from the Street. These “buys” flooded in following stellar Q4 earnings results. EXAS delivered a solid Q4 revenue beat and raised its 2019 revenue guidance to $710 million-$730 million, above its prior $700 million estimate.
Plus the future looks bright for sales of its Cologuard DNA test for colon cancer.
“EXAS is one of our top picks for 2019, and we reiterate our “buy” rating and our $100 PT,” said five-star Canaccord Genuity analyst Mark Massaro. “Exact continues to execute at a high level and isn’t afraid to make big investments to hit its ambitious goal of achieving $6 billion of revenue for Cologuard over time.”
That would give the company over 40% market share for its revolutionary screening product, first launched back in 2014.
According to Massaro, even the new revenue guidance is beatable, writing “we see a path to upside to our raised estimates.” A similar message comes from Baird’s Catherine Ramsey. She writes: “We continue to see the potential for upside… and EXAS remains one of our top ideas.”
The average analyst price target right now stands at $128.33. Bear in mind shares have surged 87% year-to-date. Want to learn more about Exact Sciences? Get the free EXAS Stock Research Report.
OpenText (OTEX)
Canadian cloud computing stock Open Text Corp (NASDAQ:OTEX) develops and sells enterprise information management (EIM) software. Essentially, this helps organizations safely manage and share business information.
Since the company’s inception in 1991, OpenText has deployed around $6 billion capital on acquisitions. Using these acquisitions, OTEX can cement its position as a leader in the EIM space.
“Our strategy is total growth,” said CEO Mark Barrenechea said, “where M&A will continue to be our largest growth driver, augmented with organic growth.” So far this strategy appears to be paying off.
“We believe OpenText is likely to continue to create shareholder value through its acquisition strategy,” RBC analyst Paul Treiber said following the encouraging Q2 numbers,
Analysts have a $46.75 average price target on the shares — over 10% above the current share price. Get the OTEX Stock Research Report.
Moderna (MRNA)
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) is a pioneer in a new class of medicines made of messenger RNA, or mRNA. The potential implications of using mRNA as a drug are significant and far-reaching. No less than eight analysts have published recent buy ratings on the stock.
Earlier this year, the company reported positive results from an ongoing phase Ib trial. This is for mRNA-1653, an mRNA-based vaccine for the treatment of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and parainfluenza virus (PIV3).
“The interim phase I data announced today support our outlook for this experimental product and support advancing studies in the pediatric population” said Oppenheimer’s Leah R Cann.
The mRNA-1653 program is one of Moderna’s 21 most current and importantly, one of its 13 focus programs.
She points out that currently there are no approved vaccines to prevent hMPV or PIV3 infections, and estimates that worldwide mRNA-1653 sales could reach $1.44 billion by 2030. That’s with a predicted launch date of 2024. Get the MRNA Stock Research Report.
Nexstar Media (NXST)
Following its completion of the Media General acquisition, Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) owns 171 television stations. As the largest TV station operator in the U.S. reaching nearly 39% of households, Nexstar Media Group is a stock worth watching.
Analysts certainly seem to think so. Nexstar has received many buy calls in recent months from the Street. Most notably, Evercore ISI’s David Joyce upgraded NXST from “hold” to “buy” back in December.
Crucially, the company recently acquired many stations. It has agreed to a $6.4 billion deal to buy Tribune’s ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC stations. Tribune shareholders recently approved the deal. What’s more, to help avoid any anti-trust issues, Nexstar has announced that it would sell 14 stations.
“We assign Nexstar an Outperform rating and a $112 price target. We believe that the Tribune acquisition should create significant value for shareholders,” top RBC Capital analyst Leo Kulp tells investors.
He ramped up his price target from $96 to $112, adding, “We see limited risk around regulatory approvals…We expect the FCF yield to moderate as the company completes the milestones to closing the deal and de-levers post-closing.” Get the NXST Stock Research Report.
Boyd Gaming (BYD)
Shares in Boyd Gaming Corp (NYSE:BYD) have jumped 34% in 2019 . That’s partially thanks to a pretty exceptional Q4 earnings report for the Paradise, Nevada-based casino company.
“BYD’s 4Q18 operating results were nothing short of sensational,” said five-star Stifel Nicolaus analyst Steven Wieczynski. “BYD’s strong 4Q18 results (were) an exclamation point on a strong 2018, with guidance above expectations serving as the cherry on top.”
With widespread growth throughout the business, BYD EBITDAR came in at $208.6mm, easily surpassing the estimated $197.1 million. Meanwhile 2019 EBITDAR guidance was established at a healthy $885 million-910 million, the midpoint of which was above Consensus forecasts ahead of the print ($888 million).
“Post the strong 4Q18 results and with, we believe BYD is well positioned to continue to show healthy and steady same-store growth, while continuing to integrate its accretive acquisitions from the 2H18,” said Deutsche Bank’s Carlo Santarelli.
That’s with a “very compelling” current valuation to boot. With a ” buy” analyst consensus, BYD boasts fa $35.60 average price target (25% upside potential). Get the BYD Stock Research Report.
LivePerson (LPSN)
As the name suggests, LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) provides online real-time assistance and expert advice. The cloud-based chat company is near its all-time highs after its CEO in May said that it expects to end the year with an annual revenue run rate of around 20%. Shares are now up 73% year-to-date.
Going forward, analysts are firmly bullish about LivePerson’s outlook. Many analysts have published “buy” ratings on the stock this year, including (five-star Oppenheimer analyst Koji Ikeda.
“We believe LivePerson is well positioned to take share in a large B2C messaging opportunity that is disrupting the contact center” writes Ikeda. “Organizations around the world are under pressure to rethink and retool legacy technologies with next-generation customer engagement applications, like LivePerson, to better engage, retain, and generate revenue from the end-consumer” the analyst explains.
He believes that over time, good execution in quarterly results and improving business fundamentals should narrow the valuation gap between LPSN and the SaaS Industry average. That makes it a great strong buy stock. Get the LPSN Stock Research Report.
Cubic Corp (CUB)
Despite Brexit concerns and increasing volatility, growth remains par for the course for Irish defense contractor Cubic Corp (NYSE:CUB).
The company has three key business divisions. For investors, it is the company’s flagship Cubic Transportation Systems unit that is worth keeping an eye on. According to the company, this is the division responsible for “automated fare payment, traffic management and enforcement solutions.”
Indeed, transport systems revenue was up 24% year over year, according to CUB’s Q1 earnings report. Consequently, Citigroup’s Jonathan Raviv cited recent wins- especially in transport- as behind his bullish take on the stock.
Meanwhile, Drexel Hamilton’s David Williams wrote: “We remain positive on CUB and expect further acquisitions to supplement top and bottom-line growth, which is likely to drive short term upside to expectations, and provide a strong long-term growth trajectory.”
As such, the analyst reiterates his “buy” rating and $85 price target (38% upside potential) on this strong buy stock. Six analysts give the stock a buy rating, while their average price target works out at $76.40. Get the CUB Stock Research Report.
TipRanks.com offers exclusive insights for investors by focusing on the moves of experts: Analysts, Insiders, Bloggers, Hedge Fund Managers and more. See what the experts are saying about your stocks now at TipRanks.com. As of this writing, Harriet Lefton did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
