Top Wall Street analysts are bullish on these five stocks

The second half has started in earnest and earnings are increasing.

Action-watching investors can gain useful insights from Wall Street experts’ top stock picks, which can help them make informed decisions as they seek solid returns over the long term.

Top Wall Street experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on past performance, have five stocks for investors to consider.

Topping this week’s list is a Mediterranean restaurant chain Javanese (JAVA), the blockbuster made its public debut last month. The rally in CAVA stock since its initial public offering reflects investor optimism about the fast-casual restaurant chain’s growth prospects. Since opening its first restaurant in 2011, Cava has expanded to 263 locations.

Stifel analyst Chris O’Cull initiated a buy rating on Cava with a $48 price target. The analyst sees strong growth potential given the company’s plan to expand to at least 1,000 restaurant locations in the U.S. by 2032. Cava’s expansion plans include entering new markets in the Midwest next year.

O’Cull expects the company’s growth plans to be supported by a healthy balance sheet. He noted that after the IPO, Cava has approximately $340 million in cash on hand and no funded debt. The analyst estimates annual revenue growth of 20% over the next four years, driven by at least 15% growth in Cava’s footprint. He expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to nearly double to $112 million in 2026 from $58 million this year, and the company projects positive free cash flow starting in 2026.

“In our view, the stock’s premium valuation is justified by its AUV (average unit volume) and unit count growth opportunity, and the potential for solid operating momentum to drive upward revisions to near-term estimates and long-term earnings potential,” he said. O’Cool.

O’Cull is ranked #349 out of over 8,400 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Its ratings are 62% profitable, with an average return of 12.3% per rating. (See CAVA Technical Analysis on TipRanks)

A technical behemoth apple (AAPL) is known for its innovative products, including the iPhone and iPad. However, the company’s high-margin Services segment has grown rapidly in recent years, boosting the firm’s revenue and profitability.

Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani, ranked 258 out of more than 8,400 analysts tracked on TipRanks, recently released the results of his firm’s annual Apple Services survey. The survey showed that Apple Services as a whole continues to gain more adoption. In particular, Apple Pay, Music and TV+ saw the most notable increases in adoption compared to last year’s survey.

The survey found that the Services’ average revenue per user (ARPU) in the US was $110, which was $81 higher than Daryanani’s global estimate. ARPU growth is the key catalyst for the Services business as smartphone penetration is likely to reach peak levels, the analyst claims.

“We continue to see Apple Services positioned to maintain double-digit growth through FY27 and beyond, increasing ARPU with new product launches,” Daryanani said.

Daryanani reiterated a buy rating on AAPL with a price target of $210. He has a success rate of 60% and each of his ratings returned an average of 11.5%. (See AAPL Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)

Next on our list is the social media giant Meta (META), recently launched Threads, a Twitter-challenging social media app.

Ivan Feinset, an analyst at Tigress Financial Partners, believes Thread’s launch was a good time to capitalize on Twitter’s sliding popularity. He said that the implementation of Threads created an additional growth catalyst that could lead to further activation of Instagram.

Feinseth also expects Meta’s ongoing AI investments and integrations to continue to drive engagement and advertising revenue across all of its apps. The analyst emphasized that Meta’s strong balance sheet and cash flow are helping to support its growth initiatives, including investing in Metaverse, strategic acquisitions and share buybacks.

Feinseth reiterated his buy rating on Meta and raised his price target to $380 from $285. “Increasing EU integration, better cost management and increased operational efficiency will lead to a re-acceleration in Business Performance trends,” the analyst said.

Feinseth is ranked #205 out of over 8,400 analysts on TipRanks. 60 percent of its ratings were profitable, and the average profitability was 12.8 percent. (See Meta Blogger Reviews and Sentiments on TipRanks)

Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA) appears to be one of the main beneficiaries of the growing interest in generative artificial intelligence, which is fueling huge demand for GPU chips.

Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari noted that Nvidia has benefited from the traditional AI boom for a decade now, reflected in its data center segment’s growth from $129 million in fiscal 2013 to $15 billion in fiscal 2023. The analyst gave his earnings and earnings estimates for Nvidia as he believes the company is entering a new phase of growth driven by generative artificial intelligence.

Hari projects demand for Nvidia products in training generative artificial intelligence models to represent a cumulative revenue opportunity of approximately US$85 billion (baseline scenario) over the calendar years 2023-2025. (See Nvidia Financial Reports on TipRanks)

Meanwhile, inference (which includes core applications that can use generative AI, such as search, enterprise productivity tools, e-commerce, email and social media) will receive $4.5 billion from 2023 to 2025. estimated that there could be an income opportunity of about 7.7 billion dollars.

Hari raised his price target on Nvidia shares to $495 from $440 and reiterated his buy rating. He continues to see “significant runway for the company based on its strong competitive position in the rapidly growing (yet nascent) AI semiconductor market.”

Hari is ranked #171 out of over 8,400 analysts on TipRanks. Additionally, 63% of its ratings have been profitable, with an average return of 19.1%.

USA Foods (USFD) distributes fresh, frozen and dry foods as well as non-food products to its food service customers.

Recently, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated his buy rating on USFD with a $48 price target, saying, “US Foods is one of the best self-help stories in our coverage, with most of the EBITDA growth driven by operational improvement driven diligently over the past year.”

After an excellent gross margin in the first quarter, Saleh raised its second quarter gross margin estimate by 20 basis points to reflect the increased penetration of private brands, stock keeping unit (SKU) streamlining, waste reduction and improved workforce retention.

The analyst also raised its Q2 EBITDA estimate and expressed confidence in US Foods’ ability to beat expectations, citing the company’s strategic initiatives, steady industry sales and handily beating Wall Street’s EBITDA forecasts in recent quarters.

Saleh is ranked #325 out of over 8,400 analysts tracked on TipRanks. His rankings were profitable 64% of the time, with an average return of 12.7% each. (See US Food Stock Chart on TipRanks)