Top analysts are bullish on stocks like Snowflake and Salesforce

Investors aren’t worried about whether the economy is headed for recession because of high interest rates or the shock that hit financial stocks last week.

However, there are buying opportunities for those who know where to look.

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According to the platform, which ranks analysts based on past performance, there are five stocks to weather the storm, according to top Wall Street experts.

Cloud companies are experiencing a significant slowdown in their growth rate as macroeconomic challenges affect business costs. A cloud-based data warehouse company despite constant pressure Snowflake (SNOW) posted positive quarterly results.

Snowflake expects product revenue to grow 40% in fiscal 2024, which represents a slowdown from 70% growth in fiscal 2023 (ended January 31, 2023). Despite this, Snowflake remains optimistic about its growth in the coming years and expects to hit its $10 billion product revenue target in fiscal 2029.

Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick agrees that Snowflake is “not immune to the normalization of cloud growth.” (See Snowflake blogger reviews and opinions on TipRanks)

In addition, Zelnick reiterated Snowflake’s buy rating at $170: “We still strongly believe that Snowflake’s long-term prospects will be maintained with Snowflake’s unique multi-cloud architecture, rich platform features, data exchange capabilities. and on-premises application development tools that allow you to take advantage of the big data cloud.

Zelnik is in 85th place^e More than 8,000 analysts are tracked on TipRanks. His ratio was profitable 69% of the time, with an average return of 14.9%.

Let’s move to another cloud company, Sales force (RCMP), which recently announced strong results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended January 31, 2023). The company expects revenue to grow around 10% in fiscal 2024. Although the figure represented a slowdown from 18% growth in fiscal 2023, it beat analysts’ forecasts.

In addition, Wall Street analysts praised the company’s profitability forecast. Salesforce has come under pressure from several activist investors, including Elliott Management and Starboard Value, to increase profitability. (See Salesforce Insider Trading on TipRanks)

Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz has 264^e The position, among more than 8,000 experts on TipRanks, said it was “encouraged by the recent activity in CRM in recent months.” The analyst also pointed to the company’s restructuring efforts and its fiscal 2024 operating margin forecast of 27%, which he said was “exceeding even the most optimistic expectations.”

“Despite the macro challenges, we reiterate that CRM is well positioned to help its broad customer base manage revenue and streamline processes through digital transformation,” Moskowitz said.

Moskowitz reaffirmed his buy rating and raised his price target on CRM shares to $225 from $200. According to TipRanks, 55% of Moskowitz’s ratings were profitable, with each rating generating an average of 13.1% revenue.

Next on the list is a sporting goods retailer hibett (HIBB), sells shoes, apparel and equipment from major brands such as Nike and Adidas. The company’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 were lower than expected due to macroeconomic pressures, higher costs, supply chain issues and increased promotional activity.

Hibbett expects mid-single-digit sales growth in fiscal 2024, driven by its high-demand footwear range. In addition, the company conducts a “systematic review” of its operating cost structure in order to increase profitability. (See Hibbett’s stock chart on TipRanks)

Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser noted that Hibbett’s relationships with major brands, primarily Nike, are very strong. In addition, the analyst retailer believes it has a “best-in-class, customer-centric omnichannel operation” within its reach, as evidenced by a 21.4% increase in digital sales in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Poser lowered earnings per share for fiscal 2024 and 2025, given that the company’s latest results were lower than expected. Nevertheless, he reiterated Hibbett’s buy rating and $82 price target because he believes “HIBB’s management is more realistic, cautious and conservative than it has been in some time. “.

Poser is ranked #144 out of over 8,000 analysts tracked on TipRanks. His ratings were effective 55% of the time, with each rating generating an average return of 17.6%.

a cyber security company Z-scaleThis (S.Z) second-quarter results beat Street expectations with a 52% increase in revenue.

Still, ZS shares fell as investors fretted over the company’s forecast of a sequential decline of about 9% in the fiscal third quarter, compared with the average single-digit decline seen in recent years. Delays in major transactions due to macroeconomic issues have affected the company’s outlook.

TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal remains bullish on Zscaler and reiterated his buy rating with a $195 price target after the results. “In our view, despite macroeconomic uncertainty and close scrutiny of transactions, ZS is strongly competitive considering the $72 billion market opportunity,” Eyal said.

The analyst believes the company is well-positioned to achieve its long-term goals, which include $5 billion in annual recurring revenue, an operating margin of 20% to 22% and a free cash flow margin of 22% to 25%. (See Zscaler Hedge Fund Trading Service on TipRanks)

Eyal holds 15^e Ranked among over 8,000 analysts on TipRanks. In addition, 66% of its ratings were successful, with an average yield of 24.1%.

Garmin (GRMN) is a leading provider of GPS-based devices and applications. Last month, the company reported a drop in fourth-quarter revenue due to currency fluctuations and lower demand for fitness products.

Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinset expects continued innovation and new launches from the company, with strength in aviation and growing opportunities in the healthcare and automotive OEM sectors (OEMs) accelerating the trends.

Fineset is particularly confident that Garmin will emerge as a leading automotive OEM supplier in the industry. The company’s automotive OEM revenue will grow 11% to $284 million in 2022. The expert expects the annual growth of the automotive segment to be 40%, and by 2025, the revenue figure will reach $800 million. He expects the community to drive that growth. industry-leading product categories of in-cabin domain controllers, infotainment systems and other in-cabin interfaces.

189th ranked Feinset^e Garmin stock has a Buy rating on Tipranks at $165. Analyst ratings were profitable 62% of the time, with an average return of 12.2%. (See Garmin’s financials at TipRanks)