Top Wall Street analysts prefer these 3 stocks for long-term growth

The U.S. stock market started 2024 on a dismal note, but investors will need to look past the short-term uncertainty.

Rather than worrying about the slow start to the year, investors should focus on adding stocks with attractive long-term prospects to their portfolios.

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.

This week’s first pick is Booking Holdings (BKNG), an online travel agency. The company is benefiting from strong travel demand despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

Recently, Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth reiterated a buy rating on Booking Holdings and increased his price target to $4,285 from $3,855. The analyst thinks that the company is well-positioned to gain from the secular shift in consumer spending trends toward travel and entertainment.

The analyst expects BKNG to witness higher bookings, driven by the continued strength in demand for travel coupled with the company’s artificial intelligence initiatives. In particular, he anticipates that the company’s AI advancements, including its Connected Trip offering, will bring down costs and enhance operating efficiencies.    

“BKNG’s strong balance sheet and cash flow will continue to drive ongoing investment in key growth initiatives and the resumption of share repurchases,” said Feinseth.

Overall, the analyst expects Booking Holdings to generate a higher return on capital, fueled by its dominant market position, solid execution, strong brand equity, diversified global presence and a technologically advanced platform.

Feinseth ranks No. 253 among more than 8,600 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 10.9%. In addition, see Booking Holdings Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks. 

Athletic apparel and footwear company Nike (NKE) recently reported better-than-anticipated fiscal second-quarter earnings per share. However, the stock declined following the results as the company’s revenue fell short of estimates. Also, Nike lowered its full-year revenue outlook due to increased macro challenges, mainly in China and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).

Despite the mixed results, Baird analyst Jonathan Komp reiterated a buy rating on Nike stock with a price…