A cyclist rides past the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms in Mountain View, California, on Nov. 9, 2022.
Peter Dasilva | Reuters
Fears around the artificial intelligence trade and higher pressure on oil prices are weighing on global markets, but a few stocks offer investors solid growth prospects even in choppy times.
Investors with a long-term horizon can look beyond the ongoing volatility and track the recommendations of top Wall Street analysts to pick attractive stocks with strong long-term growth potential.
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.
UnitedHealth
Health insurer UnitedHealth delivered better-than-expected results for the third quarter of 2026. The company also raised its full-year earnings outlook, reflecting continued progress on its turnaround plan.
Following the Q3 print, Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright reiterated a buy rating on UNH stock with a price target of $529. "UNH's beat & raise reinforces turnaround momentum, with improving MA [Medicare Advantage]/Optum Health supporting a higher '26 EPS baseline & upside to '27 consensus," said Wright.
The five-star analyst added that better-than-expected performance in the UnitedHealthcare and Optum Health businesses supported another upgrade to the company's 2026 adjusted earnings per share outlook to at least $20.50. Wright noted that UNH raised the earnings guidance despite incremental investments planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Furthermore, Wright highlighted management's view that the consensus 2027 EPS of $22.63 was too conservative. Reaching even the low end of the company's 13% to 16% long-term EPS growth target would imply an EPS of $23.17.
Wright raised her 2026 EPS estimate to $20.65 from $19.82 and 2027 EPS to $23.24 from $22.54, reflecting the latest upside and an improving 2026 medical loss ratio to 87.4% from 88.1%. Overall, she believes that UNH's operational performance continues to improve, increasing her confidence in its UHC strategy and Optum Health turnaround execution.
Wright ranks No. 264 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Her ratings have been successful 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 15%. See UnitedHealth Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
Meta Platforms
Social media giant Meta Platforms has been making headlines since the launch of its Muse AI agent, which is seeing solid traction. Investors look forward to updates on the company's AI strategy when it announces its third-quarter results on Oct. 21.
Heading into Q3 earnings, Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris maintained a buy rating on Meta stock and increased his price target to $850 from $700, reflecting higher estimates for 2027. He expects Muse usage momentum and engagement levels to shape investor sentiment into the Q3 earnings call.
Specifically, Morris highlighted that, according to Apptopia, Muse reached 1.3 million daily active users in five weeks versus 300,000 in the first week. Given that Muse's current adoption represents less than 0.05% of Meta's 3.6 billion daily active user base, the analyst expects management to prioritize boosting usage over near-term monetization.
"Over time, we believe Muse monetizes primarily through businesses paying to reach consumers through their agents, consistent with the economics of Meta's core advertising business, rather than consumer wallets," said the five-star analyst. He added that the checkout integrations with Shopify and PayPal reflect this framework.
While there are concerns that a rival could overtake Muse or the recently launched Muse Wonder and push Meta into a prolonged cycle of overinvestment, Morris remains bullish due to the company's strong record in scaling WhatsApp and competing strongly with TikTok via Reels as well as free distribution to an extensive user base.
Morris ranks No. 629 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 57% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.2%. See Meta Platforms KPIs on TipRanks.
Marvell Technology
Next is semiconductor company Marvell Technology. Earlier this month, Marvell held its Investor Day, where it raised its total addressable market estimate to $400 billion by 2030, reflecting solid AI-led demand tailwinds.
After hosting a non-deal roadshow with Marvell's senior management following the Investor Day, Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg reiterated a buy rating on the stock with a price target of $370.
The five-star analyst said that a major focus of the roadshow was the XPU and XPU Attach mix, as Marvell's Custom business expands toward its FY31 revenue target of $30 billion. In this regard, management reiterated that it expects a balanced mix of XPU and XPU Attach revenue in FY31, though it noted that either segment could grow rapidly enough to shift the mix toward 60/40 or 40/60.
While XPU drove most of the nearly $1.5 billion Custom revenue in FY26, Svanberg expects Marvell's XPU Attach business to grow substantially through the end of the decade, leading to a more balanced mix in this business. At the Investor Day event, the company raised its FY29 Custom target from more than $10 billion to over $12 billion, mainly driven by strength in the XPU Attach business.
Svanberg said that another key topic in the roadshow was whether Marvell can secure enough capacity to meet its raised targets. Management said that it met with suppliers ahead of Investor Day to share its five-year goals and received commitments to support these targets. The analyst believes that Marvell's supply chain commitments give it a competitive edge over rivals as customers seek reliable partners for large-scale infrastructure buildouts.
Svanberg ranks No. 91 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 58% of the time, delivering an average return of 31.8%. See Marvell Technology Statistics on TipRanks.