Top Wall Street analysts like these stocks amid macro uncertainty

The market is set for what should be a quiet holiday week, but important catalysts are on the horizon.

The exchange is closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and closes at 1 p.m. on Friday. Investors are waiting for December: The Federal Reserve meets again and a spate of economic data, including November payrolls, is on the horizon.

There could be more volatility ahead, giving investors another reason to take a long-term view and pick stocks that can weather the turmoil.

Here are five stocks picked by Wall Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

software company Vmware (VMW) is awaiting antitrust approval before being acquired by Broadcom (AVGO). Upon closing of the transaction, VMware shareholders will have the option of receiving $142.50 per share in cash or 0.2520 Broadcom shares for each VMware share. As a result, Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White reiterated his buy rating and $136 price target on the stock ahead of VMware’s quarterly results.

White believes VMware’s 19x price-to-earnings multiple is modest for a software company, and coupled with the benefit of its deal with Broadcom, the company has stayed above the carnage in the tech sector for most of the year. (See VMware Stock Price and Analysis on TipRanks)

“In our view, VMware offers a unique value proposition in the cloud, and the attractive economics of its business model are self-evident,” said White. For the upcoming quarterly results, the analyst expects the company to be on track to meet its top and bottom line estimates.

White ranks at 657^th Position among a list of more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks. It was successful with 56% of its reviews, with each review yielding an average return of 8.9% over the past year.

chip company lattice semiconductor (LSCC) looks forward to making the most of untapped opportunities in the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) market, a niche semiconductor market that allows customers to reconfigure the hardware after manufacture.

After speaking with the company’s new management, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland noted that the company’s new FPGA platform, Avant, is gaining early traction with test customers. Management expects this platform, which is set to launch in December, to add about $3 billion to the company’s total addressable market to $6 billion. (See Lattice Semiconductor Financial Statements on TipRanks)

Although Rolland has shone the spotlight on Lattice’s technology, he seemed encouraged by the new management team’s vision of getting the company out of a growth rut. The analyst notes that the team “revisited its entire roadmap, strengthened its supply chain and expanded into new markets.”

With these observations, Rolland reiterated a Buy rating on LSCC stocks with a price target of $75. He holds the 31st^St Position among 8,000+ analysts tracked on TipRanks. Notably, 68% of its reviews were profitable, and each review has generated an average return of 21.6%.

Dentsply Sirona (ROENTGEN), the professional manufacturer of dental products and technologies, has struggled with weak performance and currency issues in both the US and China. Recent quarterly results reflected those challenges, with the company missing earnings and revenue expectations.

Nonetheless, Barrington Research analyst Michael Petusky reiterated a buy rating on the stock, albeit with a lower price target of $40 from the $51 previously expected. “We had expected reduced forecasts over the past few months as macro conditions have become more difficult,” he said. (See Dentsply Sirona Dividend Date & History on TipRanks)

Ranked 956th among more than 8,000 analysts tracked on TipRanks, Petusky has a 50% success rate with his reviews. Additionally, each of his reviews has yielded an average return of 7%.

ICF International (ICVI) is a global consulting services company serving major clients in the federal government, international governments and energy markets. The company’s marketing services segment was hit hard during the pandemic and is still slowly recovering.

However, Barrington analyst Kevin Steinke is optimistic about the company’s roadmap to addressing this issue. ICF plans to “focus on the core business areas of commercial marketing: business transformation, loyalty and innovative communications.” ICF is focused on growing its commercial businesses, solidifying its technology-based offerings and pursuing extensive contract opportunities. These are his long-term strategies to grow sales and increase shareholder value.

Steinke raised his estimate of adjusted earnings per share for 2022 to $5.77 from $5.59, up 20% year over year, “to reflect increased guidance due to the one-time tax benefit.” (See ICF International Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks)

Steinke is at 417^th Position among over 8,000 analysts currently ranked on TipRanks with a 54% success rate and an average return of 11.7% per review.

semiconductor foundry GlobalFoundries (GFS) is one of Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore’s favorite stocks. The company’s most recent earnings report made Seymore all the more optimistic.

It’s no surprise that investors’ attention is currently focused on the headwinds that the economy will face in the coming months. Acknowledging these roadblocks, GlobalFoundries even reduced its utilization expectations for the fourth quarter, which would impact gross margin. Nevertheless, the company expects to be able to increase sales in 2023. (See GlobalFoundries Inc Stock Chart on TipRanks)

Seymore reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $67 price target. “Overall, despite our 2023 estimates below, we continue to believe that GFS’ stock price as co-specific drivers (unique processes, stock gains via LTAs and geopolitically driven reallocation of future fabless manufacturing plans, cost cutting, etc.) offset macro headwinds,” said the analyst.

Seymore is ranked 18th^th among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks. Its reviews have a 74% success rate, with each generating an average return of 22.4%.