U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 300 points during the session.
All three major indices also recorded their first weekly gain of 2025. The Dow jumped 3.7%, while the S&P 500 added 2.9% last week. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, surged 2.5% during the week to notch its strongest weekly performance since December.
Wall Street analysts make new stock picks on a daily basis. Unfortunately for investors, not all analysts have particularly impressive track records at predicting market movements. Even when it comes to one single stock, analyst ratings and price targets can vary widely, leaving investors confused about which analyst’s opinion to trust.
Benzinga’s Analyst Ratings API is a collection of the highest-quality stock ratings curated by the Benzinga news desk via direct partnerships with major sell-side banks. Benzinga displays overnight ratings changes on a daily basis three hours prior to the U.S. equity market opening. Data specialists at investment dashboard provider Toggle.ai recently uncovered that the analyst insights Benzinga Pro subscribers and Benzinga readers regularly receive can successfully be used as trading indicators to outperform the stock market.
Top Analyst Picks: Fortunately, any Benzinga reader can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. One of the ways traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings is by analyst accuracy. Here’s a look at the most recent stock picks from each of the five most accurate Wall Street analysts, according to Benzinga Analyst Stock Ratings.
Analyst: John Todaro
- Analyst Firm: Needham
- Ratings Accuracy: 89%
- Latest Rating: Reiterated a Buy rating on Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) with a price target of $11 on Jan. 15. This analyst sees around 23% upside in the stock.
- Recent News: On Jan. 14, Applied Digital reported second-quarter revenue of $63.9 million, beating analyst estimates of $63.4 million.
Analyst: Andres Sheppard
- Analyst Firm: Cantor Fitzgerald
- Ratings Accuracy: 87%
- Latest Rating: Downgraded rating on Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC (NASDAQ:PSNY) from Overweight to Neutral on Jan. 17.
- Recent News: On Jan. 16, Polestar Automotive reported preliminary third-quarter revenue, updated fourth-quarter outlook and business plan. The company reported a revenue decline of 10% year-over-year to $550.7 million due to lower volume and market conditions.
Analyst: Trevor Walsh
- Analyst Firm: JMP Securities
- Ratings Accuracy: 86%
- Latest Rating: Reiterated a Market Outperform rating on V2X, Inc. (NYSE:VVX) with a price target of $80 on Jan. 17. This analyst sees around 51% upside in the stock.
- Recent News: On Jan. 6, V2X announced it has successfully repriced its $900 million First Lien Term Loan at 2.25%.
Analyst: Chris Kotowski
- Analyst Firm: Oppenheimer
- Ratings Accuracy: 86%
- Latest Rating: Maintained an Outperform rating on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) and raised the price target from $54 to $55 on Jan. 17. This analyst sees around 18% surge in the stock.
- Recent News: On Jan. 16, Bank of America reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Analyst: Alexander Paris
- Analyst Firm: Barrington Research
- Ratings Accuracy: 86%
- Latest Rating: Maintained an Outperform rating on Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) and boosted the price target from $100 to $130 on Jan. 17. This analyst sees around 14% upside in the stock.
- Recent News: Stride said it will discuss its second quarter fiscal year 2025 financial results on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
Read More:
- Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts Spotlight On 3 Financial Stocks With Over 9% Dividend Yields
