The first pick by the Street’s top pros is off-price retailer Burlington Stores (BURL). The company demonstrated positive results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and raised both its profit margin and earnings outlook for the year. Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe, who reaffirmed a buy rating on BURL, raised the price target to $275 from $260. Tarlowe expressed confidence in the retailer’s ability to achieve robust comparable sales growth. He pointed out that the expansion in Burlington Stores’ gross and operating margins contributed to better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter. Tarlowe underlined the well-managed inventory levels of the New Jersey-based company. Despite being the smallest and least profitable off-price retailer, Tarlowe believes that BURL has significant room for growth in both top-line and margins that are not fully factored into estimates. BURL stands to benefit from shoppers shifting from department stores to off-price retailers due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. The company currently operates 1,021 stores and plans to open approximately 100 new stores in the current year. Tarlowe envisions BURL expanding its footprint to 2,000 stores over time. As per TipRanks, Tarlowe ranks No. 291 out of more than 8,800 analysts with a success rate of 67% and an average return of 18.9%.
E-commerce and cloud computing giant, Amazon (AMZN), is another top pick among Wall Street analysts. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, Amazon delivered strong first-quarter earnings with revenue growth and cost-cutting measures boosting its bottom line. Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth upgraded his price target on AMZN from $210 to $245 and reiterated a buy rating, emphasizing the company’s generative artificial intelligence benefits, dominant position in multiple industries, and strong brand equity. Feinseth highlighted the increasing utilization of generative AI by businesses to improve operational efficiency and competitiveness, leading to enhanced profits at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He expects AWS to experience continued growth in large language models (LLM) constructed on its platform due to its superior performance, security, and capabilities. Feinseth also praised Amazon’s initiatives to expand Prime member benefits, bolster grocery sales, enhance digital advertising, and foster innovation. The company’s solid financial position permits investments in strategic ventures and growth endeavors. On TipRanks, Feinseth holds the No. 242 spot out of over 8,800 analysts, with a success rate of 60% and an average return of 12.2%.
PagerDuty (PD), a digital operations management platform, rounds up the list of top stock picks by Wall Street analysts. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company’s adjusted earnings exceeded analysts’ expectations, although revenue slightly missed estimates. PD highlighted its seven consecutive profitable quarters on a non-GAAP basis. Following the Q1 results, RBC Capital analyst Matthew Hedberg upheld a buy rating on PagerDuty, setting a price target of $27. Hedberg expressed optimism about potential acceleration in the second half of 2025, despite challenging market conditions. The analyst spotlighted the 10% growth in the company’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) and an 11% increase in billings. Notably, ARR growth remained consistent at 10% for two straight quarters. PD’s management anticipates a pickup in ARR growth in the latter part of fiscal 2025, driven by success in multi-year contracts. Hedberg observed enhanced pipeline visibility for the second half of fiscal 2025, with momentum in multi-product and multi-quarter deals. He also noted growth opportunities in PagerDuty’s federal business, including securing an Authority to Operate (ATO) from the Department of Veteran Affairs and sealing the company’s first seven-figure deal in the public sector. Ranking at No. 565 among more than 8,800 analysts on TipRanks, Hedberg has a success rate of 52% and an average return of 9.7%.