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Analysts Issuing 10 Strong Buy Rated Stocks Ahead of Summer for Big Upside

The stock market may be down on Friday on yet even more tariff concerns, but we all need to keep in mind that the S&P 500 had recovered more than 20% since early April’s panic-selling lows. Investors are digesting the Moody’s USA credit rating downgrade, higher bond yields, tariffs, a Fed that is ignoring the rate environment, deficit spending, higher borrowing costs, and a ballooning total deficit, among other concerns. Do investors choose the “Sell in May and Go Away” strategy or do they consider new investing ideas for their capital on the sidelines right now?

Tactical Bulls reviews the daily flow of Wall Street research each morning to hunt for some of those overlooked items and hidden gems that would have otherwise been missed. The effort in finding those new ideas is also for short-term traders and long-term investors alike. Many of these analyst calls are targeted directly at tactical investors who rotate their assets more than buy-and-hold investors.

From March all the way into May, the primary theme in research reports was “downgrade lite” calls. This is where analysts maintain their formal ratings but slash their price targets to reflect lower share prices or a slower economy. While the market is still seeing many analyst price target cuts, it is also starting to see more formal analyst upgrades and higher price targets now that stocks posted a major recovery.

Investors need to always keep in mind that no single analyst report should ever be the sole basis to buy or sell a stock. Analysts can get their thesis wrong just like the rest of us. And sometimes the market or a company’s fundamentals can change in the blink of an eye. Please read the disclaimer at the end of this reporting to read about additional investing risks.

Here are 10 fresh analyst calls from Friday, May 23, 2025 with Buy and Outperform ratings with stronger upside projections than the typical 8% to 10% analyst targets.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) was reiterated as Buy and its price objective was raised to $130 from $125 at BofA Securities. The call reflects it beating earnings and comparable sales expectations. Wells Fargo also reiterated its Overweight rating and lifted its price target to $127 from $125 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $65 from $60 at Bernstein. That up nearly 30% from the prior $50.78 close and still short of the $69.26 high last year. The call is after Chipotle’s stock has fallen 20% its. While the market believes Chipotle will enter a slower growth phase, Bernstein expects to see its inflection point faster and expects to see earnings growth above expectations causing a valuation re-rating higher again.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) has recovered more than 50% from its lows. DG was reiterated as Outperform and its price target was raised to $120 from $105 at Bernstein. The firm sees earnings upside ahead as it should be a “trade down” winner in a slower economy that will help rekindle its earnings multiple that investors are willing to pay. The stock was last seen at $101 and its 52-week trading range is $66.43 to $145.94.

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Intuit, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was last seen up 8% at $720.00 after a “beat and raise” quarterly earnings report. Tactical Bulls has tracked multiple price target hikes seen with most ratings reiterated on Friday:

  • BMO (Outperform) target to $820 from $714
  • Citigroup (Buy) target to $789 from $726
  • Jefferies (Buy) target to $850 from $735
  • JPMorgan ((Overweight) target to $770 from $660
  • KeyBanc (Overweight) target to $850 from $770
  • Morgan Stanley (Overweight) target to $785 from $720
  • Piper Sandler (Overweight) target to $825 from $785
  • RBC (Outperform) target to $850 from $760
  • Stifel (Buy) target to $850 from $725

OneSpaWorld Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: OSW) operates health and wellness centers onboard cruise ships and at destination resorts in the United States and in international markets. Stifel reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $23 from $21 (versus $18.60 on Frida) after meeting with OSW’s management. The firm sees demand trends remaining strong and believes its earnings guidance is conservative if the current economic story remains flat. Its 52-week range is $14.21 to $23.01.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) has its share of tariff exposure, but it’s hardly been notices in the top clothing and apparel maker. Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its price target to $300 from $275 (versus $277.42 prior close). This call is after a strong earnings report and conservative guidance as its fundamental story remains strong with a larger focus on direct-to-consumer sales. Wells Fargo even points out that its tariff exposure is manageable will its demand trends appear to not be slowing down.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX) was on the list of upgrades again. Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $140 from $125 after Seagate hosted its first analyst day since 2021, presenting stronger profitability and revenue growth targets and a new $5 billion stock buyback (versus $23 billion market cap). Morgan Stanley also jumped in calling Seagate its new “Top Pick” while reiterating the Overweight rating and raising its target to $140 from $99. Seagate was last seen up 2% at $111 and its 52-week range is $63.19 to $115.32.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) was trading lower by less than 1% at $338.00 on EU/Tariff developments hurting the market, but Wedbush Securities’ star analyst Daniel Ives came out strong by reiterating his Outperform rating and hiking its price target to $500 from $350 (versus $337 Friday morning). This is a key return to higher expectations because Ives used to have a $550 price target before slashing it down to $315 in early-April during the carnage. Ives’ call is based on the removal of a dark chapter for Elon Musk and Tesla after creating brand damage. With Musk looking more CEO-focused than DOGE-focused the company’s autonomous and robotics future, as well as growing the Model Y in Europe/China investors will be able to go back to focusing on the A.I. revolution Tesla will participate in. Wedbush even believes Tesla will be a top pure-plays on AI over the next decade. The majority of valuation upside looking ahead for Tesla is centered around the success of its autonomous vision taking hold “with a key June launch in Austin the beginning of this next era of growth for Musk and Tesla,” the firm contends.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) was the large cap dumpster-dive winner as JPMorgan assumed coverage of the sector. It was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral and its price target was raised to $277 from $225 in the call. Its top rival is Republic Services Group (NYSE: RSG), and JPMorgan maintained a Neutral on it while still raising its target to $275 from $229. Waste Management was last seen up 1.3% at $236.42 and its 52-week range is $196.59 to $239.32.

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Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) is a purely tactical call ahead of an event, and investors should keep in mind it has hit a 52-week high of $255.48 just on this same morning. JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and the firm raised its price target to $275 from $250 ahead of next week’s earnings report.

PLEASE NOTE: All analyst ratings and their price targets mentioned above were issued by each firm named in this summary. Their ratings and targets may differ greatly from firm to firm on Wall Street. Tactical Bulls does not issue any formal ratings and does not maintain any price targets of its own on these stocks. No analyst report, even those with very strong conviction, ever comes with any guarantees of profits and they never contain money-back guarantees in case you lose money.

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