Top Analyst Picks Amid Market Volatility

Mark Bennett

Geopolitics fuels uncertainty, opportunity

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East and elevated oil prices have continued to weigh on global markets. With volatility rising, long-term investors are reassessing opportunities in companies trading at compelling valuations despite near-term macro pressures.

Several top-ranked Wall Street analysts have recently reiterated bullish views on select technology and infrastructure names, citing durable demand trends tied to artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Here are three stocks drawing strong support from highly rated analysts.

Amazon: Cloud growth and AI momentum

Amazon (AMZN) remains a favored large-cap idea. J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth reaffirmed a buy rating and lifted his price target to $280 from $265, calling the stock a “best idea.”

Anmuth updated his projections to reflect solid demand in Amazon Web Services. He expects AWS growth of 29%, 30%, 29%, and 28% across the four quarters of 2026, followed by 26% in 2027. The improved outlook reflects migration of traditional workloads to the cloud and accelerating AI adoption.

The analyst also highlighted an expanded $138 billion multi-year partnership between AWS and OpenAI, and projects backlog growth of roughly $100 billion quarter over quarter in early 2026. While higher fuel costs and international investments may pressure margins in the near term, Anmuth sees medium-term upside driven by automation, robotics, ad expansion, and inventory optimization.

SanDisk: AI inference drives NAND demand

SanDisk (SNDK) is benefiting from growing demand for NAND flash memory tied to AI workloads. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a buy rating with a $900 price target, pointing to a structural shift that makes NAND increasingly essential for AI inference.

Mohan emphasized that hyperscaler demand remains robust and noted SanDisk’s push toward long-term supply agreements designed to reduce industry cyclicality. The contracts include both fixed and variable pricing elements and are seeing the strongest traction in data center applications.

Management has signaled disciplined capacity growth in the high-teens range for 2026 to 2027, avoiding aggressive expansion. The company also aims to gain share in higher-margin enterprise solid-state drives, with its BiCS8 eSSD lineup expected to contribute meaningfully in the second half of 2026.

Nebius: Large-scale AI infrastructure deals

Nebius (NBIS) has emerged as a key AI infrastructure provider. The company recently announced a $27 billion five-year agreement with Meta Platforms (META), supplementing a prior $3 billion deal between the two firms.

D.A. Davidson analyst Alexander Platt maintained a buy rating and raised his price target to $200. The new agreement includes $12 billion in compute commitments tied to Vera Rubin systems beginning in 2027, plus an additional $15 billion option for expanded capacity.

Nebius’ backlog also includes a contract with Microsoft valued at up to $19.4 billion. The company plans to deploy more than 5 gigawatts of capacity by 2030, supporting expectations for additional hyperscaler partnerships. Platt views the Meta deal as validation of Nebius’ position among leading neocloud providers.

As markets navigate geopolitical risks and energy volatility, analysts remain focused on companies positioned to benefit from long-term AI infrastructure expansion. For investors willing to look past short-term disruptions, these names represent high-conviction opportunities according to top-rated Wall Street pros.

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