Shopping for stocks when valuations are historically high might not feel like the best idea. The goal, after all, is to buy low.
However, the outlook for equities has brightened considerably in light of upbeat corporate profit outlooks and lower interest rates. Besides, there are always select names set to outperform.
Although the Magnificent 7 stocks have done much of the bull market's heavy lifting, that hardly means these names are doomed to underperform from here.
As we'll see below, five of Wall Street's top-rated S&P 500 stocks to buy hail from the Magnificent 7. Companies from the financial, energy and industrials sectors are ably represented, too.
How we found analysts' top-rated S&P 500 stocks
It's well known that industry analysts are reluctant to slap Sell ratings on the names they cover. There are several reasons for this, some more defensible than others.
What's less commonly understood is that Strong Buy recommendations, while not nearly as rare as Sell calls, are in somewhat short supply, too.
If you run a screen of the S&P 500 using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, you'll see that analysts assign a consensus Sell recommendation to only one stock.
At the other end of the ratings spectrum stands the Street's highest recommendation of Strong Buy. A total of 31 stocks made the cut there as bullish sentiment soars.
First, a note on our methodology: S&P Global Market Intelligence surveys analysts' stock recommendations and scores them on a five-point scale, where 1.0 equals Strong Buy and 5.0 means Strong Sell.
Any score of 2.5 or lower means that analysts, on average, rate the stock a Buy. The closer the score gets to 1.0, the stronger the Buy call.
In other words, lower scores are better than higher scores.
Have a look at the chart below to see the 31 stocks in the S&P 500 that score an elite Strong Buy recommendation from industry analysts. Investors who fear it's too late to buy Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) or Nvidia (NVDA) will be happy to see they easily made the list.
Company (Ticker) |
Analysts' consensus recommendation score |
Analysts' consensus recommendation |
|---|---|---|
Erie Indemnity (ERIE) |
1.00 |
Strong Buy |
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) |
1.26 |
Strong Buy |
Broadcom (AVGO) |
1.27 |
Strong Buy |
Microsoft (MSFT) |
1.28 |
Strong Buy |
Trimble (TRMB) |
1.31 |
Strong Buy |
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) |
1.31 |
Strong Buy |
Targa Resources (TRGP) |
1.32 |
Strong Buy |
Delta Air Lines (DAL) |
1.32 |
Strong Buy |
Boston Scientific (BSX) |
1.32 |
Strong Buy |
Nvidia (NVDA) |
1.33 |
Strong Buy |
Smurfit WestRock (SW) |
1.33 |
Strong Buy |
Amazon.com (AMZN) |
1.34 |
Strong Buy |
S&P Global (SPGI) |
1.35 |
Strong Buy |
TKO Group Holdings (TKO) |
1.35 |
Strong Buy |
Meta Platforms (META) |
1.36 |
Strong Buy |
ServiceNow (NOW) |
1.38 |
Strong Buy |
Insulet (PODD) |
1.38 |
Strong Buy |
Diamondback Energy (FANG) |
1.39 |
Strong Buy |
Walmart (WMT) |
1.40 |
Strong Buy |
Danaher (DHR) |
1.40 |
Strong Buy |
United Airlines Holdings (UAL) |
1.40 |
Strong Buy |
Hasbro (HAS) |
1.43 |
Strong Buy |
TJX (TJX) |
1.43 |
Strong Buy |
Alphabet (GOOGL) |
1.43 |
Strong Buy |
Howmet Aerospace (HWM) |
1.43 |
Strong Buy |
Steel Dynamics (STLD) |
1.45 |
Strong Buy |
Expand Energy (EXE) |
1.46 |
Strong Buy |
SLB (SLB) |
1.47 |
Strong Buy |
DuPont de Nemours (DD) |
1.47 |
Strong Buy |
DexCom (DXCM) |
1.48 |
Strong Buy |
Datadog (DDOG) |
1.49 |
Strong Buy |
As much as AI is driving sentiment, analysts see plenty of reasons to be bullish on names across multiple sectors. Here we highlight what Wall Street has to say about three lesser-known stocks on the list this month.
Wynn Resorts
Shares in Wynn Resorts (WYNN) are beating the broader market by more than 25 percentage points over the past 52 weeks and Wall Street expects more outperformance ahead.
Analysts turned strongly bullish on the casino resorts operator in 2025 and have only become more optimistic. Indeed, WYNN stock has never scored a stronger Strong Buy recommendation score.
Wynn operates resorts in Las Vegas, Macau and Boston, but the company's development of two properties in the United Arab Emirates is what's driving current sentiment. Wynn Al Marjan Island is scheduled to open in 2027, while Janu Al Marjan Island will debut at the end of 2028.
BofA Securities analyst Shaun Kelley rates the consumer discretionary stock at Buy, citing the company's Al Marjan resort as "as transformative for both the UAE and Wynn shares."
Steel Dynamics
Steel Dynamics (STLD) is an old-economy company with lots of upside potential, analysts say. One of the largest diversified steel producers and metal recyclers in the U.S. has carried a rare Strong Buy recommendation since August 2025.
That's been a good call. STLD is up more than 35% over the past six months – and more than 40% over the past year.
Partly that's a reflection of the company's aggressive expansion into the market for recycled aluminum. The move allowed the company to court brand new customers in the packaging, beverage can and automotive industries.
"Although the demand/pricing environment currently remains muted, Steel Dynamics is set to benefit from improved profitability and aluminum rolling mill ramp-up," notes BMO Capital Markets analyst Katja Jancic, who rates the materials stock at Outperform (the equivalent of Buy). "STLD is well-positioned to generate above-peer free cash flow, which offers increased potential for shareholder returns."
Danaher
Danaher (DHR) is a diversified life sciences and diagnostics company with customers across the pharma and biopharmaceutical industries. DHR stock is essentially unchanged over the past 12 months – hurt by tariffs and cuts to life sciences research – but that has it trading at attractive levels, analysts say.
"Danaher is well positioned for growth," writes Argus Research analyst David Toung, who rates DHR at Buy. "Through M&A and internal investments, the company has strengthened its ability to serve customers in the biotech, life sciences, and diagnostics industries."
The analyst notes that more than two-thirds of the world's top 100 drugs are expected to be biologics by 2030. "The development of biosimilars and expanded indications for existing therapies are also driving production volume growth," Toung adds.
Of the 25 analysts covering the health care stock surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 18 call it a Strong Buy, four say Buy and three rate it at Hold.
