In this article, we will look at the 10 Best Momentum Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
On May 22, Steve Sosnick, from Interactive Brokers, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Power Lunch’ to talk about what is driving the record market moves. Talking about why the market is going high despite the current market dynamics, he said that this is an everything rally, and one of the things that is a hallmark of it is not only the fact that the semis are up 70% in six weeks, which in itself is crazy enough, but rather about what he calls the ratchet effect of the peace dividend. The market is telling us today that they are more concerned about missing some sort of peace in the Middle East than they are about the risks of going home over a three-day weekend.
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Sosnick also called for us to think about how we have reacted to any positive news, no matter how remote, about any sort of development in the Middle East that might bring a resolution to this situation. We all want that, but we go up when it is touted, and we do nothing when it doesn’t come out. That, to him, is the ratchet effect.
With these broader market trends in view, let’s look at the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts.
Our Methodology
We used stock screeners and online sources to identify the stocks with a minimum year-to-date share price return of 20%, which represents strong growth momentum. We then identified some of the best stocks that analysts are bullish on and that have the highest hedge fund ownership by leveraging data from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2025 hedge fund database. The stocks are arranged in ascending order of analyst upside.
Note: All data was recorded on May 25.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Momentum Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
10. Legence Corp. (NASDAQ:LGN)
Analyst Upside: 29.32%
Legence Corp. (NASDAQ:LGN) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Legence Corp. (NASDAQ:LGN) has received several rating updates following the release of financial results for its fiscal Q1. On May 19, Tigress Financial lifted the price target on the stock to $125 from $85 while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cited the company’s “accelerating growth runway” for the target boost, further telling investors in a research note that Legence Corp.’s growth is being produced by a “powerful combination of explosive near-term execution and long-duration, contractually supported demand across structurally advantaged end markets”.
Legence Corp. also received a rating update from BMO Capital on May 15, with the firm lifting the price target on the stock to $100 from $63 and maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares. It told investors in a research note that the stock remains an attractive option for investors who are looking to gain exposure to the AI infrastructure/data center build-out. The firm also believes that Legence Corp.’s organic growth is accelerating, the business has considerable flexibility to augment growth through M&A, and there is upside to margins/profitability.
Legence Corp. is involved in consultation, engineering, installation, and maintenance services for mission-critical systems in buildings. The company’s operations are divided into the Engineering & Consulting and Installation & Maintenance segments.
9. Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)
Analyst Upside: 30.55%
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. BofA lifted the price target on Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) to $85 from $80 on May 12, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The rating update came after the company’s “multifaceted update on capital allocation and the balance sheet” at its investor day meeting, with the firm telling investors that details on the path to structurally higher margins via high-grading output “look solid and the gains are material”.
For reference, in its financial results for fiscal Q1 2026, Darling Ingredients Inc. reported net income of $134.3 million, or $0.83 per GAAP diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(26.2) million, or $(0.16) per GAAP diluted share for fiscal Q1 2025. Total net sales for the quarter came up to $1.6 billion, compared to $1.4 billion for fiscal Q1 2025, while the combined adjusted EBITDA was $406.8 million compared to $195.8 million in the prior year period.
Darling Ingredients Inc. develops and produces natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients. The company’s operations are divided into the following segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients.
8. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF)
Analyst Upside: 31.46%
TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Morgan Stanley lifted the price target on TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) to $42 from $41.50 on May 19, maintaining an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm updated its view on the company following the release of its fiscal Q1 2026.
In its results for the quarter, TeraWulf Inc. reported that it generated $34.0 million in revenue, including $21.0 million of HPC lease revenue. It also maintained a solid liquidity position, with approximately $3.1 billion of cash and restricted cash as of quarter-end.
TeraWulf Inc. has 60 MW of operational critical IT HPC capacity for Core42 at Lake Mariner as of March 31, 2026, and the company is nearing completion on CB-3 construction at Lake Mariner. It added that the CB-4 and CB-5 remain on schedule for delivery and rent commencement in 2026. TeraWulf Inc. also reported that it expanded its development platform with the acquisition of Hawesville, Kentucky, which is a large-scale site that holds immediate access to 480 MW of grid-connected power.
TeraWulf Inc. owns and operates fully integrated, environmentally clean bitcoin mining facilities in the United States. The company’s operations are divided into the Digital Asset Mining and HPC Leasing segments.
7. Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR)
Analyst Upside: 31.53%
Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Morgan Stanley lifted the price target on Matador Resources Company (NYSE:MTDR) to $75 from $73 on May 22, maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the shares.
In a separate development, Matador Resources Company announced on May 21 the successful bolt-on acquisition of 5,154 net undeveloped acres in the core of the Delaware Basin as part of the Bureau of Land Management Oil and Gas Lease Sale.
Joseph Wm. Foran, Matador Resources Company’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, stated that the undeveloped acres are all in the ‘core-of-the-core’ of the Delaware Basin, and are “strategic and highly complementary” to the company’s current acreage position. Management added that the acquisition extends the duration and amount of the company’s high-quality inventory and reserve base while also enhancing its current assets with increased operating efficiencies. It added that Matador Resources Company has fully repaid its reserve-based lending facility, which provides it with ample liquidity for the transaction.
Matador Resources Company is involved in the development, exploration, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources. Its operations are divided into the following segments: Exploration and Production, Midstream, and Corporate.
6. Immunovant, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMVT)
Analyst Upside: 31.77%
Immunovant, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMVT) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Truist lifted the price target on Immunovant, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMVT) to $30 from $23 on May 22, maintaining a Hold rating on the shares. The firm told investors in a research note that it updated its model after the company reported fiscal year 2026 results, and after it incorporated modest RA contribution with 10% probability of success based on the previous day’s IMVT-1402 data.
In its financial results for fiscal Q4 ended March 31, 2026, Immunovant, Inc. reported that its cash and cash equivalents as of the end of the quarter totaled approximately $902.1 million, which provides runway for announced indications through the potential commercial launch of IMVT-1402 in GD. The company’s research and development expenses for the quarter were $142.3 million compared to $93.7 million for the prior year period, driven by activities related to its clinical trials of IMVT-1402 and $39.0 million related to contractual costs recognized in connection with the discontinuation of batoclimab.
Immunovant, Inc. develops treatments for autoimmune diseases. Its product pipeline includes IMVT-1402, which is a novel fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the neonatal fragment crystallizable receptor (FcRn).
5. CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV)
Analyst Upside: 32.71%
CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Citi lifted the price target on CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) to $158 from $155 on May 14, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. CoreWeave, Inc. also received a rating update from DA Davidson on May 18. The company was downgraded to Neutral from Buy, with the firm bringing the price target on the stock down to $100 from $175 after assuming coverage of the name. DA Davidson told investors that it is“optimistic” on the outlook for compute, and believes that CoreWeave, Inc. has made itself a key participant. However, the firm is also “skeptical” of the company’s ability to generate sufficient returns, given its margin profile and high dependence on debt financing.
In a separate development, CoreWeave, Inc. announced on May 14 CoreWeave Sandboxes, which is an execution layer that offers AI researchers and platform teams isolated and secure environments to run agent tool use, reinforcement learning, and model evaluation. The company stated that the offering is available on a customer’s own CoreWeave infrastructure or as a serverless runtime through Weights & Biases (W&B).
CoreWeave, Inc. is a cloud infrastructure technology company that offers the CoreWeave Cloud Platform, an integrated solution purpose-built for running AI workloads such as model training and inference.
4. Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)
Analyst Upside: 33.46%
Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) received several rating updates following the release of financial results for fiscal Q1. Jefferies lifted the price target on Onto Innovation Inc. to $350 from $325 on May 7, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. The firm told investors in a post-earnings note that the base business in HBM and CoWoS is continuing to see upside, while new opportunities are starting to layer in.
Onto Innovation Inc. also received a rating update from Oppenheimer the same day. The firm lifted the price target on the stock to $370 from $350, maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares and stating that the company had already pre-announced stronger-than-expected Q1/Q2 guidance last month. Therefore, while it was never positioned for a big “beat,” it still had positive surprises. Oppenheimer further stated that the stock was down after hours on reflexive profit-taking after 93% year-to-date, but the firm would not over-read the reaction and anticipates investor attention to quickly refocus on strengthening fundamentals.
Onto Innovation Inc. is involved in the design, development, manufacture, and support of high-performance control metrology, defect inspection, lithography, and data analysis systems used by microelectronics device manufacturers. The company is also involved in offering process and yield management solutions used in bare silicon wafer production and wafer processing facilities.
3. Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK)
Analyst Upside: 35.17%
Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Citi initiated coverage of Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) with a Buy rating on May 18, setting a price target of $99. The firm named the stock a top pick among small-to-mid cap biotech stocks, and told investors that it is “bullish” on the Myqorzo launch in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It sees its optionality in nonobstructive disease as “still underappreciated”, adding that the fuller Phase 3 ACACIA-HCM data are expected to drive mid-term upside.
Cytokinetics, Incorporated also received a rating update from Wells Fargo on May 7. The firm lifted the price target on the stock to $105 from $95 and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares, noting that fiscal Q1 Myqorzo sales point towards strong uptake in the initial 9 weeks of launch. This holds especially true with community cardiologists, according to the firm’s estimate. Wells anticipates momentum in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to continue, and sees synergy with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy after ACACIA success.
Cytokinetics, Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes muscle activators and muscle inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company’s clinical-stage drug candidates include omecamtiv mecarbil, CK-136, reldesemtiv, aficamten, and CK-3772271.
2. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)
Analyst Upside: 66.20%
ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX) announced on May 19 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted for review the supplemental Biologics License Application for ANKTIVA® in combination with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin to treat patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer with papillary disease without carcinoma in situ. Management stated that the FDA assigned a PDUFA target action date of January 6, 2027, and that the supplemental BLA seeks to expand the ANKTIVA label to include patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with papillary disease.
In a separate development, ImmunityBio Inc. received a rating update from BTIG following the release of financial results for fiscal Q1. The firm cut the price target on the stock to $12 from $13, maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. It also reaffirmed the $44.2M in ANKTIVA sales pre-announced last month, which was up 15% q/q and 168% y/y.
ImmunityBio, Inc. is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company that develops next-generation therapies to treat cancer and infectious diseases. Its immunotherapy platform activates the adaptive and innate immune systems to create long-term immunological memory.
1. Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)
Analyst Upside: 69.73%
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) is one of the best momentum stocks to buy according to analysts. Morgan Stanley lifted the price target on Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) to $14 from $12 on May 7, reiterating an Overweight rating on the shares.
In a separate development, Aurora Innovation, Inc. announced on May 13 the start of autonomous freight operations in Texas by Volvo Autonomous Solutions and DSV, with the first commercial truckload hauled using the Volvo VNL Autonomous.
The initiative aims at expanding to additional lanes over time, with the Volvo VNL Autonomous built for deployment in long-haul freight operations and integrated with the Aurora Driver. Management stated that V.A.S. is launching autonomous transport services for DSV between Aurora’s terminals in Dallas and Houston. A safety driver will be present in the vehicle during the initial phase, which is in line with Volvo’s current operational mode. It further stated that through the collaboration, DSV and V.A.S. aim to bolster day-to-day performance and build operational experience to support expansion to additional routes.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. is involved in the design and development of automobile hardware, software, and the provision of data services. Its offerings include the Aurora Driver, which allows a vehicle to drive itself.
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