In this article, we will take a detailed look at the 10 Most Popular Analyst Calls to Watch This Week.
Markets were pointing higher on Monday after seeing a massive bloodbath last week amid President Donald Trump’s new tariff warnings related to China. Many analysts believe the market overreacted last week, with investors taking profits after a long bull run amid high valuations and AI bubble concerns.
Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said in a recent program on CNBC that the market was looking for “any reason” to sell, and found it. However, the analyst believes the selloff made “no sense” and was an “emotional” overreaction. He gave the example of Nvidia to explain his point:
“They (Nvidia) just zeroed it (China) out in all of their forecasts. But this is a left-brain emotional reaction. I mean, I understand companies like Apple, which do most of their manufacturing in China and a bit in India. But Nvidia, and even AMD in particular, make absolutely no sense.”
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
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10. VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (NASDAQ:PPH)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors:
Many analysts are picking healthcare stocks as indicators point to a potential rebound in the sector. Karen Finerman, CEO & Co-founder, Metropolitan Capital Advisors, said in a recent program on CNBC that she likes the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF. Here is what the analyst said:
“VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (NASDAQ:PPH), this is ETF, big cap pharma. I like it. I think there’s value in this space.”
9. Target Corp (NYSE:TGT)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 54
Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisors said in a latest program on CNBC that there’s “a lot of work to do” at Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) as the company is lagging behind its competitors. The analyst agreed with the program’s host that people “didn’t like” the new CEO change at the company.
“There’s a lot of work to do. They’re coming to my conference tomorrow. You have a new CEO that’s been appointed, promoted from within. You’ve got a consumer, which people didn’t like, by the way. Right. Well, they didn’t. They wanted like some slick outsider that might change things, right? Well, you need change. You look at the results lately. You need change. We have to see what that change is going to look like especially when you have so much competition whether it’s from the off-pricers. You’ve got Amazon Prime Day today, early indications of search interest for Amazon Prime Day pretty good, traffic up nearly 20%. Which is a big number.”
Matrix Asset Advisors stated the following regarding Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“The market’s Q1 volatility provided opportunities to take profits on strength while very slowly redeploying the proceeds. With our larger-than-usual sales and scale-backs, we entered the current quarter with a higher-than usual cash balance, allowing us to add to some laggards and start a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), a name we have held before in the portfolio. As we write this commentary, more stocks are nearing compelling levels, and we expect to accelerate our buying.
Target is a well-run retail company whose recent results were less than expected, causing the stock price to fall to attractive levels. Though we expect the economic slowdown and tariffs to depress near-term results, expectations are low enough to provide excellent appreciation from the current price. We started buying the shares a little above $100 at the end of March, down from a 52-week high of $177, and are adding to the position on weakness. The company trades for just over 12 times earnings and has a current well-covered dividend yield of 4.3% on March 31. It is one of only 55 companies that have raised their dividend annually for at least 50 years.”
8. IBM Common Stock (NYSE:IBM)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 63
Steven Grasso, the CEO of Grasso Global, said in a recent program on CNBC that he likes IBM. Here is what the analyst said:
“IBM Common Stock (NYSE:IBM) is a quiet way to play AI and a quiet way to play quantum. It never gets credit.”
IBM’s generative AI book of business exceeds $7.5 billion, which shows strong demand and client adoption. The company deployed its first Quantum System Two outside the U.S., in Japan, and continues initiatives like watsonx Orchestrate (generative AI and automation solution) and Client Zero to integrate AI into customer operations. Over the past three years, the company has seen strong revenue growth driven by Red Hat, hybrid cloud (OpenShift), automation (Ansible), AI, and security solutions.
However, the stock trades at a forward P/E of 25x, above its historical average of 16x. Its forward EV/EBITDA multiple stands at 17x, also higher than typical market levels.
7. Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 67
Courtney Garcia from Payne Capital Management recently recommended TOL in a latest program on CNBC. Here is what the analyst said:
“You saw the home builders downgraded and everything was down. I don’t think you want to throw out the baby with the bath water. I think Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) is one to look at, which has the wealthier consumer. They’re more likely to buy in all cash. I think if you want to be in the space, that’s where you want to be.”
Toll Brothers is one of the top homebuilding companies in the US. It builds, markets, and finances for residential and commercial properties.
Baron Real Estate Fund stated the following regarding Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) is a leading luxury homebuilder in the U.S. with an exceptional management team and a large, valuable owned land real estate portfolio. Toll Brothers is more insulated than its peers from elevated mortgage rates because approximately 25% of Toll Brothers home buyers pay 100% in cash.
The company is valued at only 1.1 times 2025 estimated tangible book value and a P/E multiple of less than 7 times earnings per share. In the past, Toll Brothers’ shares have appreciated to a peak multiple of 2.0 times tangible book value which would represent over 50% upside. We believe a multiple of 1.8 to 2.0 times tangible book value will ultimately be warranted based on the company’s aspirations to generate a consistent return on equity in a range of high teens up to 20% or more.”
6. TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 73
Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisors said during a program on CNBC that TJX is benefiting in the current retail environment because of its category diversification and partnerships. The analyst believes the company is a “winner.”
“You can look at brands and who’s doing new things in brands. You look at TJX and the category diversification that they have with the buys that they get because of the relationships with vendors and brands. They get better deals because of where they can distribute their product through their own, and basically they’re an umbrella because they’re lower price than a lot of the department stores and other players out there. TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) is a winner. I think it continues to win, and I think off-price overall. Let’s see Burlington’s comps, too.”
ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Two newer positions also held up well: uniform and workplace products provider, Cintas, and off-price apparel retailer, The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX). TJX also put up a high-quality beat and has become a relative safe haven for investors amid elevated recession fears. The company has historically benefited from trade-down and inventory availability during periods of weaker consumer spending.”
5. Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 75
Tim Seymour, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Seymour Asset Management, said in a recent program on CNBC that he likes fire, HVAC, and security equipment company JCI. Here is what the analyst said:
“Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI). Key part of that data center trade, electrical components.”
ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Several of the Strategy’s industrials holdings also continue to benefit from the growing focus on AI and the underlying infrastructure investments required to support it. Vertiv delivers power and thermal management systems critical for data center operations, while Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) has a leading position in commercial HVAC for data centers, with a data center business larger than the next two competitors combined.”
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