Analysts' Top S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now

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.

From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance

Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues

CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

Sign up

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 38 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 38 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.

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.

Linde

Linde (LIN) is off about 7% for the year to date, but bulls say that has shares in the industrial gases and engineering giant trading at a compelling valuation.

The proximate cause for LIN's underperformance was a third-quarter earnings report that came up short of analysts' average revenue estimate, as well as disappointing guidance.

A weak macro environment for large-scale industrial projects, especially in Europe, forced the market to rerate Linde's growth prospects, but bulls say the selloff is overdone.

"Linde currently manages a significant $7 billion backlog of projects, mostly under contract with blue-chip companies," writes Argus Research analyst Alexandra Yates, who rates shares at Buy. "We expect better macroeconomic conditions in 2026."

The analyst adds that LIN shares "merit higher multiples based on the company's size, geographic reach, and industrial gas portfolio." It also doesn't hurt that Linde is one of the best dividend stocks to buy for dependable dividend growth.

AutoZone

Shares in AutoZone (AZO) are positive so far in 2025, but they've lost about a quarter of their value over the past three months. Bulls say that has them trading at bargain levels.

A miss on fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and margin compression are largely to blame for the drawdown. Rising costs due to tariffs and aggressive expansion plans spooked the Street, but the nation's largest car parts retailer should profit from strong U.S. commercial sales growth and same-store sales gains.

"The company is benefitting from the long-term drivers of a growing and aging vehicle base," notes Truist Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli, who rates shares at Buy. "AutoZone trends have stayed relatively consistent throughout the quarter. The stock remains a stand-out pick in a favorable industry, and we remain buyers."

AZO beats the broader market on an annualized total return basis over every standardized time frame past three years, and by healthy margins at that.

Arista Networks

Arista Networks (ANET) stock is up more than 17% this year, only matching the price performance of the S&P 500. Happily for shareholders, analysts believe ANET is primed to beat the broader market over the next 12 months or so.

It's not hard to understand the bulls' enthusiasm. Arista Networks makes Ethernet switches and routers used by some of the biggest cloud-services providers, such as Microsoft and Meta Platforms (META). An AI boom in full swing should provide an accelerating tailwind for ANET shares.

At the same time, Arista is diversifying its customer base by selling its wares to office buildings and university campuses. A steady stream of revenue from its subscription software business is another area of growth.

"Arista is well positioned to benefit from AI over the longer-term," writes Needham analyst Ryan Koontz, who rates shares at Buy. "Strong signals from Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle are driving ANET's stable customer base and demand. We also think Arista is taking meaningful share in enterprise."

Related Content

• All 30 Dow Jones Stocks Ranked: Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Highest-Yielding Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500
• Warren Buffett Stocks: A Look at Berkshire Hathaway's Holdings