The U.S. Federal Reserve recently announced its plan to keep interest rates steady, cautioning, “uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further.” It noted that the risk of higher unemployment and elevated inflation have risen. Indeed, tariff wars have shaken global markets and knocked investor sentiment.
Nonetheless, investors looking for attractive picks amid the ongoing volatility can track the recommendations of top Wall Street analysts, who have the expertise to select stocks with the potential to thrive despite short-term challenges.
With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Meta Platforms
We start this week with Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms (META), which surpassed analysts' estimates for the first quarter of 2025, reflecting resilience in a tough macroeconomic backdrop. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta is well-positioned to navigate any ongoing challenges.
In reaction to the strong Q1 print, JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated a buy rating on META stock and boosted the 12-month price target to $675 from $610, saying that Meta remains his firm's top pick. Noting the company's Q1 beat and Q2 outlook, Anmuth said he believed the company's artificial intelligence (AI) ad enhancements, such as Andromeda and GEM, are having a significant impact on its ability to make money from the technology.
On the rise in Meta Platforms' full-year capital expenditure guidance, the analyst said that he is OK with the increase, given that the company is delivering good results and tracking well on its AI roadmap. He added that Meta has a track record of generating returns on increased spending.
Anmuth said that AI is fueling huge early gains in Meta's advertising and engagement, with the analyst expecting notable progress soon in business messaging/agents and Meta AI.
“We continue to believe that Meta is well positioned for a tougher macro environment given its scaled advertiser base, highly performant platform and vertical agnostic inventory,” Anmuth said.
Anmuth ranks No. 49 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 20.1%. See Meta Platforms Options Activity on TipRanks.
Amazon
Anmuth is also bullish on e-commerce and cloud computing giant Amazon (AMZN). Following the company's Q1 results, the analyst reaffirmed a buy rating on AMZN and raised the price target to $225 from $220. Amazon reported better-than-expected Q1 2025 results but issued soft guidance for the second quarter, citing tariff woes.
The analyst noted that the company's Q1 revenue and operating income exceeded the higher end of prior guidance, while the second-quarter outlook reflected lower-than-feared macro and tariff-related impacts.
Though Microsoft's Azure outperformed Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the March quarter and AWS is currently capacity-constrained, the analyst continues to believe that growth can move higher in the second half of the year as more supply comes online. He added that Amazon is not witnessing any visible change in demand.
Anmuth noted that the sequential deceleration in AWS revenue growth to 17% in Q1 2025 from 19% in the fourth quarter was offset by solid profitability. Notably, AWS' operating margin touched an all-time high of 39.5% in the first quarter.
The analyst said that while Amazon did not discuss all its mitigation efforts related to suppliers and geographic sourcing of products, it has taken measures to pull forward inventory because of the tariff wars.
“Importantly, AMZN remains focused on broad selection, low pricing and fast delivery, and believes it typically emerges from uncertain macro periods with greater relative market share gains,” said Anmuth. See Amazon Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks.
Roku
Finally, let's look at Roku (ROKU), a maker of streaming devices and other products, and a distributor of streaming services. While Roku delivered a modest revenue beat and reported a narrower-than-anticipated loss per share for the first quarter, shares declined as the company trimmed its full-year revenue outlook and issued lower-than-expected Q2 revenue guidance.
Wedbush Securities analyst Alicia Reese highlighted that while Roku lowered its 2025 revenue outlook, it maintained Platform revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, crediting enhanced profit from its initiatives and anticipated revenue from acquiring Frndly TV. Roku last week agreed to buy Frndly TV, an affordable subscription streaming service that offers live TV, on-demand video, and cloud-based DVR (Digital Video Recorder), for $185 million in cash in a deal espected to close in the second quarter.
Despite the impact of macroeconomic challenges, Reese believes that Roku is well-positioned within the relatively safe connected TV industry owing to increasing diversification of platform revenue. The analyst also highlighted that a more diversified business model is helping Roku deliver consistent results.
Reese thinks that investors will appreciate Roku for its balanced approach as it grows internationally, improves its platform and enhances The Roku Channel's ad capabilities, while focusing on expense discipline to drive free cash flow.
“We expect Roku to benefit from its DSP (demand-side platform) partnerships, high-quality inventory, improved targeting sports-adjacent ads, and various price points across its platform to meet advertisers' needs,” said Reese, reiterating a buy rating on ROKU stock with a price target of $100.
Reese ranks No. 830 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Her ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, delivering an average return of 14.5%. See Roku Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
