Introduction
After a brutal week for tech stocks, it is easy to focus only on what fell. But some of Wall Street’s best-rated analysts are still backing three well-known names for the long term: Datadog, Nvidia and SpaceX. Their picks come from a CNBC report based on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts by how well their past calls performed.
Analyst picks are opinions, not guarantees. Still, looking at why professionals like a stock can help everyday investors understand a business better. Here is each pick, in plain language.
Datadog: Riding the AI Software Wave
Datadog is a software company that helps businesses monitor their apps and computer systems. Think of it as a health tracker for a company’s technology: it watches for problems, flags them early, and helps fix them before customers notice. Demand is growing because companies are moving more work to the cloud and building AI tools that need constant monitoring.
Bank of America analyst Koji Ikeda has reiterated a buy rating on Datadog and raised his price target to $335 from $305. He called Datadog one of his top picks, saying companies that can show AI is helping their growth could see their stock prices recover even at high valuations. He also thinks the market is underestimating Datadog’s security products.
Datadog reports third-quarter results on November 4, so investors will not wait long for a test. Ikeda estimates revenue growth of 28.7% for the quarter, slightly below the Street’s consensus of 29.1%. He did flag one risk: the company depends on some very large customers, and losing one would hurt.
Ikeda ranks No. 673 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 55% of the time, with an average return of 10.9%.
Nvidia: Still the Top Pick in Chips
Nvidia needs little introduction. Its chips power most of the world’s AI systems, and demand is still outrunning supply. After attending Nvidia’s GTC conference in Berlin, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore reaffirmed a buy rating with a price target of $300, calling Nvidia his top pick among chip stocks.
Moore said the conference backed his view that Nvidia is handling its supply-chain bottlenecks well. He described land, power, computer shells and funding as challenges that Nvidia is turning into opportunities, saying he is “convinced that all 3 aspects are opportunities for NVDA.” He also noted that Vera Rubin, Nvidia’s next chip platform, is gaining momentum, although details on next year’s Rubin Ultra were lighter than expected.
The biggest supply challenge, in Moore’s view, remains TSMC’s 3-nanometer chip wafers, but he expects that constraint to ease over time. With demand still above supply, the focus is on closing the gap through deals on substrates, packaging and testing.
Moore ranks No. 142 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 59% of the time, delivering an average return of 23.4%.
SpaceX: A Surprising Earnings Beat
SpaceX is the most surprising name on the list. The aerospace company recently reported strong third-quarter results, with total revenue up 161% from a year earlier. Its AI revenue surged to $7.56 billion, up from $813 million in the same quarter last year, a jump of 195.2% from the previous quarter, helped by wholesale computing deals.
Needham analyst Ryan Koontz reiterated a buy rating on SpaceX stock with a price target of $250. He said the results beat expectations by a wide margin and showed that the company’s vertically integrated model, building most things itself rather than buying them in, is driving massive scale.
The Connectivity business, which sells internet service through satellites, grew revenue 69.5% and generated $2.37 billion in operating income, with subscribers rising to 13.6 million. Koontz also pointed to management’s plan to add 10 gigawatts of computing capacity during 2027, and said growing confidence in reusing its Starship rockets led him to raise his estimates.
Koontz ranks No. 357 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 42% of the time, delivering an average return of 23.7%.
Why It Matters
| Stock | Analyst | Rating and target | Why they like it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadog | Koji Ikeda, Bank of America | Buy, $335 (raised from $305) | AI driving demand for monitoring software; security growth underestimated |
| Nvidia | Joseph Moore, Morgan Stanley | Buy, $300 | AI chip demand outpacing supply; Rubin platform gaining momentum |
| SpaceX | Ryan Koontz, Needham | Buy, $250 | Revenue up 161%; AI revenue surging; satellite internet scaling fast |
These three picks share a theme: analysts are betting that AI spending, for all the recent market fear about it, is still creating real revenue for the companies best placed to serve it. That is the opposite of the panic that drove last week’s sell-off, and it is a useful counterweight for investors trying to think long term.
What Happens Next
Datadog’s earnings on November 4 are the nearest test. If growth comes in near Ikeda’s estimate, the bull case holds. A miss would give the skeptics fresh ammunition. For Nvidia, the story runs into 2027, when the Rubin platform rolls out more fully and supply constraints are expected to ease. For SpaceX, investors will watch whether the AI revenue surge continues and whether the planned capacity expansion stays on schedule.
Final Thoughts
It is worth remembering what these ratings are and are not. A buy rating is one analyst’s judgment, and even the best analysts on this list are right only a little more than half the time. The value of a list like this is not a shopping list of stocks to buy blindly. It is a starting point for research: three businesses, three reasons professionals still believe in them, and three sets of numbers you can check for yourself as results come in.
Related reading: JPMorgan Turns Bullish on Palantir With a $262 Target Ahead of Earnings
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Sources: CNBC’s report on top analysts’ long-term stock picks, based on TipRanks data (November 1, 2026), as syndicated by FXNEWS24; TipRanks analyst rankings cited in that report.
