All we hear about now is tariffs. On the cable networks, online news, newspapers and even radio. Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. Well, the world has to move on at some point. At the end of the day most of us will still have to eat, drive, buy things and go places. And most people still have to pay rent or mortgages. The world must go on — and Wall Street has some stocks that investors can purchase with the ambition of making money over the long-term or get paid dividends.
Oggonomics has been tracking stocks that might be “anti-tariff” investments, if there really is such a thing. It may not mean that there is no tariff exposure at all. But there seem to be some scenarios where the worst of the worst-case scenario seems to be priced in. Some stocks have even fallen close to their 2020 lows during the pandemic. Even then, that doesn’t imply that there are no risks.
There are multiple analyst reports and strategist reports pointing out how tariffs will impact companies, sectors and even the economy as a whole. And there are still risks that a trade war will send the U.S. into a recession. Some strategists have even slashed their total market expectations for the S&P 500 in 2025 as a result. But other analyst calls think some stocks represent incredible buying opportunities even if the market may be weak for a day, a week or longer.
Here are six specific analyst calls on targeted companies where Wall Street is telling investors to buy regardless of tariffs, risks of a trade war and even rising recession risks. To qualify, these stocks had to have new or existing “Buy/Outperform” type ratings and the price targets had to be set higher or raised. Most analyst reports being issued at this time are currently showing price target cuts even when Buy/Outperform ratings are being maintained — but that is not the case today for these six stocks.
Oggonomics always like to remind its readers that no single analyst report should ever be the sole basis for buying or selling a stock. Analysts can be wrong and sometimes fundamentals can change in a moment. And there is also the caveat that no analyst report with a higher price target ever comes with a guarantee that the stocks will rise. They can even fall regardless of positive or negative market sentiment.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) was started as Buy and assigned a $10 price target (versus $6.04 prior close) at Needham. As a leader in autonomous mobility, the firm sees Aurora Innovation leveraging its Aurora Driver platform and its industry partnerships to create the market for a $1 trillion market in autonomous trucking on U.S. highways. Needham sees a durable growth for the long term for this stock. According to the company’s guidance, its self-driving system is designed to operate multiple vehicle types from freight-hauling trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles.
Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) was raised to Buy from Neutral and its price objective was raised to $125 from $112 at BofA Securities. The firm sees the consumer products maker thriving in a challenging consumer backdrop. It even noted that Church & Dwight should benefit from a potential “trade-down” economy with a value portfolio of consumer goods. BofA also noted that the stock outperformed the S&P 500 in each of the last 4 recessions with an average outperformance of 22% compared to the broader market. Church & Dwight closed at $105.58 ahead of this call.
MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDA: MELI) is sometimes referred to as the “Amazon of Latin America.” Benchmark has initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $2,500 price target, calling it a dominant regional leader in the global e-commerce setting. The firm views MercadoLibre winning as markets in Latin America are underpenetrated and can show significant growth for online retail and for fintech revenues. Benchmark also sees a sustainable long-term growth outlook, a proven track record and a strong execution to keep the stock interesting for investors. MercadoLibre closed at $2,037.12 ahead of the call.
ALSO READ: 12 Strategic strategies FOR INVESTING IN BEAR MARKETS & STOCK MARKET CRASHES
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) should not be immune to economic pressures, tariffs and a recession as advertising is very economically sensitive. Citi believes that should be priced after losing more than one-fourth of its value. Omnicom was reinstated with a Buy rating and was given $103 price target (versus a $76.54 closing price). Citi says that U.S. tariffs will likely hurt advertising spending and that Interpublic and Omnicom will have to lower their full-year organic growth guidance as a result. But in the end, Citi sees both stocks as very compelling at current valuations even with the tariff impact.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) has almost recovered all of its losses since its CEO was murdered. Apparently, companies and individuals are going to keep needing healthcare coverage if there are tariffs or not. Bernstein reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $703 from $697. The firm sees a multi-year recovery for healthcare margins and valuation despite the stock being up so far in 2025. Bernstein is calling for earnings growth acceleration in 2026 to 2028 despite its expectations that guidance will be conservative when it reports its first quarter earnings. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley reiterated its Overweight rating and hiked its price target to $664 from $610. UnitedHealth shares closed at $587.06 ahead of these calls and its 52-week range is $438.50 to $630.73.
Verve Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VERV) saw its shares scream higher by 26% to $4.12 on Monday and it was indicated higher on Tuesday as well. The company’s initial Phase-1b data for VERVE-102 was shown to be quite positive for familial hypercholesterolemia. Canaccord reiterated its Buy rating and raised Verve Therapeutics’ price target to $39 from $32. It expects positive results ahead in the second half of this year. Elsewhere, Guggenheim also raised its price target to $24 from $18 and reiterated its Buy rating. Verve Therapeutics has a 52-week range of $2.87 to $9.31.
Again, it often feels like there are no safe havens during stormy financial markets. There are no assurances that any stock will rise in the future, and investing into turbulent markets is much more difficult to see gains when markets are facing extreme volatility.
